I have a house that I rent rooms out to lodgers but have been living at the gf’s for over a year now. Anyway, today we have looked at a house she is interested in which is a bit of a fixer upper, so I was wondering if I bought it with her 50/50, how would this affect my primary residence status at the house I own? Ideally we’d put in approx 15k each and share the mortgage. Can anyone foresee any issues that may crop up from this? Thanks in advance.

issues with the ‘rented rooms house’

1) tax
2) mortgage
3) it becomes an HMO and fire rules and regs become far more onerous.

although given it’s actually status won’t change I’d be wary about telling them it’s the continuation of an existing situation that you don;t live there.

“primary residence status” in terms of what? Council tax?

Errr, unless I’m missing something, if you don’t live there it’s not your primary residence.

This sounds like a can of worms…

I think you can buy a house with her and continue to lie about where you really live.
IANAL

Yes, i’d like to keep my place with the rooms rented out (It isn’t a HMO with two lodgers, three or more lodgers would class it as a HMO) and buy the other place with the gf, splitting the costs equally.

Don’t forget to insure your car to the one that gets you the cheapest premium as well.

Suspect he’s worried about capital gains tax.

I’d be more worried about buying a house with a girlfriend. Been there, done that, twice. Would never, ever, suggest it again. First one tried to 4k off with my money, second one 4kd off out of the country. Try selling a house with two names on the registry (and a declaration of trust in place) where the other party is 20000 miles away.

Buy the house in her name only. Pay her your share each month and keep your primary residence as your other house to avoid tax.

then , if it goes pear shaped, you have no legal paperwork to prove its part yours.

Deffo the best plan that one

“Pay her your share each month and keep your primary residence as your other house to avoid tax.”

The OP won’t avoid tax that way. “Rent a room” only applies where the owner is resident, and any more than one room rented doesn’t count.

Is this where the OP tells us that he “forgot” to do a self assessment to declare the additional income?

But surely when you walk into the bank to ask for a mortgage the first thing they are going to ask you is why you have a mortgage for a different house? And how so you plan to cover both mortgages – then you’re going to have to declare you’re renting it out.

Become an MP, claim expenses, job done!

Try selling a house with two names on the registry (and a declaration of trust in place) where the other party is 20000 miles away.

Where the hell did she go 😯

Beyond the HMO stuff, unmarried couples’ rights and legal situation with jointly bought properties are not well defined. Even with a 50/50 split of deposit and mortgage payment, it may not work how think it might if you split later. Over the longer term (say if you have kids or change jobs and aren’t equally splitting everything) that could change too.

Talk to each other before you buy and agree how it will work, then get a solicitor to draw something up. That goes double if your 15k each isn’t straight from your own savings (eg. a family gift). Or just marry her.

Where the hell did she go

Sydney’s 10,500 miles from London so my money’s on the ISS.

Adelaide, via a very long cruise (she got a job on a cruise ship)

Or just marry her.

And then you could lose half of your house as well if it goes pear shaped.

I think the primary status relief on capital gains only counts for the number of years you are living there, so you cannot count the year you have been living with her.

As others are saying, think very carefully about entering such a financial contract with a girlfriend as it is a big step.

Definitely consult a solicitor because it often doesn’t work out how you think it should. The initial consultation is often free, and then you will pay for them to draw up a legal contract for you.

if it goes pear shaped, you have no legal paperwork to prove its part yours.

Deffo the best plan that one

Draw up a contract stating joint ownership in the event of a seperation. Both people sign and keep safe.

traildog – Member

And then you could lose half of your house as well if it goes pear shaped.

Having been through this recently… The previous house would be classed as a non-matrimonial asset, compared to the jointly purchased house which would be classed as a matrimonial one. In the even of a split/divorce, the matrimonial assets would be split between the two parties, but the non-matrimonial one would only be taken into account in the financial settlement to allow her to buy a place to live with little or no mortgage.

Hence, despite saying that my inheritance would not be touched, there was a strong chance that it would have been pillaged to allow her to buy a house.

Buy the house in her name only.

I really really really would not do this. Really.