Purchased my first house is the girlfriend enetitled?

Mojisola

brodawel wrote: »

Might be ok for you both in the short term, but looking ahead, your girlfriend will be very vulnerable if she just continues to live in your place and does not build up any security for herself. You will be safe and secure as your place hopefully increases in value, but she will have nothing and this will get worse for her the longer she lives with you. Does she have any assets of her own that could give her some potential security?

One way couples get round this is for the incomer to pay their share of bills (but not the mortgage) and to put away in an account (in their name) an agreed amount in lieu of 'rent/mortgage'.

If the relationship breaks down, the incomer has a lump sum so he/she can leave and rent somewhere elsewhere quickly and will have no call on the value of the property.

If the relationship continues, the incomer's savings become joint and can be put towards the mortgage/a holiday/a wedding/kept as a joint rainy day fund/etc.

Different couples work on different time scales - some might give it six months before deciding; others several years.

Guest101

DO NOT count any payment as 'rent'!

NicNicP

When my (now) husband and I first moved in together we had our solicitor draw up some papers to show the amount of money we both put in to ensure we both got the initial amount returned and then everything else split. In led to believe your partner would have to show she had contributed financially so make sure payments are made from your bank account.

System

Transfer ownership of your house into your pension...

TBagpuss

The two of you could get a formal cohabitation agreement drawn up. The type of claims which can be made by cohabitees are based on principals of trust law and normally rely on presumptions - e.g a presumption that if someone is making financial contributions then a court can decide that there was an unspoken agreement that there was a joint agreement / expectation that they would be building up an interest in the property.

In a cohabitation agreement you can explicitly state what will, and what will not, give rise to a claim against the house. It is then sensible to review and update the agreement every few years, and in the event of any major change in circumstances (such as if you had a child together) but it can protect your financial interests in the early years of the relationship and, like a pre-nuptial agreement, means that the two of you need to discuss your financial position and your respective expectations and assumptions, which gives you the chance to resolve any differences of option now, and not in the middle of a break up!

Simply moving in with you doesn't mean that she would automatically be entitled to had the house (that wouldn't automatically be true even of you were getting married) but it is nevertheless always sensible to talk about your expectations and to have a clear, written agreement and can avoid any major issues later on.