Buying Joint Property with Your Partner

One can buy a property along with his or her partner who can be a spouse or even unmarried partners can purchase an ownership property. One must first decide what kind of ownership is suitable as per his requirements. In case of unmarried partners joint tenancy can be of two kinds –

•           Joint Tenancy

•           Tenancy in common

One must be prepared about what will be the fate of the property in case of death or break up of relationship between the partners.

Joint Tenancy – The meaning of such a term is that the full property is owned jointly by two people with the aim that if one of the partners expires then the other partner gets the whole property. In case, there is a situation when one of the partners has paid for the property then the other partner does not get 50% of the amount received on selling the house. The attorney or the legal advisor can be of immense help in such a situation.

Tenancy In Common – This term means that the property that is owned is in share by two people. The shares can be like 50 by 50 or 75 by 25 etc. Each partner have the freedom to leave their particular property to anyone they wish. For this they must make a declaration of such sharing of property in a will. In case, a will is not prepared then that share becomes the part of the estate of the partner who has expired. The other partner who is not legally married has no direct rights on such a property. In place of that the other family members of the partner expired might claim a share in such a property.

The Family Home Protection Act 1976 provides a spouse the right to use a veto in case of any sale or lease of the home by another spouse. The written agreement of both the spouses is needed while selling or giving the house on lease. The unmarried couples cannot make advantage of this Act. Thus, in case, one is living in the house of his or her unmarried partner then such a written consent is not required unless the home is sold or given in lease.

Local Authority – Based on your need for the house and the amount of money one can afford the local authority decides whether to allocate housing. The partners who are not legally married might apply for local authority housing. They are provided with application forms. Generally, this accommodation is given as a lease in both the names of the partners like joint tenants. Hence, in case, a partner expires or leaves then the partner alive takes over the lease. Unmarried partners can also apply for allocation of the house for holding the joint tenancy. If partners move in to local authority housing where a person is the only partner then one can apply for a joint tenancy after two years.

Private Accommodation - The landlord cannot refuse to give one an accommodation for rent under the Equal Status Act 2000 and the Equality Act 2004 based on your marital status. One can never discriminate you based on you personal relationship for any service or facilities related to the accommodation. Unmarried partners are eligible for purchasing a home and all institutions will never refuse you to provide you a mortgage because of your marital status. These institutions are mainly concerned about your ability to pay back their loan amount in time.