Well this is quite complicated ... are you getting any legal advice re the divorce ? Who has told you that you cannot take the 30 percent of the house and who arrived at that figure anyway ? There are lots of other aspects too, such as why you are unable (and of course there may be a genuine reason) to cover some of the mortgage or give her any maintenance. Leaving the DSS aside for the moment, both of you own all of the house and you have an interest in it. Why is she in arrears ...... etc. etc. The best thing would be to try and clear the arrears somehow and then go from there, well that is pretty obvious, but you are also responsible for the arrears too and if you want to keep your asset then you need to speak to everyone possible about it. If you are both on the mortage then I presume she would have to renegotiate that and who would lend her the money under such circumstances ? You both need legal advice I would suggest going to the CAB. You have an interest in any equity that remains after sale, repossession or divorce.