If you and your former spouse still own the house together and one of you rents it out, Georgia law entitles the other to a share of the rent.
What the Statute Says
Every co-owner has “the right to possess the joint property.” OCGA 44-6-121(a). Under OCGA 44-6-121(b), a co-owner is “liable to account to his cotenant” for “any rent or other profit from the joint property,” and must also account for, among other things, committing waste or keeping the other from a fair share of its use.
Former Spouses Who Kept a Condominium
In White v. Lee, 250 Ga. 688 (1983), a married couple bought a condominium as tenants in common. Their settlement agreement, incorporated into the 1977 divorce decree, did not expressly refer to it, so they still owned it together. The wife had moved out when they separated. The husband lived there and later leased it to tenants, and in 1979 she sued to have it sold and to collect rent.
The Georgia Supreme Court held that she was entitled to her share of the rents from the time the condominium was leased to third parties, but, on those facts, not to rent for the time he lived there himself. Reversing the trial court on this point, it also held that she did not have to contribute to the cost of maintaining the condominium for the period when he owed her no rent.
Rent From Before the Divorce
Her claim for rent from before the divorce failed twice over. The settlement agreement released every claim either spouse had against the other “up to the date of execution of this Agreement,” and her claim for rent up to the divorce was “barred by the divorce decree itself.” OCGA 9-12-40.
So raise any claim for rent that built up before the divorce in the divorce case itself. Our post on ending co-ownership after a Georgia divorce explains partition.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!