LAST time I explained the difference between people owning property as 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'.

Either way your name will be on the title to the property and you will be regarded as one of the legal owners.

But what happens if your name is not 'on the deeds' but you did contribute to either the purchase price or make some other financial investment in the property?

Ideally, this will have already been dealt with by the parties entering into a Declaration of Trust or Trust Deed, which is a binding document recording financial arrangements between property owner(s) and those with a financial interest in the property. It is necessary where one party is contributing to the purchase price, but is not to be shown as legal owner. This could be where parents are helping out with a share of the purchase price or where one half of a couple moves into a property already owned by the other and pays a lump sum to help reduce the mortgage or carry out renovations.

If no formal agreement has been reached and problems arise, then the person who claims they have an interest in the property does not have any automatic rights.

If agreement cannot be reached, then they need to consider whether they have grounds to establishing that a Trust exists. They would need to make an application to the court under the provisions of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. These are known as ToLATA claims and are complicated. Under the Act, the court has the power to determine each party’s interest in the property and how it should be dealt with.

That said, it is much better to have formal agreement in writing before problems arise so, if this situation applies to you, take legal advice.