Partner owns the house, not on the deeds? Where you both stand

Partner owns the house, not on the deeds: where do you both stand?

When your partner owns the house and you’re not on the deeds, the law in England and Wales treats them as owning all of it to start with. That’s true however long you’ve lived together, and whether or not you have children. There’s no such thing as common-law marriage: Citizens Advice says “common-law partners” is just another way of saying a couple live together. When we surveyed 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.

“The deeds” today usually means the Title Register at HM Land Registry. It names the legal owner. Advicenow explains that if the home is in one person’s sole name and you’re not married or in a civil partnership, usually only that person has any legal rights to the home or to the money if it’s sold.

That can change. The Supreme Court has said that where a home is in one name, the first question is whether you both intended the other partner to have any share at all, and only then how big. There’s no presumption that you share it. Your shared intention is worked out from what you each said and did.

This matters to both of you:

• For the partner who owns the home, it means your home stays yours unless you both intend otherwise. But what you say and do together can create a share, even without paperwork.
• For the partner who moves in, it means paying in doesn’t automatically buy you a share. If you both intend you to have one, the clearest way is to write it down.

What are your rights moving in with a partner who owns the house?

If you’re married or in a civil partnership, the law gives you “home rights” in your spouse’s home: you can stay in the home even if you don’t own it, and you can register those rights with HM Land Registry. The Family Law Act 1996 gives home rights only to spouses and civil partners. Unmarried partners don’t have them.

So, moving in with a partner who owns the house, your right to live there usually comes from their permission. Shelter’s legal guidance says a partner who doesn’t own the home is usually what lawyers call a “bare licensee”. If the owner wants them to leave, the law only asks for reasonable notice.

There are exceptions:

• An agreement to let you stay. Shelter says a contract or agreement between you can give a partner the right to stay until an agreed event, though it also says these are very difficult to establish.
• A promise you relied on. If the owner promised you a share in the home and you reasonably relied on that promise to your cost, a court can step in. Lawyers call this proprietary estoppel.
• An occupation order. Under the Family Law Act 1996, a partner who isn’t an owner can ask the family court for an order deciding who can live in the home. The court weighs things like each of your housing needs and resources, the effect on your health, safety and well-being, your conduct and any children. For a partner who isn’t an owner, the order lasts up to six months and can be extended once, for up to six months more. GOV.UK’s guidance on occupation orders is written for people experiencing domestic abuse, and says there’s no fee to apply.

If you have children together, a court can also make orders for their benefit under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989, which can include property. Those orders are for the children, not for either adult.

Does paying the mortgage or bills give you a share?

Not automatically. Paying towards the home can be evidence that you both intended you to share it, but the payments on their own don’t decide it.

The government’s 2026 consultation sums up the current law: where one partner is the sole legal owner, the other must prove they have a share, “usually by showing they made financial contributions or that there was a shared understanding about ownership”. Advicenow says what counts depends on:

• What you agreed when you moved in, including anything you said about what would happen if you broke up.
• What you contributed, which can include mortgage payments, paying for repairs, renovation and refurbishment. Advicenow adds that other significant contributions, such as giving up paid work to raise children, may count too.
• Whether you have children.

Two points from the cases are worth knowing.

The intention has to be about the home. In Geary v Rankine, a couple ran a guest house together, but the building was bought with his money and in his name. The Court of Appeal said an intention to run a business together didn’t show an intention to own the building together, and she had no share.

The court doesn’t fill the gap on whether you share. If it’s clear you both intended to share the home but not in what shares, a court can decide what is fair. But whether you share at all depends on what you both actually intended, shown by your words or conduct.

Paying towards household bills isn’t on Advicenow’s list of contributions. If you’re paying towards the mortgage and you both see that as buying into the home, say so and write it down. If you both see it as your fair share of the running costs, like rent, write that down instead. Either answer is fine; the aim is that you both know.

What about paying for improvements?

A new kitchen, a loft conversion or paying off a lump of the mortgage can each run into thousands of pounds. Advicenow includes paying for repairs, renovation and refurbishment in the contributions that can show a share. As with the mortgage, the question is still what you both intended.

So before a big spend, agree one of these:

1. It’s a gift to the home. It doesn’t change who owns what.
2. It comes back first. If the home is sold or you split, the partner who paid gets that amount back first.
3. It buys a share. You agree a share of the home and record it.

Keep receipts and bank records either way.

What could a £10,000 contribution be worth?

Alex bought a £300,000 home in their sole name with a £40,000 deposit. Jordan moves in and puts £10,000 of savings into paying down the mortgage, and after that they pay the mortgage equally. Some years later they sell for £330,000, with £230,000 of mortgage left. That leaves £100,000.

What Alex and Jordan get from £100,000, depending on what they agreed

What they agreed	Alex gets	Jordan gets
Nothing written down, Alex's name only	£100,000	£0 unless a court finds a share
Jordan's £10,000 comes back first, the rest to Alex	£90,000	£10,000
Both put-ins back first, the rest split equally	£65,000	£35,000
Shares in proportion to put-ins (80/20)	£80,000	£20,000
Jordan added to the title as joint tenants	£50,000	£50,000

How the middle row works: Alex gets their £40,000 back and Jordan their £10,000, which leaves £50,000. That is split equally, £25,000 each, so Alex gets £65,000 and Jordan £35,000.

None of these is the right answer for every couple. The first row isn’t a fixed result either: Jordan could ask a court for a share, but the outcome would depend on what they could show they both intended. Every other row gives you both a clear, written starting point now.

Illustration only: it ignores selling costs, tax and anything else either of you paid. To try your own numbers, put the owner’s deposit and the other partner’s contribution into the deposit split calculator, which shows equal shares, money back first and shares in proportion side by side.

How can you agree it clearly?

There are three ways to record what you both intend. They work together.

Option	What it does	Worth knowing
Couples agreement	Records what you agreed: payments, improvements, who stays, notice to move out	Courts can take it into account
Declaration of trust	Records each partner’s share of the home’s value, with the owner still the only name on the title	Must be in signed writing
Being added to the title	Both of you become legal owners	Lender must agree if there’s a mortgage

A couples agreement, also called a living together agreement, covers the everyday picture: who pays the mortgage and bills, what happens with improvements, how much notice either of you gets if you split, and whether the partner who moved in gets anything back. Advicenow says a court will usually follow an agreement if it’s fair and you were both open about your finances, and is even more likely to if you each had independent legal advice. See how your agreement counts.

A declaration of trust is a signed document in which the owner declares they hold the home for both of you, in shares you agree, or with a formula such as money back first. The owner stays the only legal owner. HM Land Registry’s guidance says that when a sole owner signs a declaration of trust, they must apply for a note on the title called a Form A restriction, and the other partner can apply for it too. A solicitor can prepare the declaration and make the application.

Adding the partner to the title makes you both legal owners. GOV.UK calls this transferring ownership: you send HM Land Registry an application (form AP1), a transfer (form TR1), identity evidence (form ID1) and a fee. If there’s a mortgage, Advicenow says the lender will need to agree to the change. Taking on part of the mortgage can count as a payment for Stamp Duty Land Tax in England, even if no cash changes hands, so ask your conveyancer whether any tax is due. In Wales the equivalent tax is Land Transaction Tax.

If you’re added to the title, you’ll also need to choose between joint tenants, who own the whole home together, and tenants in common, who own separate shares. Advicenow says tenants in common is likely to suit couples paying different amounts towards the deposit or mortgage. Our guide to joint tenants or tenants in common explains the difference.

What happens if you split up?

If you agree who gets what, you can settle it between you, ideally in writing and with advice. If you can’t agree, the partner who isn’t on the deeds would have to ask a civil court to decide whether they have a share, under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. Citizens Advice says you’d need to show the judge how you contributed to paying for the home, and that this can be difficult.

Advicenow describes these cases as complicated, so expensive, stressful and uncertain. The consultation adds that in these cases a civil court can’t order maintenance or split pensions; its powers are mostly about who owns the property and whether it’s sold. That’s true for both of you, which is why writing it down helps the owner as much as the other partner.

What happens if the owner dies?

If the owner has made a will leaving the home to their partner, it passes under the will. If not, the intestacy rules decide who inherits, and an unmarried partner isn’t included, however long you’ve lived together. Advicenow warns the home could go to a relative, which may well not be what either of you want.

A partner who lived with the owner as a couple for the whole two years before the death can ask a court for reasonable financial provision for their maintenance under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. It’s a narrower claim than a spouse’s and means going to court. The simpler answer is for the owner to make a will, and for you both to review it when things change.

What should you do next?

1. Check the title. Look at the register at HM Land Registry so you both know whose name is on it.
2. Talk about what you both intend. Is the partner moving in paying rent-like costs, or buying into the home? The free 10-minute conversation takes you through the big questions side by side, and your answers stay on your device.
3. Work out the numbers. Try the owner’s deposit and the other partner’s contribution in the deposit split calculator.
4. Write it down. Put what you agree into a couples agreement you both sign. Read what a couples agreement covers.
5. Record any share. Ask a solicitor about a declaration of trust, or a conveyancer about adding the partner to the title, and check with the lender.
6. Make wills, especially the owner.
7. Get separate legal advice if large sums are involved, there are children from a previous relationship, either of you feels under pressure, or you’re separating now. A family solicitor or mediator can help.

For the wider picture, read what rights unmarried couples have.