“I’ve bought a house with my boyfriend. What if we split up?”

Moving in with a partner doesn’t create a ‘marital home’. This is significant and something often misunderstood by couples that aren’t in a marriage or civil partnership. While day-to-day life may look the same whether the relationship has formal legal status or not, the rights of cohabitees are significantly weaker.

Two aspects we’re often asked about are: post-separation liability for mortgage payments, and entitlement to a share of the property.

Who pays the mortgage after a separation?

Where both parties are named are on the mortgage, they are each individually (as well as jointly) responsible for ensuring the mortgage continues to be paid during their relationship and after it has ended. This means that if one partner moves out and threatens to stop paying their share, the remaining partner faces having to take on the entire mortgage. This can place a heavy burden on that partner, and it’s one that can continue for some time while the terms of the separation are negotiated and finalised.  

Who gets the house after a separation?

In marriage and civil partnership, the family home is usually dealt with as a matrimonial asset. The starting point for its division is an equal split, although the courts take a number of factors into consideration.

A cohabitee’s entitlement is determined on the basis of legal ownership. If the couple own the home as ‘joint tenants’ it will usually be divided equally between them. However, if they are ‘tenants in common’, this entitles one of the partners to receive a bigger share of the property in line with the proportions agreed on purchase. Where a home is in one person’s name alone, the other has no automatic right to a share. This can leave them in a precarious position.

Why it’s good to talk

When a relationship is going well it’s easy to put off having difficult conversations about what may or may not happen weeks, months or years down the line. Understandably, people don’t relish talking about the risk of their relationship not working out but planning for the future - whatever that future may hold - is something we encourage couples to address before they move in together.

As well as putting in place the right mortgage and home ownership structures for them, couples will ideally put in place a cohabitation agreement. These agreements outline joint and individual responsibilities and other arrangements that will apply while the couple live together, as well as what should happen if the relationship ends or, as is often not considered, if one partner were to fall ill or pass away.  They’re a great way of establishing clarity and mitigating risk.

Moving in together may appear to be a relatively simple next step in a relationship, but it’s not without its risks. Going into it understanding the potential outcomes is key, as is putting in place the protections that could make all the difference should things not work out.

For advice or a free 20-minute initial appointment, contact our team on family@bsandi.co.uk or call us on 01264 353411.