Relationship split but joint owned property

Hello, I am wondering if anyone can help me. Is there is any way to either take full ownership of my jointly owned property, or sell it without my ex husbands signiture. He was forcably removed due to domestic violence and has been living in the uk now for three years, with his new partner. He does not contribute to taxes or any bills to do with any maintenance. I currently reside in the property. He is not in contact but I know he will not sell this to make my life difficult. 

I understand if i file for divorce then the house will be put on the table so to speak but I am really looking at how I can either own this outright or sell it without any involvement from him, or going through this painfully long drawn out process. Is the property classed as abandoned by him at any point?

Thanks in advance

You will need to buy the other owners share of the property from them ..the simple way of doing this is by divorce settlement your appointed lawyer would handle the property transfer into your name it's pointless going on about how your ex partner is not contributing to the upkeep  of the property  the fact is if no young children are involved he doesn't need to contribute and you are living in his half of the property rent free so go and see a good divorce lawyer 😀. 

Hello rubio75

You will probably need a good Spanish lawyer to deal with this, (but that will be expensive). If you cannot reach an agreement for one of you to buy the other out then it will need to go to court for a ‘’Dissolution of joint property ownership in Spain’’. Be aware the court procedure can take many years, 5 years or many more. The court will order that the property be independently valued and placed on the open market for sale. If it is sold you will share the net funds equally. If it is not sold it will be placed in auction. If it is still not sold, you being the property resident will be entitled to about 60% of the court valuation of the property from the joint owner, and the joint owner is only allowed to about 40%. As far as I know, that’s the end of it.

My advice for what it is worth is to let your ex-partner do all the running and pay all the legal and lawyers’ fees. No one can evict you and if it is not resolved you can live in the property until the graveyard.

I think you are surely asking for the impossible.  Any court in the civilised world would reject your request as they must always base their judgment on the full facts.

You don't specify your nationalities, but is it not simpler to agree divorce proceedings in England?  Non-contested divorces are a lot simpler and quicker these days in that country, which seems a whole lot better for those who just wish to "move on".

Thank you all, my apologies we are both British. Some helpful ideas and information. Glad I joined the forum.

My advice was based on the property being in Spain and rubio75 is a Spanish resident living in the property. Is that correct rubio75?

I would highly recommend consulting a real estate attorney to fully understand your options and rights in this situation under local laws. There may be ways to expedite the process, especially with the claims of abandonment and domestic violence. Please let me know if you need any other information!

I have gone through this process myself, and it is referred to as a "dissolution of property" My property was in Murcia.  I have attached the solicitors email to me and breakdown of costs that were presented to me for your info.  Obviously as said elsewhere in the replies to you, costs will differ from region to region.  You also need to be aware that if your Ex lives in the UK and has no intention of returning to Spain to complete the process i.e. signing of documentaion, then she will need to appoint a Power of Attoney to act on her behalf.  Hope you find this helpful.  My Ex did not oppose this course of action as she kept the property that was jointly owned in the UK and fortunately the split was amicable unlike yours.  Below is what my solicitor sent to me.

"Unfortunately Stamp Duties has to be paid. They are due on any document to be signed before a Public Notary and to do the dissolution of joint ownership and register it at the Land Registry, it is necessary to sign a Public Title Deed.

I made a mistake because I calculated Stamp Duties at 2% rate when in these cases the rate is 1.5%. I have calculated the Stamp Duties on the declared value of your purchase which was 215.000 Euros, however I have accessed  the website of the Region of Murcia to find out the minimum value to be declared on a property like yours, and I have worked out a value of 88.026,47 Euros. You could declare that value and it would reduce highly the possibilities of being revised the value by Murcia Tax Authorities. However if you do so, you have to take into account that at the time of selling your property, the value of your original 50% would be half of 215.000 Euros which is 107.500 Euros, but the value of the 50% you acquire now would be half of that value 88.026,47 which is 44.013,23 Euros, and therefore, the capital gain tax on you sale will be calculated accordingly"

With those to changes and not charging for searches and change of utilities, the breakdown will be as follows:

If you decide to go ahead, we will need to have copy of the sentence of divorce in order not to pay any Plusvalia Tax at the Town Hall.