Recent split - House ownership issues

Misc_2

Hello,

I'm desperately looking for help!

My partner and I have recently split, I've been told solicitors have been contacted and that I'm going to be evicted from the property.

However the house is owned by my partner and I, as far as I know we have a 50/50 ownership of the property and always have done. However she has taken all of the mortgage/house ownership related documents away so I have no access.

How can I find out my legal ownership of the property?

Thank you.

zzzLazyDaisy

You caqn get a copy of the title certificate from the land registry. You can do this online and it costs £3. This will show who the owners are, and also who the lender is.

If you are a joint owner you cannot be evicted from the house, except by a court order (ouster order) which would only be granted in extreme cases such as domestic violence.

Misc_2

Thank you for your reply. I will look on the website as I guess £3 is worth it!

I will be open and honest as it's the only way to get the correct advice. We have argued alot which has led to shouting (and our split)[I know it's not a nice thing to have done and I am deeply sorry for it]. But there has not been any physical or other way violent actions. Our arguements have always ended with one of us walking off and we are always away from each other (ie not in each others faces).

I have no record in any sense with the police (apart from once when I was attacked).

Would this in itself be enough?

My worry is her family have a lot of money and a legal background (consisting of very well paid solicitors / lawyers / barristers etc) and that I'm going to be bullied out of my property for not having the knowledge or experience to deal with them.

Thank you again.

SouthCoast

legal background (consisting of very well paid solicitors / lawyers / barristers etc)

Contact CAB and Shelter as they have similar access!

Misc_2

I hadn't heard of Shelter before, there website does indeed sound useful and I've read some interesting things.

Thank you

david29dpo

No need to worry. Once your have checked with the LR that your name is on the title register, no one can take the house away (other than the bank if you or your partner dont pay the mortgage, if any) Simply ask her if she wishes to buy you out, or you buy her out, or you both sell the place. A quick word of caution, if you both decide to sell the house, the solicitor HAS to issue a joint cheque for the proceeds if a house is in joint names unless you BOTH agree to have a cheque each.

Misc_2

Thank you,

Her mothers told me I should expect a letter from their solicitors so I guess I'll see what it says, until then nothing more I can do.

Having downloaded the registry it does indeed have both our names on it.

Fire_Fox

You need to find out if the mortgage is paid up to date or you could be evicted (eventually) due to repossession.

I am a female who left a 'dysfunctional' marriage - my solicitor said they could get my ex out of the marital home, and we had no history of police involvement. I didn't want to do that, but I did use it in negotiations so he'd be more reasonable. We ended up using a mediation service (not Relate, one for divorces) which worked very well as was cheaper than solicitors.

zzzLazyDaisy

It is true that the courts have more power in the context of a divorce, including adjusting the respective shares in the property, and also ordering a sale in appropriate circumstances.

But I had assumed by OP's use of the term 'partner' that this is not a divorce situation - however, it would be useful if OP could clarify this, as it can make a difference.

Misc_2

Thank you for your continuing responses.

Firtly we aren't married.

Secondaly the payments are all up to scratch. However... We made an arrangement a few months ago whilst I went self employed for her to make the full payments for a few months whilst I re-invest my income into my work (as much her idea as my own). This was an agreement between us and not mentioned to the lender etc. So although the payments have been taken out of the bank, it has all been her money for the past 3 months.

I have made arrangements today for an apartment which (all going well) I can move into on Wednesday/Thursday this week - So I'm pretty sure I'll be out soon anyway - The concern now is whether I'll still have access to the property and how much of the sale I will be involved in.

Additionally to cover what david29dpo said about the payment cheque once the house is sold. When setting up the mortgage we chose a bank account for the money to be taken out of each month by default - This account is in my partners name and I have no access to it. Each month (apart from the last few) I have transferred money into the account to cover mortgage / bills etc.

I'm not worried about coming out of the sale with a gain however I obviously don't want to leave with part or all of my mortgage still being owed and her taking the money.

zzzLazyDaisy

Misc wrote: »

T
I obviously don't want to leave with part or all of my mortgage still being owed and her taking the money.

That won't happen. You are both jointly and severally liable for the mortgage payments. In other words, as far as the lender is concerned, you don't each have half a mortgage, you are each responsible for the whole mortgage, and the lender doesn't care how it is paid, or who pays it, as long as the full repayments are made on the mortgage each month. If the full payments are not being made, for any reason, you are BOTH liable for the shortfall and it WILL be taken out of the net proceeds of sale, before any money is distributed.

As far as the final cheque is concerned, you both need to agree with the solicitor handling the sale, that you will each accept a cheque in your sole name for 50% of the net proceeds of sale. Otherwise the cheque will be made out to you both in your joint names and must be paid into a joint bank account.

It is in her interests as much as yours that this doesn't happen.

The only thing that she might try, is to claim that you owe her 'your half' of the mortgage payments from the months that you have not been contributing. She may ask for this to be deducted from your share of the net proceeds, however this cannot be done without your consent.

This does not affect the repayment of the mortgage, though, which will be fully paid off before the balance is distributed.

(I'm assuming that there is equity in the house?)