Am I entitled to property!!??

MUMZ2BEE

My partner and I have been living together for over 10 years now.

I am not on the titled deed, nor am I on the mortgage.

When my partner bought the property, he asked if I could be named on the title deed and the solicitor said no; even though I have contributed financially to the property.

I pay the foods bills, gas, tv licence, and water bills.

We don't have joint banks accounts.

My questions is this; I have contributed financialy to the upkeep of the property and have in the past spent £10,000 updating the property.

If me and my partner split up, can I claim the money back I spent on the above!!??

Any advice please.

BitterAndTwisted

You can try but claiming every penny back that you've invested in the property might be a lower sum than the increase in equity over the ten years of ownership.

You would be entitled to some of the equity but the precise sum would be down to negotiation, especially if you could prove that you having paid for the food, gas, tv licence and water bills etcetera were an equivalent amount to the mortgage-payments over that period.

Mojisola

Anyone who plans to live with someone without getting married should know the potential problems - https://www.advicenow.org.uk/living-together/

Fire_Fox

Did you have a Deed of Trust drawn up to protect your capital input at the start? What have you contributed to the upkeep and can you prove that? Have you paid any rent? If not you paying for food and utilities may be seen as cancelled out by having a roof over your head. You need legal advice.

sleepless_saver

Depends on which part of the UK you are in, but your rights are never as strong as if you were married.

Shelter has this page on rights in Scotland, and link to page on rights in England.

pmlindyloo

Remembering your previous thread about transferring from IB to ESA are you concerned that you will be found either fit for work or be in the
work related group which will mean you will lose your ESA after a year?

Do you think that your partner will not support you if this happens?

I can understand how people have separate bank accounts but find it difficult to understand how a partner would not support their OH in this situation.

Since you are asking questions about the house then I suspect you are thinking about splitting up.

Is this right?

Have you discussed your relationship with your partner? Do you talk about your health problems? Do you talk abou twhat would happen if you were found fit for work?

I have no idea how much your health problems are affecting you? Since you have been on IB for a long time, do you think that you could do some work or not?

To be honest, as things stand, it is becoming more and more difficult to be found unfit for work.

What does your doctor say?

If you think you could work then I would try and find a job and not be worrying about losing benefits and relying on your partner.

If you are unfit for work then you need to 'fight your corner'. Unless you get into the Support Group your ESA will stop after a year because of your partner's income. It is assumed that you have a joint income, regardless of your personal circumstances. So, the same problem will arise again, only later.

Sorry, have wandered off the subject!

You need to have a serious talk with your OH and if that is not postive then you might need a solicitor but be aware, as already said, people living together do not have the same 'rights' as married couples.

andygb

MUMZ2BEE wrote: »

My partner and I have been living together for over 10 years now.

I am not on the titled deed, nor am I on the mortgage.

When my partner bought the property, he asked if I could be named on the title deed and the solicitor said no; even though I have contributed financially to the property.

I pay the foods bills, gas, tv licence, and water bills.

We don't have joint banks accounts.

My questions is this; I have contributed financialy to the upkeep of the property and have in the past spent £10,000 updating the property.

If me and my partner split up, can I claim the money back I spent on the above!!??

Any advice please.

In short - no.
If we all added up how much we spent on everything over ten years, then it may come to far more than the equity on a property.
I think that you may have some claim on the property though.

Mrs.W_2

Asking an internet forum for advice that's quite essential to your future is, I hope, the thin end of your investigations. Your local CAB can recommend solicitors who offer a free half-hour interview. They should be your next port of call. I hope.

MUMZ2BEE

I have the evidence to show that I paid for the kitchen, which cost me £5000, the water, gas tv licence are all in my name, I also paid £500 for the cost of the bathroom suite and wall tiles, and I paid for windows, facia sofits and guttering which altogether cost me £3000.

I will be seeking legal advice of course; thanks for the advice!!

Nicki

You are right to be worried as your partner has already lied to you! If you contributed to the purchase price of the property of course you should have been on the title deeds as a joint owner and no solicitor would have advised that this was not possible.

You do need legal advice, but the short answer is that yes you do have a legal interest in the property, and this will be calculated by looking at the value of your initial contribution to the property price and your contribution to the improvements of the house and comparing that to the amount your partner has contributed by way of deposit, mortgage repayments and any improvements he paid for. The equity in the house should be split in the same proportions. Unfortunately, the amount you have paid towards bills, etc will usually be disregarded. But you do need detailed legal advice on this as it can be tricky.

mountainofdebt

Nicki wrote: »

You are right to be worried as your partner has already lied to you! If you contributed to the purchase price of the property of course you should have been on the title deeds as a joint owner and no solicitor would have advised that this was not possible..

Sorry I disagree with you

I think the situation is is that if you're not on the mortgage then you can't be on the deeds.

What the solicitor should have advised the OP was to register the deposit amount that she contributed and have some sort of agreement as to what would happen if they split up.