What is 'cohabiting' for couples?

Cohabiting is a term to describe a couple in an intimate committed relationship who live together but are not married or civil partners. Sex and gender are irrelevant and the relationship of the cohabitees does not have to be sexual. Cohabiting partners do not have the same rights that are granted to married or civil partners.

How do you prove cohabitation in the UK?

You'll need evidence to prove you both live there, such as a joint lease, bank statements for each of you at the same address, letters that are addressed to both of you, and joint utility bills.

Can my girlfriend claim half my house?

You girlfriend doesn't have an automatic right to half your house as you are not married or in a civil partnership. The risk is that unless you stated otherwise, your girlfriend may argue that she owns a beneficial interest in the property if she has made payments towards: Mortgage repayments; Deposit to buy the property; Repairs or Renovations; or Household costs. The challenge for the girlfriend is that she will need to evidence all of the above and instruct a solicitor to confirm what her beneficial interest is. When a partner owns the house it can cost between £2,500 to upward of £40,000 to bring a claim through the courts. Mediation is a very good way to keep costs down and get to a reasonable conclusion that both parties are happy with. The above can be avoided if you get your girlfriend to sign a Declaration of No Interest before she pays any money toward the property.

Does it matter whose name is on the house?

When one partner owns the house.. If you're married but name not on deeds of house, this depends on whether the property is your home or a let property. Both legal spouses have the right to live in the matrimonial home, regardless of whether both of their names is on the house's title deeds. If you're unmarried and your name is not on the mortgage, you need to agree in writing what the intentions are for you living in the property. This could be: We are in a loving relationship with plans to get married and any money I am paying is expected to give me a beneficial right to the property; or We have just got together and any money I pay is rent and I have no right to the property. Before someone moves into your property you should put in writing your intentions. If the intention is that your unmarried partner has no rights to the property then you should get them to sign either: an Occupier Waiver Form with independent legal advice. This is often a mortgage requirement for anyone over the age of 16; or a Declaration of No Interest.

I own half a house what are my rights?

As joint tenants, you have equal rights to the whole property. As tenants in common, you can have equal or unequal separate shares, but you both still have the right to enter and occupy the property, until or unless a court order dictates otherwise. If you have any questions about specific rights to jointly owned property, including buy to let property, just ask and we'll tell you how we can help. Contact the team

How do I protect myself when moving in with partner who owns house?

Rights to property after separation: not married When living with an unmarried partner who owns the house, you do not have any claim to the property unless you can evidence that you made payments toward the household (mortgage, maintenance, bills etc.) and this was understood by yourself and your partner to be in exchange for a share of the property. You need to agree in writing either: a) Agree that you will not be entitled to any share of the property, or; b) Agree that you will contribute toward the house and become a part owner to reflect that If you choose a) you can protect yourself by being very careful not to spend more of your money than you want to in a property which you know doesn't belong to you and you will get nothing from it if you break up. What about partner moving into house I own? Get your agreement in writing, if you do not want your partner to establish a claim on your property. Make sure any contributions they make to the property as rent etc, are labelled accordingly to prevent confusion. If you choose b) you can get a deed of trust to establish that you own a fixed share, or a floating deed of trust which will increase your share with each payment you make toward the mortgage and maintenance costs. The deed can also set out agreed terms for what you will do if you break up and want to get your money out of the property. It is the best way to protect both parties in and avoid painful disputes in the event that the relationship breaks down. Married If your spouse owns the property you live in, your rights are protected to some extent by the marriage or civil partnership. If you intend to share ownership of the property, it is best to make this official with a Transfer of Equity, where your partner can transfer any share of the property to you. If your partner owned the property before you were married and doesn't transfer any equity to you, it may be treated as a pre-marital asset in the event of a divorce and be granted to them, provided this doesn't make you homeless.

When is a partner entitled to half my house?

div>Usually, a partner will be entitled to half your house through marriage or civil partnership. Married or unmarried, a partner may still be entitled to half your house through an 'established interest', this can happen through contributing to the mortgage or home improvements, but they'll need to show that you both shared an intention or understanding that this would result in them owning a share of the property.

We offer a variety services for couples from registering matrimonial home rights to TOLATA claims to prove you are due money from the property.

Don't feel you have to tackle this alone. Give us a call on 0333 344 3234 or click to ask a question.

My partner owns the house what rights do I have?

by:

Andrew Boast

Created on:

16/08/2022

(Last Updated: 24/04/2024)

Read by:

6,289

10 min read

When your partner owns the property it can be confusing to know what rights you have. The type of rights that you could be looking to protect include:

the right to reside/live in the property;
the right to have friends and family visit; and
the right to a beneficial interest in the property.

The rights you have over a property differ depending on the type of relationship you have with your partner and if your name is registered on the legal title. We'll examine each scenario and explain what your rights are below.

For more information on asset protection before marriage, check out our article here.

1

Married - Matrimonial Home

2

Married - Buy to Let

3

Unmarried - Joint Tenants

4

Unmarried - Tenants in Common

5

Unmarried - I'm not on the legal title

My partner owns the house what rights do I have?

#1 - Married - Matrimonial home

Under English law, both married partners have the legal right to live in their matrimonial home whether it is held in the names of both parties or just one. This falls under home rights and can only be overruled by the courts, such as a divorce order or order for sale.

The split of the matrimonial home will depend on if you have children or if there are any other reasons for the divorce such as cheating. In most cases a post marital matrimonial home will be shared equally - IE 50:50, even if the property is currently held in just one of the party's names.

You'll have a right to live in the property until the divorce, annulment or dissolution is finished and a court settlement agreed with your partner. On occasions a Continuation Order maybe given by the court to stay in the property longer if there is a property dispute. Read more >>Who Gets the House in Divorce/Dissolution?

If I leave marital home what are my rights?

Leaving the home doesn't effect your rights. However, if you stop making mortgage payments, this may affect your claim. If your ex has kicked you out, you may be able to get access through a court application. Speak to our property dispute team to get situation specific advice, to avoid confusion and any risk to your home rights.

How do I stop my partner selling the joint marital home?

If you are married or in a civil relationship you have home rights to reside in the marital home. If the marital home is in your partner's sole name then you can apply a charge onto the property that stops them from selling it.

You can apply a HR1 at the Land Registry by completing this form >>Notice of home rights: registration (HR1)

To ensure this application goes through as smoothly as possible you may choose to instruct a solicitor to make this application to register a charge on your home, on your behalf. The fees are relatively inexpensive, contact us to see how we can help.

#2 - Married - Buy to let

A buy to let in the UK isn't resided in by either party so any financial split should be in accordance with the divorce order. The rights to a share of the buy to let will normally be equal if a post marital purchase, or it'll potentially be classed as a pre-marital asset that remains with the original owner.

If you would like to divide ownership of a buy to let property in unequal shares with your spouse or civil partner, you will need to be registered at tenants in common and execute a deed of trust.

How do I stop my partner selling without me knowing?

When you jointly own a property in England, if one party doesn't want to sell then the other party can only sell with an order for sale. If, however, the other party attempts to commit fraud by forging ID documents and signatures, then this can be avoided by applying the anti-fraud restriction Form LL to the legal title at the Land Registry. This means in order to sell or raise finances over the property, both parties must first have their ID verified by a solicitor.

#3 - Unmarried - Joint Tenants

As joint tenants you own the rights to the property equally; both to reside, rent and sharing any proceeds on sale.

You can sever the joint tenancy at any time, however if you do you'll need to have agreed what your share of the property is otherwise you face a lengthy and costly property dispute.

Are you arguing over who owns what? Find out how much you are owed from the property.

Two partners playing tug of war over their shared home. SAM Conveyancing answers: My partner owns the house what rights do I have?

#4 - Unmarried - Tenants in common

By definition, tenants in common own separate shares to the property and have the right to live in the property. Your shares in the property will have been stated in either:

The TR1 on purchase or transfer; or
A deed of trust.

#5 - Unmarried - I'm not on the legal title

You do not have to be a legal owner of the property to have a right to it. If you are paying money toward the mortgage on the understanding you are going to get a share of the beneficial interest on sale then you could have a right to the property. In such cases the legal owner holds the property on trust for the non-legal owner - this is known as a Constructive Trust.

You'll commonly need the help of a solicitor to prove you have an interest in the property and to confirm how much.

You should always put in writing what your intentions are before paying any money toward the property.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Written by: Andrew Boast

Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.

Reviewed by: Caragh Bailey

Caragh is an excellent writer in her own right as well as an accomplished copy editor for both fiction and non-fiction books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey and mortgage related articles.

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