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

a.username

I would split all bills equally.

To cover the mortgage you could charge rent, or...work out the interest payable on the mortgage and charge half of that. That way the partner isn't contributing to the repayment of the mortgage but is paying half of the costs to the owner of the house. This would work out cheaper than renting. Not sure how this would work out from a legal perspective if you then split up...? Be interested to hear from someone who knows about this...

getmore4less

Paying the interest could result in a claim for the equity increase on the share that covers.

Many just don't understand how equitable shares work when servicing debt.

Naforan

I was married for twenty-three years before we separated (amicably).
All our income went in to a common pot from which all bills were paid, reasonable (agreed by both) pocket money taken, and the rest was for savings. In reality the spare cash, what there was of it, went to reduce our overdraft.
My point is that if you are both committed to the relationship, then all funds are common funds.
If you are sharing, co-habiting, or in any other sort of non-committed relationship, then bill sharing would seem to be a perfect solution.
N.A.Foran

sherri01

My partner & I lived together for 18 years and I owned the house with mortgage. It was made clear from the start that I would not expect him to contribute to the mortgage as it was my house and my childrens inheritance. All other bills were split 50/50. When I remortgaged he had to sign a declaration stating that he held no interest in the property, something to think about when shopping for a lower interest rate.:rotfl:

Cmrambler

Definitely 50/50 split for all expenses - unless she's doing more than 50% of the housework, cooking, shopping etc in which case you could take that into account.
Having done a similar thing myself, although we married, I suggest you have a frank discussion about your lives together, including finances, write it down and both sign it. Revisit annually to make sure you're both happy with it.
As for the mortgage, if you want the property to remain yours then pay it yourself, but the fact she's living rent free in your property should be part of your negotiations eg she repays that by buying all the food, taking you out to dinner once a week or with some household task.

tallgirld

I certainly wouldn't want a contribution towards the mortgage. Suppose you split up and she starts making claims and allsorts.

Just ask her to contribute towards the bills so that she isn't costing you anything. She will be taking up some of YOUR space though

Why not just buy a place together and go halves on the lot!! SORTED.

ilikeunicorns

My boyfriend owns (with a mortgage) the flat that we live in. The mortgage is solely in his name however we picked the flat/decor/furniture etc together. We were ready to live together but he was in a situation to buy and I wasn't, as well as us not being ready to tie ourselves together financially and he wqs unwill to "waste" money renting for a year.

Our arrangement is that I give him a set amount every month (£300) which covers half the bills/utilities and a small amount extra.

I was not comfortable with contributing towards a mortage which was not mine with no real security, he could essentially put me on the street tonight if he wanted too.

The money I save by not renting goes into savings, which is my fall back if he decides he wants rid of me (hopefully not!) Or will go towards a mortage in both of our names in a couple of years time.

He has always been very much like it is "our flat" and "our home" and everything in it is "ours" but I stl always have in the back of my mind that really its his and I have no real security or control which isn't the nicest feeling but it is what it is!

hockeyguy

We wrote up a pre-cohabitation agreement (to assure both of our assets). Highly recommended to protect both of you. We had ours legally written (rocketlawyer.co.uk) and signed by two witnesses. For more information - http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/mar/09/cohabitation-agreement-essential-non-married-couples

Fujiko

Cmrambler wrote: »

Definitely 50/50 split for all expenses - unless she's doing more than 50% of the housework, cooking, shopping etc in which case you could take that into account.
Having done a similar thing myself, although we married, I suggest you have a frank discussion about your lives together, including finances, write it down and both sign it. Revisit annually to make sure you're both happy with it.
As for the mortgage, if you want the property to remain yours then pay it yourself, but the fact she's living rent free in your property should be part of your negotiations eg she repays that by buying all the food, taking you out to dinner once a week or with some household task.

How do you decide what is 50% of the housework and who is going to assess this? For example,is putting washing into the machine equal, less or more to the daily cleaning of the kitchen floor? What if one of you is untidy and the other has to go round rescuing socks and worse from the bedroom floor? I can see trouble here before you even start! All this talk of "negotiations" starts to put the whole thing on a business footing. Who said romance was dead!

jl_max_l41_p24

Discuss in detail and agree who pays what before your partner moves in.


If you have a mortgage your mortgage provider may want you to fill out a form before anyone else moves in whether this be partner, family member, or lodger. This is to basically say that in the event of you not paying your mortgage payments, the mortgage provider has priority over anyone else even if they are living in the property (effectively a sitting tenant).


The other thing to consider is what is your partner doing at present. Are they renting or paying a mortgage and paying rent, bills, etc. If so they will have an idea of the costs involved and may well be expecting to go halves on bills etc. If they live at home for free then they are probably in for a shock.


At the end of the day you have to what works bests for you both. I know people who split bills in proportion to income. If one person earns 75% of the total income, they split the bills on a similar basis (ie 75% for one person and 25% for the other).


Others go halves on everything. Others work on the basis that one person continues to own the house and pays all of the house based bills (mortgage, house insurance, council tax and water). The other sorts out gas, electric, telephone, SKY tv, plus day to day living expenses and most of the shopping.


If you are in a long term relationship and the other person has a house they are selling before moving in, you could go halves on your existing house such that you effectively both take a 50% stake of its current value and the other person buys their 50% stake both in terms of cash from their previous property and the mortgage payments.


The possible combinations are endless and the subject of financial considerations need to be discussed at length before setting out on a life together. If its a problem discussing it now, it will only be worse should anything go wrong at a later date. Its easy when starting out to think things will sort themselves out as if by magic without agreeing things first, but take such a route with caution. Hopefully things will work out.