Boyfriend moving into the flat I own - rights?

katieb343

Hi all, I'll try and keep this short.

I bought a flat in London in 2016. I have a mortgage. About 10 months after, I met my now-boyfriend. We've lived separately for the last 3 years but he is now moving into my flat next month.

He will be signing a typical tenancy agreement (minus paying me a deposit) and paying rent to me each month. The rent amount will be half of my mortgage plus all bills, but all bills except the internet will remain in my name and the rent won't be referred to as paying towards the mortgage in any of the paperwork.

We have bought some furniture together for the flat which we have split the cost of 50/50.

My dad is concerned that my boyfriend moving in will mean that if we were to split up, my boyfriend would be able to make a claim on my flat in the future, i.e forcing me to sell and split the money with him.

My understanding is that as he's signing a tenancy agreement and paying rent, my boyfriend wouldn't be able to make any claims in the future. Does anyone know any more about this?

(Personally I'm not concerned about this at all as my boyfriend is a lovely person, and I wouldn't be moving in with him if I thought he was planning to do anything like this. I'm just trying to put my dad's mind at ease).

Sea_Shell

Can he be "a tenant" if you're in a relationship and presumably sharing a bed??

[Deleted User]

katieb343 wrote: »

Hi all, I'll try and keep this short.

I bought a flat in London in 2016. I have a mortgage. About 10 months after, I met my now-boyfriend. We've lived separately for the last 3 years but he is now moving into my flat next month.

He will be signing a typical tenancy agreement (minus paying me a deposit) and paying rent to me each month. The rent amount will be half of my mortgage plus all bills, but all bills except the internet will remain in my name and the rent won't be referred to as paying towards the mortgage in any of the paperwork.

We have bought some furniture together for the flat which we have split the cost of 50/50.

My dad is concerned that my boyfriend moving in will mean that if we were to split up, my boyfriend would be able to make a claim on my flat in the future, i.e forcing me to sell and split the money with him.

My understanding is that as he's signing a tenancy agreement and paying rent, my boyfriend wouldn't be able to make any claims in the future. Does anyone know any more about this?

(Personally I'm not concerned about this at all as my boyfriend is a lovely person, and I wouldn't be moving in with him if I thought he was planning to do anything like this. I'm just trying to put my dad's mind at ease).

This scenario comes up all the time on the forum and it's always the same. You either split bills, not including the mortgage, to protect what is yours or you accept money towards the mortgage (calling it rent doesn't help) and run the risk of him being able to claim a beneficial interest should the relationship go south.

What is a typical tenancy agreement, an AST? That would give him exclusive occupation of what exactly? Presumably you won't be renting him a room so he wouldn't be a lodger either.

[Deleted User]

You could have a co-habitation agreement draw up but what is the long term plan? That the flat always remains just yours so won't really ever be his home. That after a few years you would remortgage so that you jointly own the property with a Deed of Trust in place. That you sell the flat and by somewhere jointly together.

Someone might be happy short term with being a bidey-in but longer term I would not like to help pay off someone else's mortgage and spend my weekends doing DIY on a property that had been made very clear is not mine and will never be mine despite my contributions.

katieb343

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

You could have a co-habitation agreement draw up but what is the long term plan? That the flat always remains just yours so won't really ever be his home. That after a few years you would remortgage so that you jointly own the property with a Deed of Trust in place. That you sell the flat and by somewhere jointly together.

Someone might be happy short term with being a bidey-in but longer term I would not like to help pay off someone else's mortgage and spend my weekends doing DIY on a property that had been made very clear is not mine and will never be mine despite my contributions.

We're planning to sell and buy a house in a few years time. I didn't say anything about DIY in my post - I sort out the DIY so not sure where that assumption came from?

katieb343

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

This scenario comes up all the time on the forum and it's always the same. You either split bills, not including the mortgage, to protect what is yours or you accept money towards the mortgage (calling it rent doesn't help) and run the risk of him being able to claim a beneficial interest should the relationship go south.

What is a typical tenancy agreement, an AST? That would give him exclusive occupation of what exactly? Presumably you won't be renting him a room so he wouldn't be a lodger either.

Thanks for this. Yep, I was thinking an AST as that's what I've used previously but I actually will be renting him a room. For various personal reasons we'll be taking separate rooms.

Accountant_Kerry

so he's effectively a lodger with his own room, I think that's fine then as long as its clearly documented

[Deleted User]

katieb343 wrote: »

We're planning to sell and buy a house in a few years time. I didn't say anything about DIY in my post - I sort out the DIY so not sure where that assumption came from?

Of course you're not going to enlist him to help with those diy jobs that require two people and will be perfectly happy to spend your weekend doing diy whilst he goes out and does whatever it is he does in his spare time. The point I am making is that if you treat him like a lodger don't be surprised when he acts like one.

[Deleted User]

katieb343 wrote: »

Thanks for this. Yep, I was thinking an AST as that's what I've used previously but I actually will be renting him a room. For various personal reasons we'll be taking separate rooms.

Not an AST then unless you want to give him exclusive occupation of the room. Will you be getting a gas safety certificate as required by all landlords including resident ones?

TBagpuss

A cohabitation agreement would be better than a tenancy agrement, as he is not a tenant.

In a cohabitation agreement you can explicitly state that he is not going be entitled to any interest in the house, and as making a claim would depend on a joint intention that his contributions would result in his acquiring an interest, it should protect you.

You would need to ensure that you review the agreement periodically and in particualr in the event that he increses his contributions.

katieb343

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

Of course you're not going to enlist him to help with those diy jobs that require two people and will be perfectly happy to spend your weekend doing diy whilst he goes out and does whatever it is he does in his spare time. The point I am making is that if you treat him like a lodger don't be surprised when he acts like one.

Quite frankly our relationship dynamic is none of your business, and wasn't what this post was about. If you don't have any legal advice to give me please don't bother responding.