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Buying together? Sign your declaration of trust before completion

Short answer: The best time to make a declaration of trust is while you're buying, before or on completion day. You both still agree on everything, the amounts are fresh, and it's in place from the moment you own the home.

Updated 24 October 2026

Why before completion

Agreeing shares is easy when you're excited about moving in together. It gets harder later, especially if one of you has started paying more, or the relationship is under strain. Signing now also means the shares apply from day one, so there's never a gap where the law assumes you own the home equally.

How it fits with the purchase

  1. Tell your conveyancer early that you're buying as tenants in common and will have a declaration of trust. On the transfer form (TR1) there's a box for how you'll hold the property; our guide to the TR1 and a declaration of trust explains how they fit together. With unequal shares, it should say tenants in common or refer to your declaration, not joint tenants.
  2. Make the declaration once you know the price, both deposits and the mortgage amount. Your mortgage offer and your conveyancer's completion statement have these figures.
  3. Sign it before completion, each of you in front of a witness. Leave the date blank.
  4. Date it on completion day. That's when you become the owners, and when the trust starts.
  5. Check the title a few weeks after completion. It should show a Form A restriction.

Does your conveyancer need to be involved?

Not necessarily. Many conveyancers will draft one for an extra fee, often a few hundred pounds. You can also make your own and give them a copy so they know to fill in the TR1 correctly. Some conveyancers like to hold the signed original and date it on completion.

Does your lender need to know?

Usually not. A declaration of trust is between the two of you and doesn't change your mortgage. You both stay responsible for the whole loan whatever your shares are. If a parent is giving money towards the deposit, your lender will want a gifted deposit letter from them, which is a separate document.

If the price or deposits change before completion

Make the declaration once the figures are final. If something changes after you've signed but before you've dated it, the simplest fix is to make a fresh one with the right numbers and sign that instead.

Missed it?

You can make a declaration of trust at any time after you've bought, as long as you both agree. If you bought as joint tenants, the declaration can change that to tenants in common.

Sources

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