Buying a home

Regardless of whether you are married or otherwise, if you're buying a home with a partner it's important you set out at the start exactly how it will be owned - this will dictate what happens to the property should the relationship fail or one partner die. There are two main ways to do this:

Joint tenants

Buying a home as joint tenants means each of you jointly owns the property (and are jointly responsible for paying the mortgage). The benefits of this are both partners have a right to live there and the property cannot be sold without each other's full agreement. Also, should one partner die, the property would automatically pass to the surviving partner for sole ownership.

However, if your relationship breaks down, it is important that you sever the joint tenancy as soon as possible, changing it to tenants in common (see below). This means you will be able to say exactly who your share of the property should go to should anything happen.

Tenants in common

Buying a home as tenants in common means you each own a distinct share in the property. Usually that would mean a 50:50 split but if one partner is contributing more to the purchase, you can reflect this in the agreement eg splitting ownership 40:60. However, it's worth noting that, regardless of the split, responsibility for paying the entire mortgage lies equally with both partners.

The benefit of being tenants in common is you always own your share of the home and should you die, it would become part of your estate rather than automatically passing to your partner. This means you can stipulate in your will exactly who would receive your share of the property (although many do choose to leave it to their partner). However, if you do not make a will, your estate (including your share of the property) would automatically pass to your immediate family who could, even if you would not wish it, force the property to be sold, leaving your partner homeless. Therefore, making a will is imperative - see our Inheritance section for more details.

Moving into your partner's home

The main thing to know when moving into your partner's home is, whether they rent or own it themselves, if your name's not on the tenancy agreement, you might have no rights to stay in the property should anything go wrong - even if you've been paying towards the rent/mortgage. You should therefore either get the tenancy agreement changed or draw up a formal agreement (both of which should be done with legal help) to make sure you're not left homeless.

Some other facts about your home

  • In general, any possessions you owned before you entered a relationship remain yours. If you bought an item solely with your money - not from your joint account - this also remains yours.
  • If you are given something as a gift by your partner, this also remains yours - although you may have to prove it was a gift.
  • With regard to wedding presents, these are considered to belong to the partner whose relative or friend gave it.
The common law myth

The number of people living together as co-habiting couples is on the rise, increasing by 260% in the last 25 years*. Among many of those who remain unwed, there is a belief that, after a certain amount of time, they will be considered 'common law partners'.

THIS IS UNTRUE

Not only does the term 'common law partner' not legally exist, there are currently no laws to protect unmarried couples in the same way as there are for married couples or civil partners - they are effectively treated as separate individuals. If you are in this situation, make sure you know your rights and, if necessary, seek legal and financial advice to ensure you are in the best possible position.

*Data on co-habitation from Living in Britain:
The 2002 General Household Survey.

Living together agreements

Moving in with your partner is a happy time and so you're unlikely to want to consider what might happen if you split up. However, taking time at the outset to lay down a few 'ground rules' can save a lot of stress and heartache should anything go wrong. A useful tool to do this is a 'living together agreement' covering areas such as who pays which bills, how personal possessions would be divided if you split and what would happen with your property if one person had to move out. These agreements are not legally binding but, if you had one, a court might take it into consideration when deciding a case. A number of websites have draft agreements you can use - see our Links section.