Content Written By: Raphael Kaye - Last Updated: 01/05/2025
It’s a tough position that nobody plans to be in, but selling a house while going through a separation or similar is not impossible.
Even if your ex-partner is refusing to sell the house, we’re here to show you there is a way out.
This guide covers everything from the responsibilities of those on the title deeds to the options for buying your partner out, so let’s dive in so you can all move on with your lives.
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If you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle when it comes to selling your house after a divorce or separation, you’ve come to the right place. Unfortunately, it’s a difficult arrangement to settle when one person is refusing to budge, but the long and short of it is that a sale can’t go through unless both parties agree to it.
This means you can’t force your partner to sell and nor can they force you to sell. You must find a resolution between you to sell the house amicably, which is, in many cases, easier said than done.
It depends, of course, on the legal arrangement you made on the house when you bought it. This typically comes down to two types of ownership: Joint Tenancy and Tenancy in Common.
Most married couples tend to opt for a Joint Tenancy agreement when buying a house together, which means they legally own equal portions of the house. This doesn’t change if they contribute different amounts to the mortgage either—it’s written into the agreement that they split the house in half in any event.
The common alternative to a joint agreement is a Tenancy in Common, which divides a property into two unequal shares depending on the investment made by each party. These parties can be an unmarried couple or even just joint homeowners and tenants, perhaps as a result of the difficulties of the current climate.
One person might contribute (or have contributed) 35% and the other 65%, so the legal agreement reflects that in terms of ownership and any sale thereafter will be based on the percentage split. You can check the government’s website for more details about joint ownership and how it affects rights.
Read more: Can a Tenant in Common Force a Sale?
In the event of a separation when a joint mortgage is in place, both parties on the agreement will still be liable to pay the mortgage, even if one person has moved out, so it’s vital that a resolution is found as quickly and efficiently as possible so nobody is well out of pocket in the long run.
As outlined by Elite Law Solicitors here, a Declaration of Trust can be made to determine how a sale will go ahead, but, as the name suggests, this requires trust between the two parties to enter and agree on the arrangement together.
When a partner refuses to go ahead with such a deal, it can lead to complications—one possible route out of this is to go to the courts to ask for an order to sell the house. For want of a better description, this can be an ugly, messy process and it’s one of the common reasons divorces seldom end on good terms.
Read more: Is Your Ex Ignoring a Court Order To Sell the House?
Whether you have a Joint Tenancy or a Tenancy in Common on the house, going to the courts won’t guarantee a quick sale, but it can make for a fairer sale under the 1996 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act (TOLATA). The court will use the act to determine who is the rightful owner of the property and who is entitled to stay there and sell it, taking into account factors like whether or not it is the family home if children are involved.
It might not be music to your ears, but the best route is usually to try to reach an agreement between you without having to go through the courts and splitting the proceeds in a fair manner before going your separate ways.
One common way to sort the house and move on is to remortgage it and release equity to pay your partner off.
In short, this means you’ll need to prove that you can afford to take a new mortgage on yourself as the sole owner of the house. How deep you are into your mortgage and, therefore, how much equity you have will affect this—if, for instance, you agree to buy them out to the tune of 50% of the equity to which you have both contributed, the deal might look a little something like this:
Property Value | Amount You Owe | Your Equity | % Owed to Your Partner | £ Owed to Your Partner |
---|---|---|---|---|
£250,000 | £150,000 | £100,000 | 50% | £50,000 |
Any lender will obviously only take your income into account here, so think about whether or not you have any professional changes on the horizon before taking any steps in this direction.
If you’re in a position to buy out your partner’s share of the house in cash, this can be a much simpler way to bring it to a conclusion. As long as both parties are getting a fair deal, depending on what share of equity you’ve both put into the house, then you should be in a position to move on pretty quickly.
Once you’ve agreed on a route, it’s highly recommended that you consult a solicitor before entering into any sort of financial arrangement with your partner, especially if you’ve contributed different amounts to the house deposit and mortgage payments.
If you manage to acquire sole ownership of the property, whether through remortgaging or a cash buyout, you have a few options if you want to sell. The three most common routes are selling traditionally on the open market with an estate agent, putting it up for auction and selling to cash buyers. There are different fees and timescales to account for here—let’s take a look at how they compare:
Sale Option | Amount You Pay | Amount You Receive | Average Sale Time | Considerations |
---|---|---|---|---|
Estate Agent | £1.5k (1-3% Commission) | 80-100% | 16-52 Weeks | Possible chain breaks |
Auction | £2.5-5k | 50-100% | 6-10 Weeks | No guaranteed sale |
The Property Buying Company | £0 | 80.39-93.14% | 2-3 Weeks | Lower than typical market value |
The direction you choose will depend on your circumstances—for instance, how long you leave it after buying your partner out or remortgaging to sell the house—but the good news is you have the autonomy to do what’s best for you at this stage.
If you want as close to 100% market value as possible and you’re prepared to wait for it, go down the estate agent route. If you want a quick sale and you’re looking to relocate, for example, get a free offer from a cash buyer like The Property Buying Company today and you might be able to move on within days or weeks.
To apply for a court order to sell your house, you should first seek legal advice from a specialist solicitor—they will be able to guide you through the litigation process. You may need to sever a joint tenancy if you own less than 50% of the property before you can apply for a Charging Order. You can find out more about the process of filing a court order in our guide here.
If you’ve tried what you can to resolve the situation between you, but you keep hitting a brick wall, it’s advisable to hire a mediator to work through the complexities for you. Money can be a very sensitive subject—even more so during a separation—so it’s important to get a third-party viewpoint on the situation to find a resolution without the emotional investment.
If you are getting divorced or separated and you co-own a house you want to sell, the payment of legal fees should be agreed between you as part of your overall financial agreement. They can come out of the equity to which you are both entitled if it’s a joint tenancy agreement, for instance. If you can’t reach an agreement, the courts will decide who pays what during the process of separation and selling the property.
If you want to remove your name from a joint mortgage, your ex-partner essentially needs to remortgage with a new lender in their own name or prove that they can refinance the property with the existing lender. At the start of the process, they can request that your name is removed from the deeds so you’ll no longer be liable to make the mortgage payments on the property.
01/05/2025 - Content rewritten and edited by Raphael Kaye
01/05/2025 - Content updated in line with Editorial Guidelines (Reviewed by Mathew McCorry)