Splitting up

caprikid1

"He has paid me money every month towards food etc. "

I think the big question is the "etc" what was that in value, can he prove he purchased home improvement items ,IE 50% of a new kitchen etc, did he supply labour for major renovation. Many a builder has been dumped following a full house refurb.....

120K is a lot to trust on arm chair lawyers...   "This is not legal advice, just my opinion. "

As has been stated book some time with a family solicitor and go from there. I suspect this will come down to one of two options.

1. A strongly worded "You are avin a laf"
2. Whilst you are "Avin a Laf" we would like to offer a goodwill of X,000.

It will ultimately be what he can paper trail that he contributed, what he can demonstrate he did to the property that may have pushed him beyond the status of a lodger. IE Built an extension contributing all labour but no materials could still potentially be a claim.

Like everyone this is all speculation and will depend on how much you think he will pursue it. Ultimately you could find yourself very quickly spending 5-10K in legal costs to try and avoid giving him a penny so option 2 may be the route forward.

TBagpuss

If you were not married and he wasn't on the deed he has no automatic rights to anything.

He may have a claim if he can convince a court that there was a mutual intention held by you both  that his contributions would result in him gaining an interest in the property, but it's unlikely to be as much as 50% of the equity unless you had no equity at all when he moved in.

When you say he paid towards food etc what was he actually contributing to, other than food?  How did what he was paying compare to what it would have cost him to rent elsewhere? Was he just covering the costs of his own food and a share of the bills, or was he paying more than that, and effectively contributing to the mortgage? 

I recommend that you speak to a solicitor as soon as possible for advice. Look for someone who has experience of ToLATA claims. 

BAFE

He's trying it on.  Tell him you want him to leave and put it in writing. Give him 10 days notice, or 30 if you want to be super generous.  If he's still there by the deadline phone the police and have him removed.  Then block him on everything.  He is not entitled to anything, he knows he's not entitled to anything he's just being awkward.

maman

Until we know what the paying for 'etc' involved then it's extremely difficult to comment objectively.