Partner's rights on property in my name

purplebuzz

I am in the process of buying a new property, where the mortgage will solely be in my name and only my name on the deeds also. My OH is moving in with me and will contribute 50/50 to everything. He understands the risk in doing so in that technically he has no legal right to the property, but my solicitor also highlighted the risk from my perspective in that he can put a charge on the property.

Just trying to clarify the exact position in what he can and can't do.

We are not married.

sammyjammy

So he will pay half the mortgage and bills and be entitled to nothing if things go awry years down the line? Dream on.

FBaby

When you say 50/50 of everything, do you mean the mortgage too? If so, why do you think he should be entitled to something? It's not a risk, it's financial stupidity.

So the question is whether when he realises the above, can he wise up? The answer is that it depends on a number of factor, mainly how he contributed and for how long, ie. he only pays half of bills excluding mortgage, never contributes towards repairs etc... and you separate after 2 years. Unlikely he would get anything. If he contributed half of everything including your mortgage, home improvements etc... for 20 years, then yes, he would likely have a case. The question then is whether thee costs of taking you to court would be worth the share of equity he could reasonably claim.

Murray87

Really? Why should he not benefit in some way if he's contributing 50%?

ReadingTim

Why don't you ask your solicitor to properly explain themselves then? - that's what you're paying them for! Ask them to provide examples of the circumstances in which a successful claim/charge could be put on the property, rather than ask anonymous randoms on the internet....

Personally, I'd be more worried about ensuring I could foot all of the bills myself, should my partner decide not to take up the generous offer of paying 50% of the bills in exchange for 0% of the property...

Marvel1

He is being very silly, I would advise he seeks legal advise on his own to protect himself.

Pixie5740

purplebuzz wrote: »

He understands the risk in doing so in that technically he has no legal right to the property, but my solicitor also highlighted the risk from my perspective in that he can put a charge on the property.

Technically he will have no legal right to the property? He will indeed be able to make a claim otherwise why would your solicitor advise that your OH could put a charge on the property?

Your OH should seek his own legal advice and/or you should not have him contribute a penny towards the mortgage payments or any improvements, repairs or maintenance to the property. You can't have your cake and eat it.

Is the mortgage lender aware that he will be living with you and contributing towards the mortgage?

Soundgirlrocks

Murray87 wrote: »

Really? Why should he not benefit in some way if he's contributing 50%?

Because the OP is the one who is liable for the mortgage repayments / put down the deposit? And legally shoulders all the responsibility. Why should someone get all the security of ownership with out any of the responsibilities? I would expect the cost of renting somewhere comparable would be a lot more than the OP's partner is paying.

OP your partner can build up what is called a beneficial interest in the property. There is some information about how a benifical interest can occur here CAB Key point to note is "Beneficial interest can arise if some form of trust has been created" There are some measures you can give to protect yourself, a witnessed agreement that should you split he wont have an interest in the property for example but it wouldn't be water tight (it would depend on how the relationship progresses etc) Short term, you wouldn't have a massive liability anyway, over a longer term he would have a stronger claim to a beneficial interest should you split.

This thread has some useful maths https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5570566

I hope it works out for you, I wouldn't be put off living together by the scare stories on here.

Pixie5740

Soundgirlrocks wrote: »

Because the OP is the one who is liable for the mortgage repayments / put down the deposit? And legally shoulders all the responsibility.

Exactly, the OP is liable for the mortgage payments, not her OH, and so she should be making them herself.

sammyjammy

Soundgirlrocks wrote: »

Because the OP is the one who is liable for the mortgage repayments / put down the deposit? And legally shoulders all the responsibility. Why should someone get all the security of ownership with out any of the responsibilities? I would expect the cost of renting somewhere comparable would be a lot more than the OP's partner is paying.

OP your partner can build up what is called a beneficial interest in the property. There is some information about how a benifical interest can occur here CAB Key point to note is "Beneficial interest can arise if some form of trust has been created" There are some measures you can give to protect yourself, a witnessed agreement that should you split he wont have an interest in the property for example but it wouldn't be water tight (it would depend on how the relationship progresses etc) Short term, you wouldn't have a massive liability anyway, over a longer term he would have a stronger claim to a beneficial interest should you split.

This thread has some useful maths https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5570566

I hope it works out for you, I wouldn't be put off living together by the scare stories on here.

What scare stories? I don't see any?

purplebuzz

Thanks for people's replies, especially soundgirlrocks who was the most helpful.

Clearly I didn't give enough information about the situation for others to not jump to conclusions.

Clarifying a few points. Yes he is contributing 50% of everything including the mortgage payments, even though he doesn't have to as I am still responsible as the mortgage is in his name.

I can still afford everything 100% on my own and don't actually need him to contribute.

I'm actually glad that he could put a charge on the house, to protect himself financially, I would too if in the same situation and he would be silly not to.

Yes already going to discuss it further with the solicitor, just wanted informal advice and opinions in the mean time.

Perhaps my questions really should have been is there anything else that could/couldn't happen as well as a charge that I haven't considered.