Severing a joint tenancy

Pipsqueak71

My ex partner and I bought a house together. I paid the deposit and have always paid the mortgage myself. The bank won't allow me to take on the mortgage myself, even though I can afford it. Can I at the very least sever the joint tenancy will they be informed? Can they force me to sell and is there anyway to ringfence my contributions? 

Marcon

Pipsqueak71 said:

My ex partner and I bought a house together. I paid the deposit and have always paid the mortgage myself. The bank won't allow me to take on the mortgage myself, even though I can afford it. Can I at the very least sever the joint tenancy will they be informed? Can they force me to sell and is there anyway to ringfence my contributions? 

See https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/change-from-joint-tenants-to-tenants-in-common

The lender can't force you to sell (and why would they?) provided you continue to meet the mortgage repayments as they fall due. 

Have you asked the bank why they are concerned about letting you take out a mortgage purely in your own name? Obviously from their perspective having two people on the mortgage is better than just one, and they may also be concerned that your ex-partner would have a claim on the property, meaning that if you defaulted they might not get their loan back. You need to find out what their objections are - and then take a view on how to proceed.

This does sound a bit messy, especially your comment about ring fencing your contributions.  A word with a solicitor who knows the full background, and what was agreed with your (then) partner at the time you bought the house, would be a very good idea.

Keep_pedalling

You should have ringfenced you contribution from day one by creating a deed of trust which would have apportioned the share each of you owned, but it seems you purchased as joint tenants so if you sever the tenancy now the default will be 50/50 ownership unless your partner is happy to do a DoT trust now.

Are you still on good terms? 

JennyDavis

You need to serve a Notice of Severance to your ex-partner. This can usually be done through a formal written notice. Once the notice is served, you can file it with the Land Registry. I read somewhere in AmeriSave reviews that it is possible to change mortgage to one person afterwards. 

Hoenir

Pipsqueak71 said:

 The bank won't allow me to take on the mortgage myself, even though I can afford it. 

Is the bank's assessment of affordability different to yours. The criteria s somewhat more stringent than simply the existing mortgage being paid on time.