Buying a house with a friend or sibling: how to split it and what to agree

What do you need to know before buying a house with a friend?

Buying a house with a friend, a brother or a sister can get you both on the ladder sooner: two deposits, two incomes and one set of costs. The law in England and Wales lets you do it in the same way as any two people, and up to four people can be registered as the legal owners of one home.

What the law doesn’t do is fill in the gaps for you. You’re co-owners under property law, the same as an unmarried couple. If you fall out, a court can’t share things out by what seems fair, the way it can on a divorce. It decides who owns what under property law, and there’s no rule that says who stays, who leaves or how quickly the other gets paid.

It’s also less clear what a court would start from if you write nothing down. For a couple buying a home in joint names, the courts start from equal shares. For friends and relatives it isn’t settled. In Laskar v Laskar, a mother and daughter who bought mainly as an investment, the Court of Appeal didn’t apply the couples’ starting point and looked at what each had paid in instead. The court said the couples’ approach might also apply to other people who buy a home to live in together, but it left that open, so nobody can tell you in advance which way a court would go.

So the written agreement matters even more for you than for a couple. It isn’t about distrust. It’s what lets you both stay friends, or family, whatever happens to the house. The questions you’ll need to answer:

• How do you own it? Joint tenants or tenants in common.
• What’s each share? Equal, matching your deposits, or deposits back first.
• Who pays what each month, and what happens if one of you can’t?
• How can either of you leave, and how is the leaver paid?
• What happens if one of you dies?

Should friends and siblings be joint tenants or tenants in common?

When you buy, your conveyancer will ask how you want to own the home. You’ll both be on the deeds either way, and you’ll both need to sign to sell or remortgage. The choice is about who owns the value.

At a glance	Joint tenants	Tenants in common
Shares	None, you own it all together	Each owns a share
Unequal shares?	No	Yes, any split you agree
If one of you dies	The other owns it all	Their share follows their will
Can a will pass it on?	No	Yes
On the register	No Form A restriction	Form A restriction

Joint tenants works for some siblings who put in the same and want the home to pass to each other. But GOV.UK is clear that a joint tenant can’t pass on their ownership in a will. If you have children, or might want to leave your share to a partner one day, that’s a big catch.

Tenants in common is the usual choice for friends. Each of you owns a share, the shares can be unequal, and each share passes under its owner’s will. When you buy as tenants in common, HM Land Registry adds a note to your title called a “Form A restriction”.

On the transfer form (the TR1), you choose joint tenants, tenants in common in equal shares, or tenants in common on other terms. “In equal shares” fixes you at 50/50 whatever you each paid. If you want unequal shares or a formula, use the third option or a separate declaration of trust: a signed document that records who owns what. The law says it must be in writing and signed, and HM Land Registry doesn’t keep it as a record of your shares, so keep your copy safe.

Our guide to joint tenants or tenants in common explains the choice in more detail, including how to change it later.

How do you split it if you put in different amounts?

Most friends don’t put in exactly the same. There are three common ways to deal with it, and each can be fair. The one that suits you is the one you both choose knowing the numbers.

1. Equal shares. You own 50/50 and split what’s left equally when you sell, whatever each of you paid in.
2. Deposits back first. Each of you gets your deposit back first, then anything left over is split equally.
3. Shares in proportion to deposits. You own the home in the same ratio as your deposits, and every pound of growth, or loss, is split that way too.

A worked example: Sam and Priya

Sam and Priya are friends buying a £250,000 home together. Sam puts in a £30,000 deposit and Priya £20,000, so £50,000 in all, with a £200,000 joint mortgage. Some years later they sell for £280,000 with £180,000 of the mortgage left, so £100,000 is left over.

Sam and Priya's £100,000 split three ways

What they agreed	Sam gets	Priya gets
Equal shares	£50,000	£50,000
Deposits back first, rest split equally	£55,000	£45,000
In proportion to deposits (60/40)	£60,000	£40,000

How the middle row works: Sam gets £30,000 back and Priya £20,000, which leaves £50,000. That’s split equally, £25,000 each, so Sam ends up with £55,000 and Priya £45,000. In proportion, Sam gets 60% because £30,000 is 60% of the £50,000 they put in.

Now say they have to sell sooner, for £235,000 with £195,000 still owed. Only £40,000 is left, less than the £50,000 they put in, so deposits back first can’t repay them both in full. You need to agree what happens then. One simple answer, and the one our calculator uses, is to share what’s left in proportion to the deposits.

Sam and Priya's £40,000 split if the home is worth less

What they agreed	Sam gets	Priya gets
Equal shares	£20,000	£20,000
Deposits back first, in proportion if short	£24,000	£16,000
In proportion to deposits (60/40)	£24,000	£16,000

Illustration only: these ignore selling costs, tax and who paid what towards the mortgage. Try your own numbers in the deposit split calculator, which shows all three side by side. For more on choosing between them, read paying a bigger deposit than the person you’re buying with.

Will you pay more stamp duty buying together?

You might. Tax on buying a home looks at every buyer, so one person’s history can change the bill for both of you.

In England (Stamp Duty Land Tax):

• First-time buyer relief only applies if all of you are first-time buyers. If your friend or sibling has ever owned a home, anywhere in the world, neither of you gets it.
• The higher rates apply to the whole purchase if any one of you has to pay them. That usually happens when one of you will own another home after the purchase and isn’t replacing your main home. The higher rates add 5 percentage points to each band.

In Wales (Land Transaction Tax): there’s no first-time buyer relief, but the same joint rule applies to the higher rates. If they apply to either of you, they apply to the whole purchase.

Here’s what that means for Sam and Priya’s £250,000 home, using the rates on GOV.UK and GOV.WALES on 1 October 2026.

Tax on a £250,000 home bought by two people

Who's buying	England	Wales
Both first-time buyers	£0	£1,500
One has owned before, neither owns now	£2,500	£1,500
One still owns another home	£15,000	£14,950

How the English numbers work: first-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000. Otherwise it’s 0% up to £125,000 and 2% on the next £125,000, which is £2,500. At the higher rates it’s 5% and 7%, which is £6,250 plus £8,750. Rules and rates change, and there are exceptions, so ask your conveyancer to confirm the tax before you commit.

What happens if one of you wants to sell or move out?

This is the question friends most often skip, and the one that matters most. Lives change: a new job, a new partner, a baby. Plan for one of you leaving as a normal event, not a falling out.

You both have to sign to sell. If you can’t agree, either of you can ask a court for an order, including an order for sale, under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. The court must look at things like what you intended when you bought, what the home was for, and the welfare of any child living there. That takes time and legal fees, and the result isn’t up to you.

A written exit plan avoids that. Agree:

• A notice period, such as three or six months, before either of you can ask to sell.
• First refusal. The one staying can buy the other out before it goes on the market.
• How to value it. For example, the average of two independent valuations.
• How long a buy-out can take before the home is sold instead.
• A minimum time you’ll both stay, if you want one, such as the length of a fixed-rate mortgage.

What a buy-out looks like with numbers

Say Priya wants to move out when the home is worth £280,000 and £180,000 is owed. Under deposits back first, Priya’s share is £45,000. To buy her out, Sam pays her £45,000 and takes on the whole mortgage alone. The lender will usually want to check that Sam can afford the whole mortgage on his own. If he can’t, the plan should say what happens next, for example selling within six months.

What happens if one of you stops paying, or dies?

If one of you can’t pay. With a joint mortgage, Citizens Advice says you’re both responsible for the payments, including any arrears, even if one of you moves out. So each of you is responsible for the whole payment, not just your half. Agree how you’ll handle a short gap, such as illness or losing a job, and what happens if it goes on, for example whether the one covering the payments gets it back when you sell.

If one of you dies. This is where friends and siblings differ most from couples.

• As joint tenants, the home passes to the other owner automatically, whatever the will says.
• As tenants in common, the share passes under the will. Without a will, it goes to relatives under the intestacy rules. A friend inherits nothing under those rules. A brother or sister only inherits if there’s no spouse, civil partner, child, grandchild or parent. Full brothers and sisters come first, and half brothers and sisters only inherit if there are none.

So without wills, you could end up owning a home with your friend’s parents or children. An unmarried partner who lived with someone as a couple for the whole two years before their death can ask a court for financial provision from the estate. A friend or sibling can only make that kind of claim if they were being maintained by the person who died, meaning that person was making a substantial contribution towards their reasonable needs. Make wills when you buy, and decide whether you want your share to go to each other or to someone else. Some co-owners also take out life insurance so the survivor can afford to buy out the share.

What should your agreement cover?

You’ll usually have two documents. A declaration of trust records your shares, or your formula, in the form the law expects. A house buying agreement covers how you’ll live with it day to day and how you’ll leave. They should say the same thing about your shares.

A good agreement between friends or siblings covers:

1. Your shares, or the formula, and what happens if the home is worth less than you put in.
2. Monthly costs: the mortgage, bills, insurance and repairs, and whether paying more changes your shares.
3. Big one-offs, such as a new boiler or kitchen: shared, paid back first, or a change to your shares.
4. Family money: whether it’s a gift or a loan, and whose contribution it counts as.
5. Partners and lodgers: whether either of you can have a partner move in or take a lodger, and whether they pay towards costs.
6. Leaving: notice, first refusal, valuation, time limits.
7. Falling behind: what happens if one of you can’t pay.
8. Death: wills, and any life insurance.
9. Disagreements: for example, mediation before going to court.
10. When you’ll look at it again, such as every year or when something big changes.

Courts can take a clear, signed agreement into account. Advicenow, writing about couples, says courts will usually follow one if it’s fair and you were both open about your money, and even more so if you each had independent legal advice. The same good habits help friends and siblings. For couples, this is a couples agreement (also called a cohabitation agreement): read what a couples agreement for buying a house covers for more on the money questions, which are much the same for friends.

What should you do next?

1. Talk it through together. CoHabit is designed for couples, so a few questions won’t fit, but most of the money questions in the free 10-minute conversation are the same ones you need to answer: the deposit, the mortgage, one-offs and what happens if you go separate ways. Your answers stay on your device.
2. Run the numbers. Put your deposits and a likely sale price into the deposit split calculator.
3. Check the tax early. Tell your conveyancer if either of you has ever owned a home, or still does.
4. Tell your conveyancer how you’ll own it: joint tenants, or tenants in common with your shares written down, and ask for a declaration of trust.
5. Write down the rest in an agreement you both sign, including how either of you can leave. See how your agreement counts.
6. Make wills, especially as tenants in common.
7. Get separate legal advice, one solicitor each, if family money is involved, one of you is putting in much more, one of you already owns a home, or either of you feels under pressure to agree.