How does a joint mortgage work?

How a joint mortgage works depends on how legally you bought the house. This is because it is only really a concern if one of you leaves the partnership, or one of you dies.

Joint ownership can include up to four people - and as joint legal owners of a property, it means no one else can ask you to leave without a court order, no-one can sell the property without your agreement or by taking out a court order, and no-one can secure a loan against the property without everyone's approval.

Make sure you know all the facts inside and out and talk to a solicitor first, before you make a decision.

There are two different ways in which you can all jointly own a property. We have detailed them below:

Joint tenants
This means you both/all have equal rights to the whole of the property. This is the option most commonly chosen by married or long-term partners. The joint tenancy agreement states that if one of the joint owners dies, the other inherits their share of the property automatically, irrespective of anything different that is stated in a will.

Tenants in common

Couples in new relationships and friends and/or relatives who are buying together usually choose this option. Each of you own a specific share of the property and it doesn’t necessarily have to be an equal share. If one of the tenants in common dies, their share of the property passes to whoever is named in their will or to their next of kin. It doesn’t automatically go to the other tenants in common. It’s important that tenants in common state their intentions regarding to their share of the property in a legally recognised will. This type of agreement can be turned into a joint tenancy if the other owner(s) agree to it.

If you are buying a property with one or more persons, make sure that you are all totally clear on the legal implications of your agreement.