It's ours not mine - or is it?

[ohthiscouldgetmessy]

Help. This is more for advise than AIBU really. I have rented a house from a family member with my partner for many years, we have probably paid around 50% the current value of the house in rent. We have also spent money on a few bits that needed doing.

Now, here is the tricky bit. I am being gifted the house because we have paid so much in rent and what we have done to it. What we have done, we have done together and will have added value to the house. So essentially what we have paid in rent would have covered the initial purchase price of the property when we moved in. (Due to bad financial decisions by one party we were unable to get a joint mortgage so just continued renting).

Partner is under impression the house will be ours. It is only going to be put into my name as its my family member who owns it. Should I put the house into both our names as we have paid the same into it or would you be looking at the rental paid, expenses paid, take that away from current value and work out percentage? Or just keep it 50/50.

I think 50/50 but want other opinions.

She can let him live rent-free going forward to "acknowledge" him. If she wishes to.

He would not receive a free house at the end of any other tenancy, why should he receive one from her relatives? They aren't married and he could get up and walk away at any time, demanding his share of the property. Where would that leave her kids?

To be honest, rather than asking on here you'd be better off getting some formal legal advice and looking at drawing up a cohabitation agreement. You can't really make a big financial decision like this based on views off the internet.

Okay, you have answered the key questios I'd want to know.

IN light of the fact that your DP could not invest in properlty becuase you couldn't get a mortgage, and that your family allowd you to live there with the understanding it would eventually be yours, I tdo think you should split this house 50 50 (assuming rent has been paid and other associated costs on a similar basis).

I would caveat that with the follwing:

1 If your DP has been making other investments in the meantime, then his share of the house would be smaller
2 As you are not married, there is a strong argument that there's an element of a gift from your family member to you that' srelevant here - eg if the family member put down a deposit of £100k and your rent has been covering the mortgae so it' scost them nothing, then perhaps that £100k is actually carved out for you. x 100 as you're not married and x10000 if DP has been investing elsewhere.

@ohthiscouldgetmessy 50/50 OP - put it in joint names (and just remember, only spouses and civil partners can inherit tax-free). Just be fair - how would you feel if your DP of 15 years was being gifted a property and he wouldn't put it in joint names or marry you when you've contributed 50% to the expense of maintaining the property? It's just not a nice way to treat someone you've made a life with, is it?

From what OP’s posted it sounds like he wouldn’t have been in any other tenancy if it wasn’t for her, he’d have been sinking his money into his own mortgage not her relative’s pockets.

True, but if she becomes the sole house owner it changes things. By the sounds of it OP and DP treated the house as if it was theirs and paid for everything out of their pockets. This worked well until now but now it's no longer "theirs" it's "hers". It's a small change that maybe shouldn't change anything but most likely will.

"that reflects the contribution so far to main development works done."

Good point, but improvements only not rent, you are not "buying" a house when you rent it.

Landlords don't gift houses to tenants even if long term and their rent paid off the mortgage on the property. You are being gifted it because of YOUR family relationship. In your name only.

You've been screwed over once by a messy divorce. Don't risk the house!!
What would happen if you split, where would you live?
What happens if he dies first and his kids want his share?
Does he have any money or assets? In a split would these be solely his but the house is split?

Protect yourself. Give him the house/a percentage/right to live there in your will, but don't risk the house.

You now have no rent to pay - that's got to be a huge benefit to both of you.

Or get married, then whatever he has is also split equally.

I think after 15 years of joint, equal rent payments, they deserve the security from the property, especially seeing as it was you that couldn't get a mortgage when you moved in together, which is what forced you to rent.

But, it is your family, and he wouldn't have it without you, so should be signed over to you alone, there's no way I'd 50/50 this if it was me, but I would draw up a will to stipulate that 50% should be given to him if anything happens to you, he deserves to have some sort of security provision in place, you don't have to sign over half the house for that to happen.

Of course getting married would also be an option.

I think that is due to it being more likely the woman left with children and no security if any come along TBH

I think it seems really unfair that he gets nothing.
Especially as living with you meant he couldn’t get a mortgage etc and no inheritance for his kids.

But I think things could get complicated seeing as you both have kids with other people.
What will happen if it’s 50/50 and one of you dies etc.

Could you look into it being 100% yours but DP stop paying any rent and instead gets a buy to let property and rents it out?

That way you will both own property and both kids can inherit without any messiness.

So you have paid towards repairs and upgrades to the property? This isn't the same as if you were simply tennants paying rent to a landlord, you have invested your own money into the property and therfore have a beneficial interest in the property.

If your partner has contributed to these costs then he also has a beneficial interest in the property. If you put the house solely in your name you aren't recognising this or his contribution.

Do you have joint finances? If he came into a large amount of money through inheritance or lottery win would it be shared? Or would it be just his?

There are alternatives to joint ownership, you could be tenants in common with unequal shares. This can reflect what your partner has contributed. I think it would be unfair for him to get nothing in this situation.

Having read the full thread, 50/50.

This 100pc

Then your wrong if he is a partner the gift is not joint

To be honest even improving a rental house doesn't give you any rights over the house if you are an ordinary tenant. Friend of mine rented privately for well over a decade same house. Recarpeted it throughout, decorated, put a new kitchen in. She paid for it all herself. Landlord did a no fault eviction six months after the new kitchen as they decided to sell it. She didn't get anything as not legally entitled to anything. All her own risk and it backfired.

Just being nosey, but wondering why you haven't got married after such a long time? And yes, before there is a pile on, I KNOW that people don't HAVE to get married.

I'm sorry I'd to keep it in my name only then I could leave it to my children with the proviso that he has the right to live there till his death or remarriage. Effectively then it's his house as much as yours while you're alive. I'm guessing you already lost a home to divorce nothing would make me feel that vulnerable again.

100% it will have been the OP's poor decision otherwise she would have specified it was him.

As others have said, if the genders were flipped on this people would be going mental about pay half of costs but not getting any of the property.

Why on earth would she put in a new kitchen? I can understand some carpeting to an extent, but a whole kitchen blows my mind

You e already been though one divorce that left you financially destitute, why would you risk that situation again.

Rent isn’t an ownership. By paying a monthly amount for 15 years doesn’t mean you have both “bought” the house. It’s yours because of your relative. It’s luck. But it’s your luck and will enable you to have a secure future and set up your children.

Your partner can invest what he will save in rent for the future. He has a house and a home with you, but without you, and that’s his call.

The house can be left your children. It’s it’s in both you names it may end up in his kids hands if you die first. Then your children won’t get anything.

If you die first the house will be his, what if he then remarried and is outlived by this wife. The house would be hers.

And for those stating if the sexes were flipped we’d all be saying the woman had a right to the house, it’s only in the case where she has given up work or a career to care for there children. This is not the case here.

No I would not go 50 50. You arr not married. Thisnis a gift from your family to you, so you always have a home. If your partner leaves, he can force a sale or make you pay him half of current value. That would be insane of you. Leave it in your name. Don't tell him it's yours.

50/50. If it was the other way round you would expect this.