Can You Force Your Partner To Sell The House?

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.

Table of Contents

• What happens if one person wants to sell the house and the other doesn’t?

• Should I remortgage to buy out my partner on the house?

• Can I buy out my partner on the house with cash?

• How can I sell the house if I get sole ownership?

• FAQs

What happens if one person wants to sell the house and the other doesn’t?

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.

Joint Tenancy

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.

Tenancy in Common

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.

Should I remortgage to buy out my partner on the house?

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:

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.

Can I buy out my partner on the house with cash?

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.

How can I sell the house if I get sole ownership?

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:

FAQs