Money Tips When You Move In With Someone

Moving in with someone is a really exciting milestone in life. And it’s very common for couples to move in together without being married. If you’re not married there are some things you should do to make sure you’re both financially safe. That’s why I’ve put together some money tips when you move in with someone. A lot of these are from my own experience as well. Luke moved in with me to my flat when we’d been together about 18 months ago. And since then we’ve lived there, at my parents and now in our own home.

Know the situation you’re in

Sometimes it isn’t as simple as just moving in with someone, there will be different scenarios depending on if you rent, buy together, or move into each other’s homes.

Renting together

If you rent together make sure both of your names are on the tenancy. This way you are equally responsible for rent and any other tenancy conditions.

Buying a home together

If you are in the fortunate position to buy a property together there are two options you can have. Joint tenants mean that you own the property together and ownership is passed automatically to the partner if one of you sadly dies. This also means that ownership can’t be transferred to anyone else in your will.

You can also be tenants in common which means that you own different shares in the property. This might be because one person paid the deposit, or because you’ll each be contributing different amounts to the mortgage payment. This also means that unless the property is left to you in your partner’s will, you won’t be automatically entitled to the property if they die.

Money tips when you move into their home

Moving into a partner’s property (or having them move in with you) can be the hardest situation to be in as laws aren’t as widely known in this situation. And if you do break up you want to ensure you’re both financially safe.

The best thing to do is set up a cohabitation agreement which is also known as a living together agreement. This will help provide clarity about the position of the owner of the property when a partner moves in.

In both scenarios of who moves in with who you’ll want to discuss who will pay what. And for the person moving in whether their contributions are interest in the property, or simply a rental payment.

If you move in with them

Obviously, the best scenario would be for you to be added to the mortgage deed and an agreement set up to show how much they’d put into the property before you moved in. But this might feel too soon to do, or just too complicated.

You don’t want to be contributing to someone’s mortgage and putting money into home improvements and renovations for years and then be left with nothing if you break up or they die. You want to make sure that your contributions are recognised, so alongside having a cohabitation agreement keep a document trail/ evidence of payment towards a deposit, mortgage payments, and any home improvements (new kitchen/ extension, etc).

If they move in with you

Setting up a cohabitation agreement will be vital for you as if you break up and your partner can evidence that they’ve significantly contributed to the mortgage payments or home improvements which have increased the value of the property they could be entitled to some of the value of the property.

The agreement will show who owns what, the financial agreements you have made, and how assets/ income/ property will be separated should you break up.

Have open and honest discussions

Being open and talking about money is the best way to avoid arguments. When you first discuss moving in together you’ll want to talk about how you will split the mortgage/ rent alongside any bills. For example, will you split everything 50/50 regardless of how much you each earn? Or will you choose another way? There’s no right or wrong decision to be made, as long as whatever you decide you’re both happy with.

You also want to discuss how you will pay for household expenses. This includes everything from toilet paper and washing tablets to luxury duvet covers, anything that you’ll both use/ for the house.

Money tips when you move in: make a will

Although writing a bill may seem quite depressing it will help you to both be financially safe should something happen to the other. Having a will means you will be looking out for one another in the future. This is especially important if you are tenants in common, or you’re moving into their property.

If the property is in the other person’s name, or you aren’t joint tenants you wouldn’t automatically inherit the home if your partner died. So it could mean someone else gets control of the other part. This could result in you losing your home, or having to sell up. Both options aren’t fun to think of, and even more scary if you have kids to look after as well.

Consider life insurance if you own a property

Another one of the money tips when you move in together is to think about life insurance. If one person was to die would the other be able to afford mortgage payments and bills on their own? Possibly not. You can get life insurance which decreases each year and will just cover the outstanding mortgage. Alternatively, you can choose to have a lump sum that can be used against the mortgage/ bills/ anything else.

Luke has had life insurance since we first got our mortgage because he has a higher risk job (electrician). And I am in the process of sorting mine out now. I know that if one of us passed away the other would not be able to afford the house on their own. And the idea of the other person having to pack up and move out is heartbreaking.

Money tips when you move in: consider a joint account

Having a joint account can be really useful for things like bills and payments that you’re both contributing to. This means when you each get paid you can each transfer your part of all the monthly outgoings into the account.

You’ll both have visibility of the account so you can both access it if needed. It also means you may be able to put your bills in joint names as well making management far easier. But do remember that having a joint account will financially link you together. So if one person has bad credit it can affect the other. So think about it carefully before going ahead.

For most people it’s also a good idea to have your own individual accounts as well so you have financial freedom alongside any joint accounts you have.

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