Residence orders: the roof that maintenance alone does not provide

Maintenance is money. A residence order is the house. In a city where the home is the family's principal asset, the second question is usually larger than the first — and it is frequently raised too late.

The right to reside

Protective legislation on domestic violence recognises a right to reside in the shared household, independent of ownership. The order does not transfer title; it protects occupation, and it can restrain dispossession, alienation or the disturbance of possession while proceedings continue.

What courts examine

• Whether the property answers the description of the shared household on the facts of the relationship.
• The ownership position, and the interests of others in the property.
• The availability of alternative accommodation of a comparable standard.
• Interim needs of children, whose schooling and stability frequently drive the outcome.

Practical points

1. Seek interim protection early — possession, once lost, is far harder to restore than to preserve.
2. Document the residence itself: utility records, correspondence, society records, school addresses.
3. Coordinate with the maintenance claim, since alternative accommodation and quantum interact.
4. Anticipate the argument that the property belongs to a relative rather than the respondent.

Handled together, maintenance and residence produce a workable arrangement. Handled separately, they often produce two orders that do not fit.