What is a “matrimonial home”? What rights are women entitled to, at their matrimonial home?


The matrimonial home is the household a woman shares with her husband; whether it is rented, officially provided, or owned by the husband or his relatives.

A woman has the right to remain in the matrimonial home along with her husband as long as she is married, though there is no definite law regarding this right.

If a woman is being pressurised to leave the matrimonial home, she can ask the Court for an injunction or “restraining order” protecting her from being thrown out. This can usually be obtained quite easily.

It is generally advisable not to leave the matrimonial home; it is easier to get a court order preventing a woman being thrown out than to get an order enforcing her right to return to it, once she had left or been thrown out.

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