I've got a mortgage. When my partner moves in, should she pay?

tgroom57

There is no 'should'.
It is whatever you both decide is workable between you.

amnblog

This is an area fraught with difficulty for the current legal owner.


When co-habiting with a partner has broken down there have been plenty of cases where the partner claims a share of the property value.


This blog seems to cover much of this ground


http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2010/10/01/the-law-on-cohabitation-and-property-who-owns-the-house-by-guest-blogger-paul-read/


The practical advice would be if you are moving in together expect to share everything including assets. If you do not want to do that, do not co-habit.


Cake and eat it?

C_Mababejive

My best advice would be,never live in a house in which you have no legal tenure no matter what the relationship.

ellymoo

Make it clear from the outset that she is paying rent and not contributing towards your mortgage unless you want her to have a claim to the house should you split up. If she just pays you rent she won't, but if she contributes to the mortgage or indeed any improvements to the house she'll have a claim should your relationship go south. This happened to a friend of mine and fortunately she was able to prove her ex had only paid rent but he attempted to wangle approx. £20k out of her despite commenting to her on several occasions he wasn't going to mend the fence/sort the washing machine because "She was his landlady".

meknowalot-51

Go and see a solicitor and have a contract drawn up,the type of thing the yanks call a prenup.You might think this is expensive now but it's nothing compared to what it could cost in a year or two if you both decide to part.Without any sort of written agreement i'm quite sure she will be entitled to half of your estate,or a large portion of.Don't take any chances,none of us on here are experts,go and get some proper legal advice.
Moving in together is a major commitment from both of you,hope it all works out.Good luck.

JayD

Of course there should be some contributions made towards the household costs and bills but isn't this something you should be discussing with your partner?

You haven't told us how well paid she is compared to you - that will surely factor in to any financial arrangements you make.

If you are prepared to share your lives together in this way, then surely you can talk frankly about the basic details of the arrangement together.

silvercar

Big difference between someone who moves into a mansion with a large mortgage funded by a very large salary and someone who moves into to a starter home to share with someone who themselves are struggling to afford their mortgage.

gloriouslyhappy

stator wrote: »

The general bills (Water/gas/electric/food) should be split 50/50. The mortgage should continue to be paid completely by the owner. Keep things nice and simple and if the relationship breaks down there will be no messy split up trying to work out who owns how much of the house. If you get married/CP you can reconsider as things are more committed.

Definitely this, don't jeopardise what you've worked hard for! Remember to add 1/2 council tax (notify council of change of circs) and TV licence.. good luck with your new status..

gloriouslyhappy

And 1/2 broadband too.. gosh, there are a lot of general bills, no wonder the money goes so fast!!

fatpiggy

amnblog wrote: »

This is an area fraught with difficulty for the current legal owner.


When co-habiting with a partner has broken down there have been plenty of cases where the partner claims a share of the property value.


This blog seems to cover much of this ground


http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2010/10/01/the-law-on-cohabitation-and-property-who-owns-the-house-by-guest-blogger-paul-read/


The practical advice would be if you are moving in together expect to share everything including assets. If you do not want to do that, do not co-habit.


Cake and eat it?

This has recently happened with a relative of mine. She and her partner were together for nearly 15 years, but never married, have two children and my relative owned the house they shared. A year or so ago he just suddenly left for a woman he met on the internet and my relative has had to pay him off, well her pensioner father has, to the tune of over £40K as his "share" of the house