Can I remove ex partner from mortgage?

emash

My ex partner left shortly after we bought a property together (18months ago). I paid the 50% deposit from the sale proceeds of my previous home. We are both on the mortgage.

I would very much like to have no financial ties to the ex partner and have worked very hard to get into a position where the mortgage company are happy to offer me the mortgage on my own.  But now I have managed to achieve this my ex has decided that he has changed his mind &  wants to stay on the mortgage so that he has a bigger claim in the equity in the future as & when he decides that he wants out with a view to forcing me to sell the property.
I don’t want to sell, I live in the house with my children & it is our home. I have begged him to stop contributing to the mortgage, but he continues to pay half so that he can claim more equity as the house goes up in value.

Is there anything that I can do to forcibly remove him from the mortgage? 

Or to refuse his mortgage contributions?
or am I completely stuck?

MoneyGeoff

I don't think there's any way to remove him from the mortgage. If you are tenants in common you can apply to the courts to force a sale https://www.samconveyancing.co.uk/news/conveyancing/how-to-sell-a-house-when-one-partner-refuses-11713 but it's expensive and time consuming and would result in you having to sell the property. It's a common problem on MSE and on Mumsnet so have a look through old threads on the topic.

Speak to a solicitor to find out what your options are. If you can afford to buy him out then make an offer formally through a solicitor so that if it does end up in court you can demonstrate you have tried to be reasonable to buy him out and that he's left you with no option other than to sell the house.

Sistergold

The only way out is having him sell his share to you if he will cooperate and if you can afford to be on the mortgage by yourself. Until then thank your lucky stars that he is paying half as he could decide not to pay that half and still get half of the sale proceeds in the future. A joint mortgage is a messy business to say the least. So asking him not to pay will not likely change the sharing outcome further down the line. Like @MoneyGeoff has said there are so many threads on this and you are truly at his mercy.