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Splitting up and not married: who gets the house?

Short answer: If you're not married or in a civil partnership, there's no divorce court to divide things fairly when you split up. Your home is divided by property law: what the title says, what you agreed in writing, and what you can prove.

Updated 24 October 2026

If you have a declaration of trust

Follow it. It says how the money is split, how much notice either of you gives to sell, and whether one of you can buy the other out. That's exactly what it's for, and courts will generally hold you both to it.

If you don't

If the home is in both names, the starting point is that you own it equally. Either of you can try to prove you meant something different, but that relies on evidence such as who paid the deposit, what you said and how you managed your money. It often ends in expensive legal arguments.

If it's in one name only, the other partner has to prove they were meant to have a share. That's harder still.

Your choices

Sell and split the money

The cleanest break. You pay off the mortgage and selling costs, then divide what's left.

One buys the other out

The one staying pays the other their share and takes over the mortgage, if the lender agrees. Our guide to buying the other owner out covers how.

Keep owning it together for now

Sometimes sensible, for example until children finish school. Write down who lives there, who pays what and when it will be sold.

The mortgage doesn't split

Until the mortgage is paid off or one of you is released from it, you are both responsible for the whole loan. If the one living there stops paying, the lender can come after the one who left. Keep paying until it's sorted.

If one of you won't sell

Neither of you can force a sale on your own, and neither can usually throw the other out without a court order. If you can't agree, either of you can ask the court for an order under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, which can include an order to sell. Mediation first is cheaper and usually quicker.

Children

Children's needs are dealt with separately from who owns the home. If you have children together, get advice, because a court can sometimes let the parent caring for them stay in the home until they're older.

Sources

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