Couples agreement for buying a house: what it is and when you need one

What is a couples agreement for buying a house?

A couples agreement for buying a house is a short written document that you both sign before you buy. It records what each of you is putting in, how you will share the home’s value, who pays for what while you live there, and what happens if you sell, split up or one of you dies.

You may also see it called a cohabitation agreement, a living together agreement or a house buying agreement for couples. They are the same idea. Citizens Advice describes a living together agreement as setting out the rights and obligations of each partner towards each other.

It is not the same as your mortgage, which is between you and your lender, or the transfer form your conveyancer sends to HM Land Registry, which names the legal owners and can say how you share the home. Your agreement is between the two of you, and it can also cover things those documents don’t, such as bills, improvements and who stays.

Do we need one if we’re not married?

If you’re not married or in a civil partnership, this is when an agreement matters most. There is no such thing as common-law marriage in England and Wales. Citizens Advice says “common-law partners” is just another way of saying a couple live together; it gives you no extra rights. When we surveyed 39 people planning to buy with a partner, fewer than half (18 of 39) knew that living together doesn’t give you the same rights as marriage.

Married couples who divorce can ask a court to divide their money and property between them. Unmarried couples have no equivalent claim for themselves, although some claims can be made on behalf of children. If you split up, what you each get mostly comes down to property law: whose name is on the title, how you own the home, and what you can show you agreed.

You’re most likely to need a written agreement if:

• one of you is putting in a bigger deposit, or family money is involved
• one of you will pay more of the mortgage or bills
• you plan to pay for improvements, like a new kitchen or an extension
• you have children, or one of you may earn less for a while
• you would want a say in who stays in the home if you split up

Even if you’re putting in exactly the same, a short agreement settles questions like who stays, and how long the other has to be bought out, before anyone needs to ask them.

What happens if we write nothing down?

It depends on how you own the home.

If only one of you is on the title. Usually only the owner has rights to the home or to the money from a sale. Advicenow says the other partner can sometimes show they have a share by making financial or other contributions, but this is hard to prove and may mean a court case. See our guide if your partner owns the house and you’re not on the deeds.

If you’re both on the title as joint tenants. You each own the whole home together. If you split up, you are each usually entitled to half, whoever paid the deposit. If one of you dies, the other automatically owns all of it.

If you’re both on the title as tenants in common. You each own a separate share, which can be equal or unequal. If your shares were never written down, you may end up arguing about what they are.

When a couple buy in joint names, the Supreme Court has said the starting point is that they own the home jointly, in equal shares. A court can depart from that, but only if one of you shows you both intended something different, looking at your whole course of dealing. Advicenow says going to court over a share of a home is expensive, time-consuming and stressful, and the result is uncertain. A clear written record avoids most of it.

HM Land Registry records who the legal owners are, not how you share the value. So the register alone won’t show that one of you put in more.

What goes in a house buying agreement for couples?

A good agreement covers the whole money picture of your shared home, not just the deposit. Most include:

• What each of you put in. Deposits, fees, and any family money, noting whether it was a gift or a loan.
• Your shares. Equal, in proportion to what you put in, or deposits back first and the rest split. The deposit split calculator shows all three side by side.
• Mortgage and bills. Who pays what, and whether paying more of the mortgage changes your shares.
• Improvements and big one-offs. Whether paying for a new roof or kitchen adds to your share.
• Savings and debts. What is joint and what stays separate.
• If one of you earns less for a while. For example during parental leave, illness or retraining.
• Selling and moving on together. Whether your shares carry over to your next home.
• Splitting up. Who stays, how a buy-out works, how the home is valued, and how long you have.
• Things you buy together. A car, furniture, pets.
• If one of you dies. A pointer to your wills, which the agreement doesn’t replace.
• A review date. When you will look at it again.

Keep it fair to both of you. An agreement isn’t only for the person who put in more. It also records what the other partner is contributing, such as paying more of the bills, and can set out a fair share for them and how long each of you would have to move out or buy the other out.

How does it work with a £40,000 and a £10,000 deposit?

Alex and Jordan buy a £300,000 home. Alex puts in a £40,000 deposit and Jordan £10,000. A few years later they sell for £330,000, with £230,000 of mortgage left to pay off. That leaves £100,000.

Here is how that £100,000 splits under the three most common choices:

What they agreed	Alex gets	Jordan gets
Nothing written down, equal shares	£50,000	£50,000
Deposits back first, the rest split equally	£65,000	£35,000
Shares in proportion to deposits (80/20)	£80,000	£20,000

Illustration only. It ignores selling costs, tax and who paid the mortgage.

Under “deposits back first”, Alex gets their £40,000 back and Jordan their £10,000, then the other £50,000 is split equally, £25,000 each. With nothing written down, Alex would have £15,000 less than that, and Jordan £15,000 more.

Now say prices fall and only £40,000 is left after the mortgage. There isn’t enough to pay both deposits back in full, so your agreement needs to say what happens then. If you agree to share what is left in proportion to the deposits, that is £32,000 to Alex and £8,000 to Jordan. With nothing written down, it would start at £20,000 each.

None of these is the right answer for every couple. Jordan might be paying more of the bills, or Alex might want Jordan’s share to grow as they both pay the mortgage. The point is to choose together, while you both agree, rather than argue about it later. Try your own numbers in the deposit split calculator, or read more about paying a bigger deposit than your partner.

How does your agreement count?

There are four steps. The first two are the agreement itself. The other two make it stronger. See how your agreement counts for more.

1. Decide together. Talk through each question and agree clear answers, not just hopes.
2. Sign it, with a witness. A written agreement signed by you both means what you meant is on record, and courts can take it into account. Advicenow says a court will usually follow an agreement if it is fair and you were both open about your money when you made it.
3. Give a note to your conveyancer. When you buy, they can record whether you own the home as joint tenants or tenants in common, and in what shares. This is the strongest step for the home itself.
4. Add a solicitor check. Independent legal advice for each of you makes the agreement harder to challenge later. Advicenow says a court is even more likely to follow it if you each had advice.

Advicenow says a court will usually follow an agreement if it is fair and you were both open about your money, so terms that are plainly unfair, or one of you hiding debts or income, weaken it. For more, read is a couples agreement legally binding?

Couples agreement or declaration of trust, and what does each cost?

A declaration of trust is a formal document that records how you own the home’s value, as joint tenants or as tenants in common and in what shares. The Court of Appeal has said a signed declaration of your shares settles the question, unless you later agree something different or it is set aside for something like fraud, mistake or undue influence. It covers the home only.

A couples agreement covers everything around it: bills, improvements, savings, who stays. Citizens Advice suggests that if you make a living together agreement, you also make a declaration of trust about how you share your property. Many couples use both: the agreement to decide, and the conveyancer’s paperwork to record the shares when they buy.

Couples agreement	Declaration of trust
Covers the home plus bills, improvements, savings, splitting up and who stays	Covers your shares of the home only
Written by you, with or without a solicitor	Usually drawn up by a conveyancer or solicitor
Best made before you buy, and updated as life changes	Usually made when you buy
Records what you agreed; courts can take it into account	Sets out your shares of the home formally

What it costs to put things in writing:

Option	Typical cost
Write it yourselves	Free, or £50 for Advicenow’s template (£55 printed)
CoHabit	Free 10-minute conversation, then one payment per couple for the written agreement, coming soon (see our pricing)
Solicitor	£500 to £3,000 or more for an agreement, says Advicenow. Solicitors’ fixed fees we found: £899 to £1,860 including VAT for one partner, usually with advice (October 2026, see our cost guide)
Declaration of trust	Ask your conveyancer for a quote when you buy

What should you do next?

1. Find out how you plan to own the home. Read joint tenants or tenants in common? and decide which fits.
2. Work out your numbers. Put your deposits into the deposit split calculator and compare the three splits.
3. Talk it through together. Start the free conversation side by side. It takes about 10 minutes and your answers stay on your device.
4. Write it down and sign it, with a witness.
5. Tell your conveyancer how you want to own the home and in what shares, before you complete.
6. Make wills. Your agreement doesn’t replace them.
7. See a solicitor if large sums or family money are involved, one of you has children from a previous relationship, one of you won’t be on the title or mortgage, or either of you feels unsure or under pressure.