My sister wants to sue me to for mortgage payments on our joint flat, even though I didn't live there

[Confused20232023]

My sister and I bought a flat together about 6 years ago (our parents helped us with the deposit if that matters) which we lived in together. About 2 years ago we talked about selling the flat because I wanted to move in with my boyfriend. My sister couldn't afford to buy me out so we agreed that she would pay the mortgage and all bills on the flat until we sold. We have this in writing on email and Whatsapp texts, and we also discussed this with our parents.

We eventually sold the flat (a whole story to itself!), and now my sister is saying that I should have paid the mortgage over the 2 years (when I wasn't living there), and is threatening to sue me to make me pay. Does she have a case if we have something in writing to say that she would pay all mortgage and bills while she lived there? I'm getting worried as we can't afford to pay her, and my boyfriend and I are planning on starting a family, so every pound counts!

We are in England.

Will you be expecting equal amount of money from the sale?

It would depend on exactly what the agreement was but I would have thought that your share of the mortgage payments should be taken from the proceeds of the sale.

The bills is not so clear cut as the person living there would usually be liable for those.

Youneed clear legal advice but I'd have thought she has a case.

I think a lot of it depends on what you're expecting from the sale...

This is the issue.

Was there equity in the flat? Who paid the costs involved in selling?

Yes, the sale has already completed and solicitors paid us both equally. We also shared the sale costs equally as well.

There is a thread from the point of view of the sister except that says 16 years, not 6

surely the agreement was that got taken into account when it was sold

Did she pay you rent for occupying your half of the flat?

I would expect to pay her at least the proportion of your half of the mortgage that went towards the capital. Not the bills or mortgage interest though.

I would say it is fine for her to pay the mortgage for 2 years but you need to take that into account when dividing the sale cost

So say you had a 20K deposit and the flat sells for 200K
She would get 118K (108+10)
You would get 82K (72+10)
Additional costs equally from each pot

Or prorata split after any outstanding mortgage is paid

You can't expect 50% of the sale proceeds if you haven't been contributing to the asset purchase for 2 years.

Agree with other posters - I’m sure that’s what your sister is thinking so just explain to her you expect less money from sale.

If you want half of the sale profits you need to have paid half of the mortgage costs. That would be regardless of whether you were living there.

The mortgage payments show you are an owner and are buying the property. Gas bills etc are living costs.

If you are trying to claim half the sale proceeds then she has every right to claim tge mortgage payments you should have made. Why don't you just deduct what you should have paid in mortgage from the proceeds and move on amicably.

You should knock off one third of the sale value, not just the mortgage payments - you shouldn't get a return for the investment you haven't put in.

Well if you were equally liable and equally entitled to the proceeds but didn’t contribute equally to the repayments then I can see where she’s got a case.

You need proper legal advice

The amount of equity paid to you should be reduced following the same ratio as the relative amount of mortgages you paid.

What?

And your commitment to your sister should be settled before you think of starting a family - you have really behaved badly over this.

I completely agree. I despair of people like you.

You shouldn’t have got 50% of the sale equity if you weren’t paying mortgage for 2 years.

Why would she do this when OP wasn't even paying the mortgage on the house she owned.

You owe your sister for the mortgage payments and half of the equity accrued over the two years.

I think people are being harsh, the sister didn’t want to move out and had she been forced to, she would have had to pay rent elsewhere.

How much were the mortgage payments compared to what your sister would have had to pay to rent a similar flat?

I think the issue highlighted is that the OP didn’t pay mortgage but presumably the sister didn’t pay any rent despite only owning half the house. So it might be a wash?