Moving in together. Protecting property

[GimmeGin]

My DS owns a flat. He put down a 25% deposit, and pays a hefty mortgage.

His gf is moving in soon, and will be paying some form of rent/going halves on mortgage/ bills etc.

what does DS need to do to protect his investment should they split up in future? He obviously doesn’t want to give away any of his property.

GF is happy to go halves, as she is renting a room in a shared flat at the mo, and it’s costing her a fortune; almost double the contribution she will be making to living with DS.

do they need a legal agreement of some description? We are in Scotland.

Yes he needs a legal agreement. Not sure of the law in Scotland but in England a deed of trust would make sense.

I can't advise on the legal but but morally if she has no stake in the house is it fair to charge her half the mortgage? Half bills and food definitely but if she doesn't have a stake in the house it's not fair to expect her to pay towards it

He needs proper legal advice laws are different in Scotland's
half the utilities but I wouldn’t take any form of rent or contribution towards the mortgage it not going cost any more
you can’t have your cake and eat it keep it 100% yours then pay 100% of mortgage

Was thinking that myself about mortgage, but perhaps just the interest split, and the DS pays repayment portion himself? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think gf is delighted, because her outgoings will reduce by 50% if they move in together. So they both seem happy with the financial arrangement (at the moment). Obviously gf may become more annoyed if their relationship ends up everlasting! Who knows how things may turn out in years to come.

DS mortgage recently doubled due to his fixed rate coming to an end, so this arrangement seems to suit them both.

He needs independent legal advice to protect his deposit. I am not sure how it works in Scotland so best that he finds out now before they move in together.

If she pays towards the mortgage she’ll have a claim to the property upon splitting. If she’s only paying bills then he could get her to sign a cohabitation agreement. They basically say that she pays money towards such but that in the event of a split she has no claim to his property and he is the sole owner. It’s what we did when my then DP moved into my house.

Legal trumps moral in this case. She’s effectively paying rent and has no stake in the equity or ultimate value of the flat. In very general terms I’d still recommend your DS paying for an hour of good quality legal advice (before they cohabit) to cover their respective obligations and rights, potential change in circumstances - eg. they split, your DA wants to sell, they marry or have DC. Her ‘licence’* to occupy can be set out very clearly. If they plan to/do marry or have DC any agreement should be revisited to reflect the change of status.

• sorry, this probably isn’t the right terminology for your region

Also, his mortgage provider will need her to sign a disclaimer waiving her right to occupy as against them.

I'd say get some legal advice, as the law appears to be different in Scotland:

https://www.theglasgowlawpractice.co.uk/services/family-law/cohabitation-separation.html#:~:text=The%20Family%20Law%20(Scotland)%20Act,in%20the%20result%20of%20separation.