Buying with a partner usually means a bigger budget and shared costs, but also shared commitments that last beyond the relationship. This page covers the mortgage, how you’ll own the home, protecting what each of you puts in, and what happens if you part.
The joint mortgage
With a joint mortgage the lender assesses both your incomes, outgoings and credit records, so you can usually borrow more than either of you could alone (how much you can borrow). You both sign the mortgage, so the repayments are a shared commitment: splitting up doesn’t end it, and taking a name off the mortgage later needs the lender’s agreement and a remaining borrower who can afford it alone. A joint mortgage also links your credit records, so one partner’s missed payments can show up when the other applies for credit.
Alternatives if a joint mortgage doesn’t suit: one of you can buy alone and the other contribute under a written agreement (with a declaration of trust if they’re to have a share), or, if one partner has a poor credit record, you can wait and improve it first. A family member can also help as a guarantor: see helping your child buy a home.
How you’ll own it
In England and Wales you choose to own the home as joint tenants (equal rights to the whole home, which passes automatically to the survivor) or tenants in common (separate shares, which can be unequal and can be left in a will). The details, and how to switch later, are in joint tenants vs tenants in common.
Unequal deposits
If one of you puts in more, decide at the start what happens to that money if you sell or split up, and write it down. The usual ways are to own the home as tenants in common in the shares you agree, and to record them in a declaration of trust (a document stating each owner’s share), drawn up by a solicitor. You can also record who pays what towards the mortgage and bills in a cohabitation agreement.
Stamp duty and schemes when buying together
- First-time buyer stamp duty relief: Every buyer is a first-time buyer: if you buy with someone who has owned a home before, neither of you gets the relief. (details)
- Higher rates: if either of you will own another home, the stamp duty higher rates usually apply to the whole purchase.
- Lifetime ISAs: If you buy with someone who also has a Lifetime ISA, you can both use yours, as long as you're both first-time buyers.
- First Homes and shared ownership use your combined household income for their income limits: see Help to Buy alternatives.
If you split up
If you both own the home, you have equal rights to stay in it. You can agree to sell and divide the proceeds, or for one of you to buy the other out (which usually means a remortgage in one name); if you can’t agree, either of you can ask a court to decide, for example to order a sale.
Being married or in a civil partnership makes a big difference. Married partners and civil partners have a right to stay in the home whoever owns it, and on divorce a court can divide property between them. Unmarried partners have no such right: if the home is in your partner’s sole name you may have no right to stay, unless you can prove a ‘beneficial interest’, for example through your contributions or an understanding you had when it was bought. A declaration of trust made when you buy avoids having to prove this later.
Related guides
- First-time buyers guide: costs, deposits, schemes and stamp duty relief in one place
- Joint tenants vs tenants in common: the two ways to co-own a home
- Helping your child buy a home: gifts, loans, guarantor and family mortgages
- First home money checklist: a checklist for each stage, from saving to completion day
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. PocketWise provides information and guidance, not financial advice. Seek independent mortgage advice before making decisions about borrowing.