Cohabiting Law when splitting

gingerspice13

I have recently split from my ex partner after 8 years together. I gave her £8200 the time we were together in the current house from Dec 2015 to Feb 2017. This amount was an amalgamation of monthly contributions towards the mortgage and upkeep. I also bought tools, equipment, diy stuff for the refurb on top of the £8200. Everything is in her name, the mortgage, bill etc. Very controlling individual.



When we split (she asked me to leave, something she denies to others) I asked for the monies due as I was penniless after giving her most my wages each month. She said she had £7,0000 in her account. The relationship was a very controlling abusive one on her side. She was reluctant to give me any money and said I had lost everything!



She said she would give me money if I signed an agreement that she would send by email. Upon receipt she asked me to print off and sign and send in post. I stupidly agreed to this agreement of £3500. (why I did this at the time was a very stupid) I was desperate and had to move back home and live with my father. Anyway, I agreed. I dont have a copy of the agreement as my email account was hacked and lost all data.



The agreement was for £3500 to be paid in full when the house sold, in the meantime she would pay £100 a month until such time. The house has sold for £265,000 with a mortgage of £160,000. She is also reluctant to let me have my belongings back and has since found a new partner.



Do I have a case for unfair duress on signing an agreement when I was under stress. Im looking to claim for half the profits as I was the one who basically refurbed the house. I feel totally used and this has left me with nothing.

00ec25

you have my deepest sympathy but at the end of the day your only option is legal action... so:
a) find a no/win fee solicitor prepared to take the case
or
b) pay for legal advice from whatever funds you have got

whether you have a case or not is not something anyone on here can say with certainty as no one on here can give legal advice, and certainly not about something as subjective as "duress".

As you admit, not all of the 8,200 was a contribution to the mortgage, some was merely housekeeping that you would have incurred wherever you were living. Also of the mortgage contribution some could be interest so only a fraction of the 8,200 may (and you have no evidence of this) have been a repayment of capital and this establish a financial interest in the property for you.

If you can't afford legal advice then take the £3,500 and try to live with your mistake.

BTW - doing the labour for refurb of a house does not give you a financial interest in the house. It would be different if you can prove you paid for the materials used in the refurb, that sort of cost does give you a financial interest in the property.

if you can prove you paid for the tools and the possessions she still has then accuse her of theft and see what her reaction you get. The point is neither of those items form part of your claim over monies from the sale of the property

AdrianC

The house was in her sole name, and you were not married?

I don't think you've got a leg to stand on, sorry.

Caly

Leaving your tools and belongings aside, £3500 out of the £8200 back doesn't seem a bad deal to me on the face of it; you lived in the house for 15 months and the 'cost' of that has been £4700, or £313 per month.

If you were living elsewhere you would have been paying rent/ bills and wouldn't be entitled to a 'refund' after moving out.

Good luck getting the rest of your things back.

agrinnall

Why didn't you take your belongings when you first left? It would have saved you some hassle now, although you should still be able to recover them.

The financial offer you have accepted seems reasonable based on what you've told us so far. You say you want half the profit but haven't said how much that profit is because you didn't tell us how much was paid for the house in the first place. Is half the profit more than the £3500 you have accepted? Unless it's a significant amount more I think you might be wasting time and money chasing a bigger payout that would be pretty easy to counter by showing your acceptance of the offer.

hazyjo

You were only there for 14 months-ish. Was there a reason why you didn't buy together after nearly 7 years together?

Not sure why you think she's controlling by not adding your name to the mortgage, bills etc - although I hope you were on the Council Tax bill. I haven't got my partner's name on any bill other than that. Pretty fair to contribute to things you used too such as tools, etc. Same as she probably bought the fridge, washing machine, etc.

If you gave her that money as 'rent', I'm not sure why you think you should get it back? How much would local rent have cost you, or were you living with parents and not earning much and not paying much out? 14 months divided by £8200 is £585-ish a month which seems steep (especially if you say it was most of your earnings) but the time to query that was when you moved in really.

If you couldn't afford to 'refurb the house' maybe you should have said at the time. I had a good friend fly from Belfast to London to help me paint the inside of my house top to bottom and lay flooring for me without taking a penny. Sometimes you do these things out of love/friendship or whatever, especially if you were living there yourself too.

Does it matter if she asked you to leave or if you'd chosen to go yourself?

Personally, after all this time, I think it would be far healthier for you both if you just walked away and had no further contact with her.

You won't be entitled to half the profit. Would you want half the debt if it was in negative equity or breaking even?

Good luck.

saajan_12

gingerspice13 wrote: »

I have recently split from my ex partner after 8 years together. I gave her £8200 the time we were together in the current house from Dec 2015 to Feb 2017. This amount was an amalgamation of monthly contributions towards the mortgage and upkeep. - so part capital repayment, part interest / bills / buying furniture / appliances which depreciate. I also bought tools, equipment, diy stuff for the refurb on top of the £8200. -
your contribution to maintenance, sounds fairEverything is in her name, the mortgage, bill etc. Very controlling individual.- could you get a mortgage etc? things in her name doesn't mean she's controlling.


When we split (she asked me to leave, something she denies to others) I asked for the monies due as I was penniless after giving her most my wages each month. She said she had £7,0000 in her account. sorry to hear that, but it's irrelevant to the financial liability, perhaps she was earning / saving more.
The relationship was a very controlling abusive one on her side. She was reluctant to give me any money and said I had lost everything!

She said she would give me money if I signed an agreement that she would send by email. Upon receipt she asked me to print off and sign and send in post. I stupidly agreed to this agreement of £3500. (why I did this at the time was a very stupid) - sounds fair, as the capital portion which she as benefit of in equity. The rest would have gone to interest / bills / buying things that depreciate. I was desperate and had to move back home and live with my father. -
sorry to hear that, but that's your situation. If it was more important to get the money agreed sooner, then that's a trade off you agreed to make. You can't change your mind now.
Anyway, I agreed. I dont have a copy of the agreement as my email account was hacked and lost all data. -
don't you have something on your PC when you downloaded, before you printed it? Didn't you keep a copy once you signed?



The agreement was for £3500 to be paid in full when the house sold, in the meantime she would pay £100 a month until such time. The house has sold for £265,000 with a mortgage of £160,000. - okay, write to her requesting the £3,500 and follow that up with a money claim online. You're due the £3.5k per your agreement, now that the property has sold,
regardless of any benefiical interest etc. She is also reluctant to let me have my belongings back and has since found a new partner.- write also requesting your belongings and suggesting times when you can go, accompanied, to collect.
Ignore the partner.

Do I have a case for unfair duress on signing an agreement when I was under stress. - no, duress has to be much stronger, think gun-to-head, not you being under personal stress which was not directly and intentionally caused by the ex.
Im looking to claim for half the profits as I was the one who basically refurbed the house. - Not going to happen, you signed an agreement to settle at £3.5k. Also,
sounds like ex paid of a chunk of the mortgage, paid deposit,
buying fees, furniture, appliances etc. You are getting back your capital repayments. The rest is your contribution to interest / bills / maintenance. I feel totally used and this has left me with nothing.- sorry you feel that way, breakups are always hard.

Your contributions to interest / bills / purchase of house hold goods / maintenance are not recompensable. Besides, you signed a settlement agreement so can't go back on it. Take the 3.5k and move on.

marliepanda

Not sure why you think she's controlling by not adding your name to the mortgage, bills etc - although I hope you were on the Council Tax bill. I haven't got my partner's name on any bill other than that. Pretty fair to contribute to things you used too such as tools, etc. Same as she probably bought the fridge, washing machine, etc.

My council wouldnt have allowed him on the council tax. They add owners or tenants only, not residents.

Something to do with liability. If he left the property, as a resident he would have no liability for the council tax as he doesnt own or have a tenancy at the property.

hazyjo

marliepanda wrote: »

My council wouldnt have allowed him on the council tax. They add owners or tenants only, not residents.

Something to do with liability. If he left the property, as a resident he would have no liability for the council tax as he doesnt own or have a tenancy at the property.

Never heard of that one before so ta for the info. Must vary. My OH is on mine despite not being an owner or tenant (Waltham Forest).

00ec25

marliepanda wrote: »

Something to do with liability. If he left the property, as a resident he would have no liability for the council tax as he doesnt own or have a tenancy at the property.

obviously you do not understand how council tax operates.

a resident (non owning, non tenant) comes higher up the hierarchy of liability than does a non resident owner

for example a "squatter" is the person liable to council tax, not the owner of the property, if (big if) the owner does not actually live in the property at the same time

google "hierarchy of liability", it is the basis of all council tax

aneary

marliepanda wrote: »

My council wouldnt have allowed him on the council tax. They add owners or tenants only, not residents.

Something to do with liability. If he left the property, as a resident he would have no liability for the council tax as he doesnt own or have a tenancy at the property.

Sorry I think you are wrong when I was an adult and living at my parents so not an owner or tenant I was on the council tax bill (even though I didn't pay for any of it).

I was also on the council tax bill when I was a lodger (not a tenant but a lodger).