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Refusing to allow your partner into the house
If you are the sole owner or tenant of your house and are not married or in a civil partnership, your partner has no right to stay in the house. You do not need a court order to make him leave. You can change the locks and refuse to let him in. If he refuses to go, you can ask the police to remove him or apply to the court to have him removed. You may need somewhere else to stay while this is happening (see below).

Excluding a violent partner
If you have occupancy rights (see above) you can apply to the court for an exclusion order. This suspends a violent partner’s right to live in the house and forces him to leave. You can ask the court to attach a power of arrest to the order. This means that if he breaks the order he faces arrest and court action.

Leaving your home
If you have to leave your home because of domestic abuse, you have a right to temporary and permanent housing obtained by East Lothian Council. You have this right whether or not you have dependent children. It is possible to transfer to another council area if it’s not safe for you to stay in East Lothian.

East Lothian Council will assess you as ‘homeless’ and consider you as being in ‘priority need’ for housing because of the abuse. You are homeless, even if you have somewhere to stay, if you cannot get into it or there is a threat from a partner or ex-partner if you continue to stay there.

You need to apply to East Lothian Council. The council may make enquiries about your application and must give you a safe place to stay while doing so.

If you need to leave your home because of domestic abuse, and it is not safe for you to stay in East Lothian, you can apply to women’s aid groups throughout the UK for refuge space. East Lothian Women’s Aid can make enquiries on your behalf, or you can visit the Scottish Women’s Aid website www.scottishwomensaid.org.uk for contact details of women’s aid groups in Scotland, and beyond.

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