I got a 100% mortgage with a friend 2 years ago on a joint tenancy basis.

She has been paying the mortgage and council tax from her bank account for the duration where I have been paying bills and maintenance costs etc.

She has only lived in the property for the past few months (for her own reasons) and recently told me that I owe her £14k as my share of the mortgage/council tax. This is not taking into account the fact that I’ve paid for all the remaining bills and done all the labour and maintenance work to the house – redecorating, central heating etc.

Now she says she’s going to sue me for £14k (she’s paid out £28k over the 2 years), and that her solicitor has advised her that as the mortgage payments have been coming from her own bank account in her name that she is entitled to more of the property. Both of our names are on the mortgage deed.

Can anyone shed any light on this situation? I have a 3 year old and the worst case scenario I can see is me having to pay up £14k and lose the house – so someone telling me that this won’t or can’t happen will put my mind at bit more at ease.

I'm far from qualified in this field - and I'm sure more-learned posters will comment on the accuracy of this -

My understanding is that the relevant information (in terms of ownership) is whether the ownership of the house itself is split 50/50 - this is separate from mortgage names/percentages -

You're going to hit a grey area in terms of who owes who what - if you don't have any kind of formal agreement then it will simply be a case of your word against hers. (I'm presuming a certain amount of acrimosity has come into play)

I'm push comes to shove you might have to itemise expenditures etc - although I'm not sure what the legal basis for this would be...

Good luck!

Jim

You must go back immediately to the solicitor who advised you on the purchase, and who did your share of the conveyance. Always assuming, of course, that you did get advice, that your name is on the mortgage and the property deeds and so on. I know you say your name is ont he mortgage deed, but I can;t believe you didn;t foresee this problem...

Your solicitor should have suggested to you that you draw up a declaration of trust - if you didn't your situation is harder than it otherwise would be.

If you can't afford a solicitor go to CAB, but get advice. My best guess is that you're in trouble, based solely on the fact that you're asking for advice on here - if your solicitor had done their job properly you'd know your rights...