By Munera Lawyers
Generally speaking, a matrimonial home is the family residence ordinarily occupied by two married spouses, and in order to sell the matrimonial home, both spouses must consent (or obtain a court order), even if only one spouse is on title. As for separated spouses who are contemplating a sale of their matrimonial home, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation more challenging than ever. For instance, the pandemic has drastically increased some people’s need to stay in their matrimonial homes. More significantly, impacts on the home’s market value in general may lead to further disagreement between the separated spouses as to whether the matrimonial home should be sold during the pandemic.
The pandemic has brought incredible financial hardships for some households as they may have been unable to work and the sale of the matrimonial home may be the only viable option to solve this problem. For example, in a recent motion decision from Grover v Batra, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has sided with the wife who wanted to have her matrimonial listed for sale.[1] There was a mortgage on the home for over $560,000 and the wife, who continued to live in the matrimonial home after the parties separated, had no employment income since COVID-19. Her only income during the pandemic was $2,000 per month from the government assistance program.
It should be noted that during the pandemic many court proceedings were suspended, and the court allowed matters to proceed only on an urgent basis. Specifically, the wife’s small income and large mortgage justified the urgency. The husband, on the other hand, offered no realistic alternatives. He was unable to pay the carrying costs on the property, nor was he able to buy out the wife’s interest in the home.[2] Justice Bloom, in rendering the court’s decision, said:
“[The wife] is entitled to seek an end to her dire financial circumstances by moving for an order to end her obligation in relation to the carrying costs of the property and to secure payment for any equity she may have in the property.”[3]
Besides sale of matrimonial home in light of financial hardships, the pandemic has also made the sale process more complicated and challenging and therefore created concerns over health and safety. For instance, in L-A.F. v. K.V.S., the husband similarly brought an urgent motion, trying to stop the wife from selling the matrimonial home during the pandemic. The husband argued that the child spends a considerable amount of time in the home and having prospective buyers visiting the home for viewing purposes was inconsistent with safety precautions.[4] The court agreed and ordered that the wife shall not allow strangers into her residence for purposes of marketing the home for sale.[5]
[1] Grover v Batra, 2020 ONSC 3089.
[2] Ibid at para 16.
[3] Ibid at para 15.
[4] L-A.F. v. K.V.S., 2020 ONSC 1914 at para 4.
[5] Ibid at para 13.
NOTE: This article has been written for general information purposes only and does NOT constitute legal advice. For further questions and/or legal advice please consult a qualified lawyer.