Your Rights to Property
If you're not married, your rights to property depend on the legal and beneficial ownership of that property, not the length of your relationship, not how much you contributed to the household, and not what you verbally agreed at the time.
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You're both on the title deeds
You both have a legal interest in the property. The question is how it's split.
Joint tenants
You both own the whole property equally. If one of you dies, the other inherits automatically. On separation, the default position is 50/50.
Tenants in common
You each hold a defined share, which may not be equal. Check your title deeds. This should be recorded. If you can't agree, either of you can apply to court under TOLATA.
What is TOLATA?
The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996: the main law used in property disputes between unmarried partners.
✓ What TOLATA can do
- •Determine whether you have a beneficial interest in a property
- •Establish what percentage of the property you own
- •Order the property to be sold and proceeds divided
- •Award equitable accounting: adjusting the split to reflect who paid the mortgage, made improvements, etc.
✗ What TOLATA cannot do
- •Award you maintenance from your ex-partner
- •Divide other assets (savings, cars, pensions)
- •Make orders about children (needs a separate application)
- •Create rights that didn't already legally exist
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