It’s no secret that the exclusive use of a former couple’s joint property generates a duty to compensate the person deprived of the property. But what if the property also serves as a home for the former spouses’ children? Would compensation still be due?
The STJ faced this problem when considering REsp 1,699,013, when it understood that “It is not mandatory to arbitrate rent to the ex-spouse who resides, after the divorce, in a property jointly owned by the ex-couple with their minor daughter”.
According to the STJ, the compensation that would be due to the person who cannot use the property would be converted into an in-kind portion of the maintenance payment due to the children of the former couple to meet essential housing needs, a situation that would eliminate the triggering event of the compensatory obligation.
