The Supreme Court in a decision of June 7, 2019 (file reference number V CZ 30/19) stated that if one of the spouses was convicted of abuse of the family, he cannot demand a division of the property that would lead to the situation that it would become a neighbor of his ex-wife.
In the case described, the division of real estate was to divide the shared house into 2 apartments (one for wife and one for husband). A serious conflict of parties resulting from the fact that the participant was abused by his ex-wife and minor children, which was established in a criminal trial, is a circumstance that prevents the division of real estate despite the existence of technical possibilities. Although the division of the subject of joint ownership is by its nature the most appropriate way out of joint ownership, all circumstances must be considered, including the possible conflicting of the division with the socio-economic purpose of the property, as if premises are separated, the owners will need to cooperate in order to maintain common parts of the building . This necessitates careful consideration of whether co-owners will be able to work together. In the circumstances of the case, this is not a typical conflict of divorced spouses, but a conviction of a participant for mistreatment of the applicant and minor children and for punishable threats against the applicant’s partner. The purpose of the division is to grant each owner a place to live in, because this is the socio-economic purpose of the property. The division assuming the sale of the premises by one of the co-owners because of a justified fear of the other co-owner denies such purpose.