Do I need a cohabitation agreement?

Kookygirl

Hi,

If you don't like long posts you might want to skip this one...

My partner and I are thinking of moving in together in a few months time, and as I own my own home (mortgaged) I would like to have a cohabitation agreement. I have read here and there that a partner could have claim to a share of your property in the event of a break-up if they have financially contributed to the maintenance or mortgage of your home. This is something I naturally want to avoid.

Now i'm not a romantic, I'm a realist and unfortunately my partner is the opposite. I suggested the idea of a cohabitation agreement and he was not a happy bunny. He said it's very "business like". He also thinks I don't need one because he doesn't believe he has any rights to my property as long as he's not paying towards it (which is also what I think more or less). However, I still want something in writing to make this clear. I'm concerned that the money he gives me each month could be interpreted in any way by the courts (e.g. money towards the mortgage/maintenance) unless it is expressly written that it is not. To be clear, I do not want him to pay towards my mortgage, decoration, maintenance or upkeep of my home.

In terms of financial contribution, he suggested that I will pay the mortgage and he will pay the bills (the mortgage is more). Does paying all the bills (energy, water, council tax, food, cable...) earn him a right to a share of my property? Initially I was just thinking of charging him a 'rent' which is more or less equivalent to the same amount. What's better in terms of my concern above?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

HappyMJ

Kookygirl wrote: »

Hi,

If you don't like long posts you might want to skip this one...

My partner and I are thinking of moving in together in a few months time, and as I own my own home (mortgaged) I would like to have a cohabitation agreement. I have read here and there that a partner could have claim to a share of your property in the event of a break-up if they have financially contributed to the maintenance or mortgage of your home. This is something I naturally want to avoid.

Now i'm not a romantic, I'm a realist and unfortunately my partner is the opposite. I suggested the idea of a cohabitation agreement and he was not a happy bunny. He said it's very "business like". He also thinks I don't need one because he doesn't believe he has any rights to my property as long as he's not paying towards it (which is also what I think more or less). However, I still want something in writing to make this clear. I'm concerned that the money he gives me each month could be interpreted in any way by the courts (e.g. money towards the mortgage/maintenance) unless it is expressly written that it is not. To be clear, I do not want him to pay towards my mortgage, decoration, maintenance or upkeep of my home.

In terms of financial contribution, he suggested that I will pay the mortgage and he will pay the bills (the mortgage is more). Does paying all the bills (energy, water, council tax, food, cable...) earn him a right to a share of my property? Initially I was just thinking of charging him a 'rent' which is more or less equivalent to the same amount. What's better in terms of my concern above?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Yes...because you are asking for the whole amount of the bills. What is your contribution towards them? To be fair you need to ask for half of the bills for the property and nothing towards the mortgage, insurance or maintenance. You won't be able to charge him a rent and be sure he has no part of the equity unless you give him a room of his own and give him a rent a room agreement for that room....treating him as you would a lodger.

However, saying all that it's actually hard for anyone to prove they have equity in a property by the payment of money to a partner. It's just to avoid any issues if it were to come up...and courts can be costly even if you win.

lika_86

If it was me and I owned my own house already I would suggest continuing to pay the mortage yourself and splitting the bills and then have my OH put away the amount he was spending on rent each month into a savings account. That way you save on what you were paying, he builds up something for the future in case you want to buy a place together and you avoid the acquisition of an interest issue.

burnoutbabe

Thts what I do Lika_86, share bills and pay mortgage myself. And he is saving towards buying something together.

Its simpler in our case as my mortgage is pretty much paid off (before he came along) so he can't be paying towards the mortgage as I'm not doing that either!

If i was say renting out the spare room and had to get shot to move him in, then probably I'd put him on a new rental agreement so he is a lodger. Not sure there is any rule that one can not sleep with the lodger!

Excited13

I've just recently bought my own place but if I had a partner move in I would certainly get an agreement drawn up. I would not want to risk losing my house if anything was to go wrong. This may sound unromantic but as they say once bitten!

Mojisola

There's lots of useful advice on here - https://www.advicenow.org.uk/living-together/

Mrs_Ryan

I've lived with my partner for 6 years and he has a mortgage on the house, his sole name. He wont allow me to pay anything towards the bills (apart from the internet which is in my name but I'm the only one who uses it so hes not really interested in that) and on the few occasions that I've rescued him from mortgage and bills arrears he's always insisted I physically withdraw the cash and he pays it into his account so there's no physical trace I've paid it. We don't have an agreement - works for us. He however does know that the vast majority of the stuff in the house belongs to me so as such that's our agreement - if we break up I'm not interested in the house but I take whats mine.

Person_one

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

works for us.

It certainly sounds like it works for him.

Kynthia

I always viewed a cohabitation agreement as a plan for any unmarried couple living together, not just as protection for the person who owns the property. It sets out the intentions the couple have, who owns what, and what happens in a break up. Things like whether there is any plan to grant protection and equity to the non-home owning partner, whether new furniture costs are split, who moves out in the event of a break up and how any valuables or furniture are split, etc. So it's not just about splitting up but how you intend to live together and deal with rent/bills, future purchases, home improvements, etc.

Mrs_Ryan

Person_one wrote: »

It certainly sounds like it works for him.

It did I think before I owned the cooker, the TV, the phone, the laptop, his PS3, most of the crockery, all the bedding, the towels, the toaster, the microwave, the DVD player... yes he would get to keep the house but there wouldn't be much left in it!!

Soleil_lune

Person_one wrote: »

It certainly sounds like it works for him.

I agree. And I must admit, I view certain attitudes from some with much dismay. It seems like anyone who owns a home and is in a relationship with someone, wants to do their damndest to make sure their other half doesn't get a PENNY if they split up. Having a relationship like this is so depressing... Makes me wonder why they're together when they have their eye on the exit door.

Why bother living together? Just stay living apart. To me, it sounds like they regard their life partner as the lodger!

There was even a post on here the other day from someone who was MARRIED and was putting a bigger deposit on the property than her husband and wanted to get it in writing that she gets more back when they split up. Words fail me.. honestly. What IS the world coming to? It has literally never ever crossed my mind to get some kind of legal agreement to make sure my partner gets less than me. I mean what the hell?