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SINGAPORE – The askST Act seeks to address various legal issues faced or raised by affected parties.
This inaugural column focuses on a persistent problem dealing with a jointly owned HDB flat divorce.
Q: My wife and I were married in Singapore last year, but she still lives in an HDB flat that is jointly owned by her ex-husband. They told me that I am not eligible to buy a flat on my own because they haven’t gotten rid of their flat after their divorce in 2015. Now I live separately in a rented room and I meet my wife, but not in her flat.
Do I have legal permission to move to the apartment since I am the legal husband and she is my wife? Your former spouse knows that you have remarried.
A: The husband has no right to reside in his spouse’s HDB apartment as he is not the owner listed on the title deeds, said family attorney Beatrice Yeo, managing partner of Yeo & Associates.
“He does not acquire the automatic rights to live there by virtue of marriage. He also did not receive a license or permission from the owners to enter and stay. His rights to buy an HDB apartment with his wife are also compromised as does HDB Do not allow one person owns two floors, “he added.
Ms. Yeo said that the current apartment owned by her wife and former spouse should be removed as a matter of law, as the divorce would have meant the breakdown of the family unit that had been the basis for the purchase of the apartment.
It can be sold on the free market or to either of the former spouses.
“By continuing to live in the flat, the divorced couple could have violated HDB rules and the new husband may approach an attorney for formal correspondence with the parties’ divorce attorney in an attempt to inform them of their obligation or file a formal complaint to the HDB.
“Based on past experience, the HDB will issue a notice to repossess the apartment generally within three months if the parties refuse to sell the apartment or effect the transfer in further breach of any court order.”
Ms Yeo added that the problem the reader is facing is a variation on a common scenario that she had encountered in her work.
“Generally, even after a court order has been issued, a former spouse can continue to live in the conjugal home and refuse to move out for various reasons. Some may have financial difficulties finding a place to stay, while others refuse. to change their environment after having lived in the apartment for a long time and some simply stay despite or take revenge on the other ex-spouse, “he said.
“Some may refuse to sign the relevant transmission documents and this can generally be remedied by asking the judge to sign the transmission documents to complete the sale on behalf of the defaulting and uncooperative ex-spouse.
“Court orders need to be written in a concise way to address all these consequences that may or may not occur. Do-it-yourself divorces or non-attorney-written court orders often have important clauses missing,” he added.
“The applicant would have to go to the Family Justice Courts to modify the court order and include the missing clause.”
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