Am I entitled to equity in the house

Getting_Organised

I am looking for some help. I am in the middle of splitting up with my fiancee. I moved into her home and we have been splitting all bills and mortgage payements over the past 3.5 years and I have done repairs to the house and have also transferred some capital money into our joint account which has been sent from there to the mortgage company .
The relationship has now suddenly ended and I have been asked to leave... she is selling the house ...am I entitled to any beneficial interest in the property - the property and mortgage was taken out between her and a parent but they have never made any mortgage payments

Lily-Rose_3

Getting_Organised wrote: »

I am looking for some help. I am in the middle of splitting up with my fiancee. I moved into her home and we have been splitting all bills and mortgage payements over the past 3.5 years and I have done repairs to the house and have also transferred some capital money into our joint account which has been sent from there to the mortgage company.

The relationship has now suddenly ended and I have been asked to leave... she is selling the house ...am I entitled to any beneficial interest in the property - the property and mortgage was taken out between her and a parent but they have never made any mortgage payments

I am pretty sure, if you are not married, and your name is not on the mortgage/deeds, that you will NOT be entitled to any equity.

Doing repairs to the house, and transferring money to the joint account you had with her (that some mortgage payments came out of,) means very little I'm afraid. It doesn't make you any more entitled to the equity in her property.

Pixie5740

If you have been contributing towards the mortgage repayments then you might have a beneficial interest in the property. If your ex isn't prepared to give you any of the equity when the property is sold then you'll probably need to get yourself a solicitor. You'd need to decide whether it is was worth pursuing financially or not.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/relationships/relationship-problems/relationship-breakdown-and-housing/if-you-live-with-your-partner-relationship-breakdown-and-housing/if-you-live-with-your-partner-and-you-own-your-home-relationship-breakdown-and-housing/relationship-breakdown-and-housing-beneficial-interest-if-your-partner-owns-the-home/

Getting_Organised

Thanks for your reply - though I'm not sure I made myself clear I have paid half the mortgage every month since I moved in over 3 years ago. I also gave my girlfriend a lump sum to pay off the mortgage ... I am to loose my home and my lump sum savings that are tied up in her mortgage....is there no hope for me?

-taff

Best bet is to go and see a solicitor.

pphillips

So am I right in saying you never discussed with your ex what would happen in the event that either you broke up or the house was sold, you just unconditionally paid the mortgage every month and paid off some of it in a lump sum without making any kind of written or verbal agreement or suggestion that you would be repaid?

Kynthia

You are not automatically entitled to any part of an asset you don't own when you aren't married. Your only option is to get legal advice and sue your ex for a share, using some kind of proof of an interest in the property.

cashewnut

Is she a reasonable person? Ask for the lump sum back.

Other than that, I assume you would have been paying rent somewhere if you weren't living with her so the fact you paid half the mortgage each month and now want equity seems greedy to me.

FBaby

There are only two ways to go about it. Discuss it with her and hope that she shows some sympathy towards your plea and agree to release a sum to you. Of course, this negotiation will depend on the person she is and the reason for the split.

The only alternative is to take her to court. If you do, the standing position is that you are entitled to nothing, so you would need to evidence why you should get something against the facts of law. Your issue is that doing so will cost you, and you might end up getting nothing and paying legal fees, or if you are lucky, getting something, but with all or most of it absorbed having to pay the legal fees.

So what you need to ask yourself is whether it is worth it! I was in the same situation than you when I moved with my partner. I made it clear (in a nice way!) that if he didn't put my name on the deeds or we went ahead with getting married (as we had discussed and agreed) in the next couple of years, I would stop all payments towards the mortgage. I also made sure to stipulate in my monthly direct debit that the payment was for bills AND mortgage.

You invested in this relationship and clearly you didn't get the return this time. That's life, win and lose.

Sicard

I would imagine that if you'd only paid half of the mortgage payments that would be classed as the equivalent of paying rent. But paying off a lump sum could give you a good case. How much was the lump sum? It's still best to see a solicitor.

TBagpuss

You may have a claim - in making this kind of claim the court is allowed to infer agreements and intentions,including making the asssumtption that people do not, generally, make capital lump sum payments into a property without some expectation that they will be entitled to a share.

The fact that you were engaged is also relevant - see http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/33 any claims made using this ned to be made within 3 years of the end of the engagement.

however, ideally you and you ex-fiancee should try to discuss matters and come to an agreement, as court proceedings are very time consuming and expensive.

If you can't agree, then look for a solicitor with experience in dealing with ToLaTA claims, to ensure that the necessary procedures are followed exactly.