Buying a home together without being married

This is general information, not legal advice. It covers England and Wales – Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules. For your own situation, talk to a solicitor.

Joint tenants or tenants in common?

When you buy together, you tell HM Land Registry how you will own the home. As joint tenants, you have equal rights to the whole property, and if one of you dies it passes automatically to the other. As tenants in common, you can own different shares – for example 60 and 40 per cent – and each share can be left in a will.

You can change from one to the other later, for example if your circumstances change. According to GOV.UK, there is no fee for changing.

How much Stamp Duty will you pay?

In England and Northern Ireland, you pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on homes above £125,000. Wales has Land Transaction Tax and Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax instead. First-time buyers pay nothing on the first £300,000 and 5 per cent on the part from £300,001 to £500,000. The relief only applies if you and everyone you are buying with are first-time buyers, and not at all if the price is over £500,000.

Who owns what if you aren't married?

Unmarried partners don't have the same rules as married couples. If the home is in one name, the other partner may have no right to stay – unless they can show a share, a 'beneficial interest', for example through what they paid. If one of you puts in a bigger deposit, buying as tenants in common and writing down the shares in a declaration of trust makes it clear. Citizens Advice recommends a declaration of trust alongside a cohabitation agreement.

If you can't agree what happens to the home later, either of you can ask the court to decide under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. And if you want the other to inherit your share, you need a will – an unmarried partner doesn't inherit without one.

A checklist before you sign

• Work out the deposit, the monthly payments and the costs – also with a higher interest rate than today's.
• Choose joint tenants or tenants in common, and agree your shares.
• Write a declaration of trust about who paid what, especially if your deposits differ.
• Check whether you both qualify for first-time buyer relief.
• Decide how you'll split the running costs: mortgage, service charge, energy and insurance.
• Write wills if you want to inherit from each other.