# Can he refuse to sell and lease the house with me in it?

**URL:** <https://forum.rosen.com/t/can-he-refuse-to-sell-and-lease-the-house-with-me-in-it/13712>\
**Category:** Divorce and Separation Answers\
**Created:** [April 5, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://forum.rosen.com/t/can-he-refuse-to-sell-and-lease-the-house-with-me-in-it/13712 "2012-04-05T18:18:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ikkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ikkin](https://forum.rosen.com/u/ikkin)\
**Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://forum.rosen.com/t/can-he-refuse-to-sell-and-lease-the-house-with-me-in-it/13712/1 "2012-04-05T18:18:38Z")

</div>

Both of our names are on the deed and the mortgage. He has established another residence when I told him to leave months ago.

I want to sell the home and he wants to rent it out. It was on the market for 90 days, but needs updating according to major feedback. I want to spend my own money to update it and pay myself back when the house sells.

1.) Can he legally rent the house out from under me? Doesn’t seem likely.

2.) What course of action can I take to make him sell? There will be No quit claim deed, no walking away, no buying out 1/2.

3.) If I hire an attorney, will that make him legally responsible for signing the separation agreement? Or does he not have to sign it…ever?

4.) Do I need it in writing before closing what I spent out of my own pocket to recoup the costs? Or because we are both on the deed will the profits automatically be split 50/50?

Thanks for your advice.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ryan\_Short](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/34f0e0/32.png) [@Ryan\_Short](https://forum.rosen.com/u/Ryan_Short)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://forum.rosen.com/t/can-he-refuse-to-sell-and-lease-the-house-with-me-in-it/13712/2 "2012-04-07T21:30:45Z")

</div>

1. If you are both on the deed then he can’t lease the property without your permission.

2. If you want to fix up the house and sell it, and he doesn’t, then you should buy his half. Then you could fix it up and sell it yourself.

3. He doesn’t have to sign a separation agreement. You’d have to file for ED to make something happen with the house in the absence of his agreement.

4. You would have to negotiate for compensation for the money you spent on the house post separation.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Waterfall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/53a042/32.png) [@Waterfall](https://forum.rosen.com/u/Waterfall)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://forum.rosen.com/t/can-he-refuse-to-sell-and-lease-the-house-with-me-in-it/13712/3 "2012-09-15T05:24:29Z")

</div>

“You’d have to file for ED to make something happen” . What does ED stand for? NEVER MIND! Found it!