Rising divorce rates in China, and an increasing tendency for women to marry for materialistic reasons, has prompted the Chinese Supreme Court to make a controversial reinterpretation of the country's marriage laws, reports the Telegraph.

 

Under the ruling, whichever partner in a marriage pays for the marital home will get to keep it in the event of a divorce. The change is intended to encourage young people to marry for the right reasons, and to remove some of the pressure on men to buy property in a very expensive housing market.

According to the Telegraph, the divorce rate in China has increased by around 7% a year for the past five years. Almost half of all divorces end up in court because of arguments over the division of assets.