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

Muhren

Looks like it might not be the case of having a claim to a property or business if you have it set out in writing that only one person is the owner.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21337154

Maelzoid

Here's what I would do...


First, you need a serious clear-headed conversation about the money. I know it's not romantic, but it needs to be done. I'd recommend a good sit down at the kitchen table, and get your figures on a piece of paper including all bills etc, so you both know the amounts you're talking about.


You need to both acknowledge that there is no right or wrong way to do this, only an agreement that you are both happy with. Once in a house share, a cohabitant decided that council tax would be paid pro-rata based on room size. This makes no sense, but ultimately we were all happy with the amounts we were paying and so it worked.


From there, it is up to the both of you, but this is how I would do it...


All bills, including utilities, council tax, insurances and groceries get split 50/50. Consider setting up a direct debit from one partner to the other (whom pays all the bills) (or a joint account) and review the amount every 6 months or so.


Personally, I would remain paying the mortgage in full so there is no ambiguity about ownership of the property. Although you could charge rent, I think in a cohabiting relationship, there is a grey area (after all she isn't just a tenant) and ultimately all the mortgage you pay does come back to you in the form of equity.


Although you will be paying more, ultimately through the bills etc, you'll still be better off every month.


I would encourage your partner to set up a savings account and deposit a rent-like amount into it every month. This way, if the relationship ends, she will have a sizeable chunk of savings which should make it easier for her to move on. And, if you go to the next step and fully commit in buying a new property together, then she has a sizeable deposit to contribute.


While you're at it, I would also sort out the who-does-what of chores. Domestic responsibility comes second to money worries when causing friction among cohabitants.

lee111s

I own my own house and my girlfriend has recently moved in. We agreed we split all bills down the middle and I pay the mortgage on my own. We've been together two years now and she's saving as much as possible while I'm saving/overpaying the mortgage, ultimately meaning we have more money/need to borrow less when we come to buy a place together in a couple of years.

tripled

Cover all the bills unless the bills come to significantly more that the mortgage, or there is a significant difference in income. Both of you win as one of you is no longer paying rent and the other is no longer paying bills.

I agree with the other posters that a sit down and chat is definitely required.

gaily

Talk it through - you own the place, and if things went belly up in the first 12 months, would you want your partner having a hold on your property by them moving out and saying they had being paying some of the mortgage?

It's not in joint names, so there is no requirement for them to pay the mortgage, but they will be using the place to live, so agree a 'rent' to incorporate joint bills (or if they insist on Sky and you're a Freeview kinda person, then agree what's fair). You don't mention if they are selling their own property to move in, moving out of rental accomodation or will be keeping a second property on for the time being - take those into consideration, and work from there.

pb8770

Well for you to invite her to move in means you obviously think a lot of her, which means if you love her enough and you want her to move in then you both must be committed in becoming an item. She maybe contributing to the house but the deeds are in your name. If you are asking questions like this then you must be insecure and shouldn't be letting her move in. You will both be saving money unless she has moved in from her parents, where if that's the case she'll be having to put her hand into her purse a little bit deeper.

joehoover

Agree on charging, should they live rent free? Are they living with you because it is rent free?

As a comparison I have been living with my partner for 7 years. Living in London rent is a fortune, but everything always split evenly. They came into an inheritance which meant they could buy a flat. I had no such money.

Besides that, would we pool together and get a larger property taking into account both salaries? We decided against that as the mortgage would be way too high and wanted to be in a position if one of us lost our job we had an affordable place that the other could cover the mortgage if the worst happened.

It turned out due to past problems, I was not eligible for a mortgage, so they went it alone completely in their name. I still pay 'rent', which is basically half the mortgage. I did contribute £5000 to costs of buying which was taken as rent for 10 months at £500 a month. So in effect I paid rent for £500 a month and everything is still in their name.

I don't see this as a problem, I am still saving a lot of money compared to when I was renting and if things broke down it is their investment not mine. It is not their fault I cannot get a mortgage and I should have no claim to it even though I am basically contributing to the mortgage. But on the flipside, it is still abetter deal than renting if I were alone, I wouldn't want to share at my age so a one bed/studio would be double what I pay now.

Luckily we are invested in each other for the long term and I am in the will should anything happen. And hopefully in a couple of years I may be in a more favourable position to be given a mortgage so the next one would be joint.

I have no idea if what others posters say about contributions getting a claim on a property, I can't see how that would work. Personally I would never dream of doing something like that, so what if I paid, it is only rent, I wouldn't expect it to be mine in the same way I wouldn't expect rent paid to a private landlord to mean the house is mine. If my relationship falls apart I would just move on.

In your case, I say charge, if it is less or equal to what they paid before then I can't see cause for complaint. If it works out for you guys then that conversation is one for the future.

TBagpuss

nephilim wrote: »

dont ask me, just the advice I was given when I asked. I am NOT a lawyer, I just work in a law firm.

I think either they misunderstood you, or you misunderstood them.

First point -- don;t ask a conveyancing lawyer.It's generally not their field. Get advice from a Family specialist.

Yes, you could have an agreement drawn up in the sort of terms you outlined - people are free to reach whatever agreements they want, in general - but it is not what would be usual for this type of situation and it's not particularly fair as it leaves the non-owner effectively living rent-and bills free.

The key is to discus with your partner to reach something you both feel is fair - there is no fixed rule, but looking at what it would cost your partner in rent were they living in a shared house, plus half the bills, might be a sensible starting point. You can then adjust if you want to take into account any differences in income, other commitments either of you have etc.

Once you and she have discussed your expectations and are both happy with whatever you agree, you then need to get some legal advice and get a formal cohabitation agreement drawn up.

This will typically document what you have agreed and will normally have a clause that says future contributions will not give any share of the property unless there is a new written agreement at that time.

It can be sensible to consider building in a small payment (maybe the return of a couple of months worth of 'rent' in the event of a separation, as this can reduce the incentive for someone to argue the toss, and can make it much more practical for them to move out, as it gives them some money towards a deposit elsewhere.


The other thing to be aware of is that it is sensible to review this kind of agreement on a regular basis - some of the cases which result in people making claims are situations where there was some sort of agreement or expectation but this was never formally reviewed, and is overtaken by events.

For instance, where one person starts paying more / takes over mortgage payments because the other is out of work, where one uses an inheritance to pay for home improvements, where children are born etc. You then have a situation where one party is saying that there was a joint intention to change the original agreement in light of the changed circumstances, and the other saying there wasn't.

Reviewing the agreement regularly (minimum of every 5 years, plus in the event of any significant changes) helps to reduce the risks, and also means that there is an incentive for you both to review and discuss the arrangements regularly to ensure you both remain happy that it is fair , which in turn reduces the risks of major disputes if the relationship does break down.

Mojisola

Worth a read - http://www.advicenow.org.uk/living-together/

helenld78

I moved in with my boyfriend a year ago. I was renting a 2 bedroom end terrace house and he has a 4 bedroom detached house which he has a mortgage on. The agreement we have is that I pay him an amount every month, which just happens to be half of the bills and mortgage and just happens to go into account that his mortgage comes out of. If he decides to use that money for something else, that's up to him but it is not a payment towards the mortgage.