A father has been ordered to contribute to a fund to buy a home for his son and former partner, and to pay their rent until he had paid his share of the fund in full.

The parents had cohabited but never married. They separated in 2018, after which the mother sought financial provision for their seven-year-old son.

In July 2020, a judge decided that an appropriate housing fund for the mother and child was between £525,000 and £550,000. The mother was obliged to raise £150,000 from her capital resources towards purchasing a property; the father was ordered to pay a capital sum of £400,000 by December 2020.

He failed to do so. Meanwhile, the mother and child were living in accommodation at a rental cost of £2,500 per month. The mother applied for further provision to cover the rental payments.

The judge in the Family Court ordered the father to pay a lump sum of £42,500 to cover the rent paid so far. She also ordered him to pay a series of lump sums of £2,500 each month until the capital sum was paid.

The father was already paying maintenance, which had started at £803 per month and had been reduced to £263 per month by the time of the hearing.

He submitted that the court had acted outside its jurisdiction because the lump sum payments for rent were effectively intended to “top up” the child maintenance payments.

The High Court dismissed his appeal.

It held that the father had accepted the overall sum required for the housing provision and could have paid it long ago, removing the need for the mother to rent accommodation to provide a home for the child.

He should not be permitted to benefit from his own default.

Case citation: S v M Family Division [2022] EWHC 278 (Fam) [2022] 11 WLUK 17 Moor J

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