Woman says husband’s divorce award should be reduced by rent owed Loop Cayman Islands

In a judgment delivered on October 25, 2022 in connection with financial ancillaries for divorce proceedings, it was noted that a Caymanian banker argued that the amount awarded to her husband (who has Caymanian status through the marriage) in divorce proceedings should be reduced by “occupational rent” that her stepson should have paid for living in the matrimonial home.

As to the reason for making the claim, the judgment noted that the Caymanian banker “did not agree to the Respondent’s son coming to live at the Former Matrimonial home and that he has lived at the property for over 2 years.”

The judgment continued: “It had been suggested that an approximate monthly rent for the whole house might be CI$2750 — 3000 per month. On that basis the Petitioner argues that the Respondent or his son should pay CI$1000 per month for the period of his occupation and that this should be deducted from any amount awarded to the Respondent.”

In support of her argument, the case of DL v KL was cited in the judgment. This stated as follows:

If a party was ousted from a property due to the other party, the ousted party might have a claim for occupation rent against the occupying party, who might become liable to pay a fair, but not rack, rent for his or her occupation of the other’s share of the property. Violence or the service of a divorce petition could be sufficient to exclude a spouse from a matrimonial property. Simply leaving the property on a voluntary basis, however, was not sufficient to make the occupying party liable to pay occupation rent, although the court might well be driven to find that a party departing from a property following a relationship breakdown was not welcome back so as to give rise to a liability to pay an occupation rent.

Notwithstanding the woman’s argument and submissions on her behalf, the judge said:

I am not sure that the authority is relevant to this case. As the parties confirmed when giving evidence, they are both living at the Former Matrimonial Home, as is the Respondent’s son. The Former Matrimonial Home is matrimonial property. No one has vacated the property or been ousted from it. On that basis, I do not see any grounds for a claim for occupational rent.

The judge therefore dismissed the Caymanian banker’s request that an amount should be deducted from the amount awarded to her husband in divorce proceedings, which she claims should have been deemed “occupational rent” that should have been paid in respect of the occupation by her husband’s son of the Former Matrimonial Home.

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