my son wants to buy a house and have his girlfriend live with him

[ct2000]

My son wants to buy a house in his own name but have his girlfriend live there with him and they will share all household bills included the mortgage repayments. If they split up can she claim any of the house?

[Ethel]

Very complicated - if she paid any monies to improvements of the house, decorated at it as her own house or could honestly claim that he could not afford the mortgage without her contribution to the bills, then maybe. Sharing the mortgage costs is something to be very wary of. Why would she want to do that, for maybe many years, and have no interest in the property? It makes no sense.

If she could prove she had been contributing to the mortgage, and he couldn't prove the intention always was that she should would never be entitled to a share o the property, the law would probably be on her side.

Something else to think about - tenant's rights. If she is not living there as co-owner, then is she to be a tenant?


Good advice here:

http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/basics/cohabit.ht m

[ct2000]

I believe it is possible to draw up a pre-cohabitation agreement stating that she has no claim on the house if they separate. She may willingly sign it thinking that day will never come. My worry is that if they do split up, she may feel differently if she has contributed 50% of the outgoings including the mortgage for several years and the law may be on her side and over rule their pre-cohabitation agreement. Is that possible ? Another complication is that my son wants us to help him buy the property with about �50,000 which is fine but not so fine if the girlfriend ends up with half of the gift intended for our son.

[WendyS]

Oh dear. Be VERY wary if you are thinking investing a large chunk of your own money. I don't know how old or sensible your son is and what sort of track record he has on the length of his relationships. If you are investing this kind of money in the property I think one of the ways of protecting your son's interest in the long term in case the relationship breaks up is to have part of the equity in your names. Then if everything goes pear shaped, the girlfriend will not have any claim on your part of the house equity. (And you can always transfer your share some years down the line if the relationship still seems to be sound). It sounds as if you have genuine concerns about this venture. I can only recommend that you (and your son) talk to a solicitor and get some good impartial advice before going ahead. �50,000 is a large chunk of money to lose if things goes wrong.

[atolhurst]

I did this with my bf for a while. For reasons of simplicity, I paid rent. Nothing to do with the actual bills (with the exception of food which we shared the costs of) which was much simpler.

Admittedly, we didn't draw contracts or anything like that but the arrangement was the same as it would be regardless of who was the tennant (with the exception of seperate rooms, obviously!). We then decided were in it for the long term and bought together.

I think the questions that should be asked is why this arrangement is being considered in the first place; for me it was because my bf owned his place and when I moved in, we couldn't be sure it was going to work out. Is your son's gf a long term fixture? If so, why is she not committing to buying the property now. If it's not a definate long term relationship yet then perhaps a rent approach to this would solve problems.

[ct2000]

Many thanks for all the advice. I suppose my concern is that because my son wants to buy the property in his own name he isnt sure about having a longterm future with current girlfriend. I think the suggestion of her paying rent and half the food, is a good one. He could have a proper tenancy agreement to be on the safe side. My son needs to be able to afford the mortgage and bills on his own salary anyway if they split up. Any rent he gets from her would be a bonus. I could jointly own the house with him in shares equivelent to the money I put in. Then perhaps at sometime in the future this could become a wedding gift, when Miss Right comes along.

[mrs_overall]

A friend of Mr Overall's was in a similar position about 6 years ago. He asked his girlfriend to set up a direct debit for a set amount each month to be paid into his bank account to cover her living expenses. Unbeknown to the girlfriend, he filled out a rent book showing the monthly amount of the direct debit. When the relationship went pear shaped this year the girlfriend began shouting that she was entitled to a claim on his house, but luckily he had the rent book to prove she was simply a lodger. I don't know if this is strictly legal but it worked for him.

[ct2000]

Well, a bit sneaky filling in a rent book but wouldnt you need a signed tenancy agreement as well ?

I know I am of an older generation, but why on earth do girls live with their boyfriendsand and knowingly pay towards the mortgage of a house they dont own without the security of either marriage or joint ownership of the property ?

[winny]

Hi, Many years ago I was in the situation but the other way round. The house was mine and thebf paid only half the running costs and mothing of the mortgage or renovation. I was told this meant he was simply a lodger although we were co-habitating if I could prove he had only paid his way I was ok. He was perfectly happy with this arrangement and we had a book with all the costs and the payments in it as proof. I was luck when he went he did not try anything funny. I do agree however it makes you wonder why people pay towards a mortgage with no official security however the house is still mine and mr W has never minded even before marrige and kids everything went half way. I suppose it is his nature to trust. In this world of uncertainty I suggest your son is honest with gf and draws up a proper document. She will most likley be ok with the suggestion anyway.

[littlemissx]

Hi,

me and my partner moved in together in the same situation - his name on everything i paid half.

it was my idea to do this as he had cheated on me slightly previous and although i forgave (only ever once would i do that) i wasnt willing to put both names down.

He knew my feelings on all this and we moved in together 2 years ago now - i had warned him if he ever ever did it again i would cut all ties and walk away - he would be left in the lurch as wouldnt be able to afford mortgage etc on his own and it was a one bed appartment so he couldnt even get a lodger.

he understood this though.

we now have purchased (together) a 3 bed property and are now expecting a baby and are evry happy and planning on getting married next year x

[happyskyper]

Look into executinga trust of some sort...

Solicitor would be able to help you do this reasonably cheap considering the mess you could get into...

Once you say that gift to your son is just that.. a gift then she coul;d potentially benefit from it... not entirely but some percentage could be appropriated to her depending which way judge sees it.. That time its too late..

so my advice is to spend a few more quid and have the house in a trust in your sons name..

[daver1986]

im buying a house and will be moving in in the next couple of weeks. i will be moving in with my girlfriend and our 11 week old baby, to honest i dont think we will last but we are giving it a go for the babys sake. but my problem is if she moves in with me will she be able to claim on my house and take it off me? she has been told by someone that i will have to move out and she will still be able to live there while i pay the bills, is this true? someone please help??

[daver1986]

im buying a house in the next couple of weeks and im moving in with my girlfriend and our 10 week old baby. the troble is iam worrid that she will be able to take this house of me if we ever split up? she has been told that if we did split up i will have to move out and she can live there why i pay the bills until the baby is 16 and i will have to leave? is this true? can someone please help??