Are you and your partner thinking about moving in together? It is an exciting time for both of you, but a lot of people don’t fully consider all of the negative implications, including financial strains for the future.
It can be a lot cheaper living with a partner and splitting costs, not only for where you live but all of the bills and food shops. However, before you do, I’d advise checking out the facts, as couples living together owning property have a lot less legal rights than you think.
First of all, cohabitation is no longer the start of a slippery road to splitting up. There are always downsides and risks, especially as you’re living in such close quarters, but if you’re ready then it could have an even more positive impact than getting married would.
You can either buy or rent together, or you can both move into an already-existing accommodation which one of you currently resides in.
Renting a house
Put both of your names on the lease. If your partner doesn’t pay up a few months in a row, you could end up in a small claims court by your landlord as they try to get the money. There will be more chance of winning if their name is on the lease too.
Also, try to go for a short-term lease first, of about six months. If it doesn’t work out, after all, you aren’t tied down.
Buying a house
Always make sure you are both 100% ready before you make such a big leap. There are more risks involved with such a big purchase, and you will be tied down a lot longer. You also need to own a house for about 3-5 years to see any financial recoup in terms of the cost of buying.
If you are going to have equal shares in the property then you can do this in 2 ways.
-
Become joint tenants – If you are both joint tenants the ownership of the property is split equally meaning if one of you dies the other half of the property passes on to your partner.
-
Tenants in common with a 50:50 split – If you pass away and don’t have a document stating the number of shares each partner has then it will be assumed it is a 50:50 split but this does not mean the other half of the property will be passed on to your partner.
Moving into your partner’s house
There are no legal rights for someone who is moving into their partner’s property and paying towards bills. However, if you split up and have been paying half the mortgage you can make a claim against your partner on the grounds of ‘implied trust’, which means you were both of the understanding that your paying half of the mortgage was in exchange of owning part of the property.
Always try and make some sort of documentation which explicitly says how much each of you is paying, who is paying for what, how much your bills are every month as well as any other particular arrangements (ie which appliances are yours or theirs, if you have made any major purchases that have improved the house).
If a situation does arise, then you have this as proof you are owed something or have rights to some of the property if it is being sold.
It could seem an awful thing to go through. You’re moving in together after all, so why do we have to act as though we can’t be trusted? Having something down in writing is just much better than vocal – it is your money you are spending, after all.
Leave a Reply