Joint Mortgage Holder has changed the locks !!

poppysarah

Do you have a legal right to half the property when he has paid the mortgage off?

You need to seek legal advice.
You being on that mortgage might prevent you from taking out a mortgage of your own.

Bufger

He's paying all the bills and the mortgage so although legally you have a right its actually pretty much his house except you're on the deeds. I think its unfair that you should expect access whenever you want now. I think it would be better if you asked him for your mail or knocked the door for access, its only polite! You sound like you want the best of both worlds here. I would say either continue paying the mortgage and have access whenever you want or dont pay and knock/ask politely.

bungee316

Yes i have a 50% share of the mortgage and yes it probably would prevent me taking out a mortgage of my own. Advice i have been given is i need to get it transferred to his name or sell it. Both of which needs to be initiated by him neither of which i can force him to do. And yes i have also tried the "friendly" approach. I have set up a re-direction but didn't do it right away.

princeofpounds

There has been a lot of 'moral' advice above, not much practical.

Firstly it doesn't matter who pays the mortgage or where anyone lives. If you have joint title to the property you are entitled to full access. You will need to see a lawyer if you wish to secure this.

Really, you need to negotiate a proper settlement and get off the title. If he can afford to pay the whole mortgage he should be able to buy you out.

However, he might not like the idea that whilst he is paying 100% of the mortgage you still own 50% of the equity in the property that is generated. This will almost be easier if you have no or negative equity.

silvercar

You have access rights as you part own the property. Unless there is a court order preventing you from doing so you have every right to enter the property.

The only time this would not be so would be if you had an agreement whereby the party in the property is paying you rent for your half (though you would still be liable for the mortgage).

In these situations it is a good idea to get a valuation when you move out.

In practical terms, you should be paying half the mortgage and you should be paid half the market rent. Work that out and decide who should be paying who.

Jowo_2

princeofpounds wrote: »

There has been a lot of 'moral' advice above, not much practical.

There's been oodles of practical advice - information about free legal advice on his position on the Shelter website, suggestions to speak to a legal expert ( housing solicitor), confirmation that a joint owner is legally entitled to access which can be enabled through a court order if cooperation isn't given, suggestion that the transfer to sole ownership is sped up, mail redirection to get post forwarded.

As for the 'moral' advice, its been pointed out that the joint owner is sending out fairly contradictory or inconsistent signals whereby they don't contribute a penny to its upkeep, have given assurance to the other that they can be the sole owner, but demand full access for quite a trivial reason (mail collection).

They've been asked to see it from the other owners point of view who is encouraged to take over sole ownership and use it as their sole residency but has someone else dropping by when they feel like it. This is probably why the other owner has battened down the hatches, legal entitlement to free access or not.

So, legally the joint owner may be permitted to turn up with a locksmith and gain access or see if they can get the police to help them access the property (who tend not to get involved in this kind of dispute) or get a court order to facilitate this if the new key isn't given.

But there's nothing wrong with asking the OP being given a broader perspective on this to understand the behaviour of the other owner.

Ulfar

Legally on access you may be in the right, morally I would say not.

There is another Legal problem that you are saving up in that should he involve a solicitor he may be advised to claim more than half the equity as he is paying all of the mortgage and bills.

You are still party to the mortgage and while you want half the equity you should be paying half the costs.

Ulfar

Forgot to mention above that you can also take legal steps to force the sale of the house, but that can get expensive.

Is he buying you out of your half or are you just surrendering the house to him, this also will affect any action depending on what you have already agreed.

bungee316

I have verbally agreed that if he mortgage was transferred into his name, I would not ask for compensation as we would be in or at least close to negative equity... i think, and to answer the ext inevitable question I haven't had a valuation. That assessment is going by the difficulty someone else in my block had in selling his house for a similar price, to what I would require.

I understand morally I am wrong, but it is the principal of not having any access to a property I own. I think now my initial anger was a snap judgement.

david29dpo

It would be wise not to involve lawyers but to sort this out between you. You need your name off the mortgage and deeds ASAP. This would be a benefit to both of you. Get together and talk about it. Can he afford the payments on his own? Does his income cover the amount? Can this be done without a high LTV? Agree to get the flat valued and go though the figures. In the mean time, you dont live there anymore so respect that fact. Has he moved anyone else in?