Property Law Online

Land Registry

Form HR1: home rights notice

The form that protects your right to stay in the family home when it is in your spouse's name. Lodged on one fixed fee.

HM Land Registry publishes the current form on GOV.UK. Send us a question about it and we reply by email.

Form HR1 registers a notice of home rights under the Family Law Act 1996, protecting a spouse or civil partner's right to occupy the family home when the title is in the other's sole name. Property Law Online checks the title, completes and lodges the form, and explains what the notice does and does not protect.

What does form HR1 ask for, panel by panel?

Form HR1 is a one-page application, lodged on its own without an AP1. The panels below follow edition 08/23. Check numbering against the form in force when you lodge. HM Land Registry Practice Guide 20 (applications under the Family Law Act 1996, updated 14 September 2026) explains the form and the related ones: HR2 renews a notice, HR3 is a lender's search of the register for home rights, and HR4 cancels a notice (checked 20 September 2026).

The statement panel is the one that matters: it is your declaration that you are the spouse or civil partner of the registered proprietor and that the property is, was or was intended to be your home together. HM Land Registry does not investigate the marriage; it relies on the statement.

PanelWhat it asks forCommon mistakes
1, Local authorityThe local authority the home sits inGuessing the district where a postal address spans two
2, Title numberThe registered title of the homeThe freehold title where the owning spouse holds a lease, or the reverse
3, PropertyThe address as shown in the property registerA property that was never the family home
4, Application and feeThat you apply to register a notice of home rightsAltering the prescribed wording
5, The applicantYour full nameA name that differs from the one on your marriage certificate without explanation
6, Who the application is sent byYour own details, or your conveyancer'sLeft blank, so the registry has nobody to raise a requisition with
7, Address for serviceThe address or addresses that go on the register and are used for correspondence and for serving notice on youThe family home you have already left, so notices never reach you
8, Your husband, wife or civil partnerTheir full name as it appears on the registerA former name; a name that does not match the proprietorship register
9, Any other homeWhether a home rights charge is already registered against another homeAnswering no when one exists, which is how the earlier registration gets cancelled without you meaning it
10, Court orderWhether an order has been made under section 33(5) of the Family Law Act 1996Saying yes without lodging an official copy of the order
11, StatementYour statement of entitlement and the application for the notice to be enteredApplying for a home bought after separation
12, SignatureYour signature (or your conveyancer's) and the dateUnsigned; signed by the owning spouse in error

Can I complete form HR1 myself?

Yes, and of all HM Land Registry forms it is among the easiest. There is no fee, no supporting evidence in the ordinary case, and the form is a page long. A home rights notice is not on the list of applications in Practice Guide 67 that call for evidence of identity, so an ID1 is not usually asked for, though the registrar can still require one in a particular case under rule 17 of the Land Registration Rules 2003 (updated 1 September 2026, checked 20 September 2026).

What people instruct us for is the judgement around it: whether a notice is the right protection or a restriction is; which title to register against; what happens to the notice when the divorce is finalised; and how it fits with the financial order. A notice registered against the wrong property, or by someone who turns out to be a joint owner, achieves nothing.

Doing it yourselfWith Property Law Online
Confirming the home is in your spouse's sole nameYou obtain and read the registerChecked on day one
Choosing between HR1 and RX1Your own researchAdvised in writing
Completing the formNo charge to download; you post itCompleted, checked and lodged; regular written updates
Unregistered landYou discover it when the form is returnedWe spot it and register a Class F land charge instead
What happens at the final orderYou find out laterExplained at the start, with the RX1 that usually follows
CostNo HM Land Registry fee; your timeOne fixed fee, in writing, before you start

What does a home rights notice do, and what does it not do?

It does: bind any buyer or lender who deals with the property after the notice is entered, so they take subject to your right to occupy; mean a buyer's conveyancer has to deal with you before a sale can complete with vacant possession, and mean that a lender bringing possession proceedings has to serve notice of the action on you while the notice is registered and you are not already a party, under section 56 of the Family Law Act 1996; and make any payment you make towards the mortgage as good as one made by your spouse, under section 30(3), though the Act does not oblige the lender to take payment from you. It appears in the charges register for anyone who searches the title to see.

It does not: give you a share of the property or its proceeds; stop your spouse selling if the court orders a sale; survive the final order of divorce or dissolution unless the court directed beforehand that it should; or apply to anyone who is not married or in a civil partnership. A share is protected by a restriction under form RX1; ownership is changed by a transfer of equity. The notice is the first step, not the settlement.

Why does HM Land Registry reject form HR1?

  • The home is in joint names

    Home rights protect a spouse with no legal estate in the home. If you are a registered owner already, the application is rejected. And you do not need it, because nothing can be registered without your signature.

  • You are not married or in a civil partnership

    Cohabitants have no home rights, however long the relationship. HM Land Registry cannot enter a notice, and the protection for a contribution is a restriction on RX1 with evidence of the interest.

  • The property was never the family home

    The notice can be registered only against a dwelling that is, was, or was intended by both of you to be the matrimonial or civil partnership home. A buy-to-let, a holiday flat or a home bought after separation does not qualify. Only one home can carry a notice at a time, under section 32 of and paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Family Law Act 1996, checked 20 September 2026.

  • Wrong title number or an unregistered home

    Where the home is unregistered, HM Land Registry has nothing to enter the notice on; the right route is a Class F land charge against the owner's name. Where there are two titles, freehold and leasehold, the notice must go on the one the owning spouse holds.

When do you need form HR1?

Home rights exist by statute: section 30 of the Family Law Act 1996 gives a spouse or civil partner who does not own the family home the right not to be evicted from it without a court order, and the right to go back in if they have left. Those rights bind a buyer or lender only if they are on the register. Form HR1 is how they get there. It is a protective step, usually taken on separation, and it carries no HM Land Registry fee, under Schedule 4 paragraph 5 to the Land Registration Fee Order 2024, in force 9 December 2024 (checked 20 September 2026).

Spouses on separation
The home is in your husband's, wife's or civil partner's name and the relationship has broken down. The notice stops the home being sold or remortgaged over your head while the finances are sorted out. See transfer of equity after divorce for what happens once the finances are agreed.
Spouses who have moved out
Leaving the home does not end your home rights, but it makes a quiet sale easier. The notice ensures you are drawn into any dealing with the property.
Spouses worried about the mortgage
A registered notice means that while it is on the register the lender has to serve notice of any possession action on you, under section 56 of the Family Law Act 1996, so the home is not taken without your knowing. Payments you make towards the mortgage count as if your spouse had made them, under section 30(3), which is what stops the arrears building while you sort the rest out. The Act does not compel the lender to accept payment from you, so tell the lender early rather than assuming. Checked 20 September 2026.
Spouses whose partner has business debts
Where the owning spouse might be pressed into a sale or a charge, the notice ensures no buyer or lender can take free of your occupation.
Anyone whose first HR1 was returned
Applications come back for a home that is in joint names, a wrong title number or a property that was never the family home. We check the register first.
Not right for
Joint owners, who cannot be sold out anyway. Cohabitants, who have no home rights and need form RX1. Anyone already divorced, whose rights have ended unless the court extended them.

Is a home rights notice the right protection for you?

Two questions decide whether form HR1 applies or whether a different form protects you better.

What is your relationship?
Whose name is on the title?

Answer both and we tell you the route.

What does our form HR1 service include?

One fixed fee covers the title check, the form and the registration. What the notice cannot do, give you a share, block a sale outright, survive the final order, we explain at the start, so it sits inside a plan rather than standing in for one.

  • Title check

    We obtain the title register, which gives the title number for panel 2, and confirm the home is in your spouse's or civil partner's sole name, registered, and that no existing entry affects the application.

  • Advice on what the notice does

    What it protects, occupation, and what it does not: ownership, a share of the proceeds, or a block on a sale the court later orders.

  • Form HR1 completed

    Every panel filled in, with the statement that the property is, was or was intended to be the matrimonial or civil partnership home worded correctly.

  • Lodged and tracked

    Sent to HM Land Registry, where no fee is payable for a home rights notice (checked 19 September 2026), and followed up with regular written updates.

  • Updated register

    The official copy showing the notice in the charges register, sent to you when the entry is made.

  • The next step, if you want it

    A notice protects occupation. The financial settlement decides ownership. We explain how the notice fits with a later transfer of equity or sale, and can handle either.

How is form HR1 completed and lodged?

Four stages. There is no evidence to assemble beyond your marriage or civil partnership, so it is one of the fastest applications on the register.

  1. Register checked

    We confirm the title is registered and in your spouse's sole name. If the land is unregistered, the equivalent protection is a Class F land charge at the Land Charges Department, under section 2(7) of the Land Charges Act 1972, and we tell you so. A Class F registration stops working once the land is registered, when a notice is needed instead. Checked 20 September 2026.

    Day 1

  2. Form HR1 prepared

    Your details, the title number, the statement of your marriage or civil partnership and of the home's status, and an address for service where HM Land Registry can reach you.

    Days 1 to 2

  3. Signed and lodged

    You sign; we lodge. No supporting documents are normally needed, the form contains the statement HM Land Registry relies on, and rule 82(3) of the Land Registration Rules 2003 calls for an office copy only where an order under section 33(5) of the Family Law Act 1996 is relied on (checked 20 September 2026).

    Days 2 to 3

  4. Notice entered and owner notified

    The notice appears in the charges register. HM Land Registry notifies the registered proprietor that the entry has been made, and form HR1 says on its face that notice of the application will always be sent to the registered owner (Practice Guide 20, updated 14 September 2026, checked 20 September 2026). We send you the updated register.

    HM Land Registry processing

How long does form HR1 take to register?

Prepared and lodged within days. HM Land Registry then enters the notice; a straightforward HR1 is usually processed in a matter of weeks (HM Land Registry published figures, checked 19 September 2026). The notice protects you from the date the application was received, so a sale completed after that date takes subject to your rights.

What changes the timescale

  • Whether the home is registered, or needs a Class F land charge instead
  • Whether the title is in your spouse's sole name, which is the only case the notice covers
  • HM Land Registry processing times at the time of application
  • Whether the owner disputes the entry, which does not stop it but may lead to an application to cancel
The stagesExample
  1. Register checked
  2. Form HR1 prepared
  3. Signed and lodgedIn progress
  4. Notice entered and owner notified
An illustration of how a matter moves through these stages. We tell you when each one is done.

What does registering home rights cost?

Property Law Online is not yet taking instructions, so there is no fee to quote today. This section explains how the cost of this work is usually made up.

A home rights notice is quoted as one fixed fee before you instruct us, in writing. No HM Land Registry fee applies to this application, because a home rights notice is exempt under the Land Registration Fee Order 2024 (in force from 9 December 2024) (checked 19 September 2026), so our fee is the whole cost. Tell us your relationship status and whose name the home is in, and we reply by email.

Usually covered by the professional fee

  • Register check
  • Advice on what the notice does and does not protect
  • Form HR1 completed and lodged
  • Tracking and any requisition answered
  • Updated register sent to you

Paid to others, passed on at cost

  • HM Land Registry fee, none is payable for entering or renewing a home rights notice under the current fee order, Schedule 4 paragraph 5 (checked 20 September 2026)
  • A Class F land charge where the home is unregistered. A Land Charges Department fee applies
  • Advice on the financial settlement itself, which is a family law matter and outside the notice

What can add to it: an unregistered home, a property held through a company or trust, or a second property where the right home has to be identified. Each is quoted before you instruct, never afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

Will my spouse be told I have registered home rights?

Yes. A home rights notice is an agreed notice, entered on your own evidence under rule 82 of the Land Registration Rules 2003, and the proprietor is told once it is in rather than given a window to object beforehand (Practice Guide 20, updated 14 September 2026, checked 20 September 2026). They cannot prevent the entry, but they can apply to cancel it on form HR4 if they can show you are not entitled. For example because you are not married or the property was never the family home.

What documents do I need for form HR1?

The title number or address of the home, your spouse's or civil partner's full name as it appears on the register, the date of your marriage or civil partnership, and an address for service. A marriage or civil partnership certificate is not lodged with the form. Home rights arise from the marriage or civil partnership itself, and rule 82(3) of the Land Registration Rules 2003 calls for an office copy only where you are relying on an order under section 33(5) of the Family Law Act 1996 (checked 20 September 2026). A home rights notice is not on the Practice Guide 67 list of applications needing identity evidence, so it is not normally asked for; if the registrar asks under rule 17, an unrepresented applicant provides ID1 (with ID5 where the check was by video) (Practice Guide 67, updated 1 September 2026).

Does a home rights notice stop my spouse selling the house?

Not outright. It means any buyer takes subject to your right to occupy, which in practice stops a sale with vacant possession until you agree or a court orders otherwise. A buyer's representative will not complete while the notice stands, so your spouse has to deal with you first.

What happens to home rights when the divorce is finalised?

They end on the final order of divorce or dissolution, and the notice can then be cancelled on form HR4, edition 10/23 (checked 20 September 2026). If you need protection beyond that date, because you are staying in the home under the financial order, the court must direct it before the final order, or the order itself is protected by a restriction.

Can I register home rights if I have already moved out?

Yes. Home rights include the right, with the court's leave, to go back into the home, and they do not depend on your still living there. The notice can be registered after you have left, and it is often at that point that it matters most.

What if we are not married?

Home rights are only available to spouses and civil partners. A cohabitant who contributed to the purchase or the mortgage may have a beneficial interest, protected by a restriction on form RX1 with evidence of the contribution. A cohabitant with no contribution usually has nothing to register, and a will or a deed of trust is the better conversation.

Can home rights be registered against more than one property?

Only one home at a time can carry a notice, and it works the other way round from what you might expect. You do not cancel one before registering the other. Under paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Family Law Act 1996 the Chief Land Registrar, once satisfied that a second charge has been registered, cancels the one registered first. So registering against a new home quietly ends the protection on the old one. If you still need the first home protected, that is a decision to take before you apply, and putting it back means applying again. Checked 20 September 2026.

Related forms and services

Sources and further reading

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