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By LegalMatters Staff • Under common law, couples enjoy equal rights to occupy a property they jointly own. If one is forced out due to a breakdown in their relationship, the court can order the person remaining to compensate the other for the loss. This is known as occupation rent.
It is usually determined as the rental value of the property divided by the number of co-owners.
In Alberta, Edmonton family lawyer Peter Ewanchuk says this concept has been codified by s.17 of the Alberta Law of Property Act, which states that “In making an order, the Court may direct that
- an accounting, contribution and adjustment, or any one or more of them, take place in respect of the land, and
- compensation, if any, be paid for an unequal division of the land.”
Ewanchuk adds that claims for occupation rent are usually only launched as a defensive move, countering the actions of the other ex-partner. Those could include a claim for contribution to the costs associated with the matrimonial home by the occupying spouse, such as paying a portion of the mortgage, property taxes and other expenses.
He says claims for occupation rent are not commonly awarded in Alberta, citing a 2001 Queen’s Bench decision that noted that “care must be taken in carrying forward the common-law concept of occupation rent into the family law context.”
