Co habiting rights

[marianne1]

I moved in with my boyfriend before he bought his house from the council. I lent him a sum of 5k which he never repaid and I believed it went towards the payment of the property. Five years later I live elsewhere and wonder if I am entitled to any of the property or at least to my money back. There was no written agreement. My name isn't on the deeds. The only proof about the 'loan' was a payment by cheque, but he is saying it was a gift towards my keep as I never paid my share of upkeep. He is also saying that he paid for all the foreign holidays, food bills, upkeep of house. I did pay the odd bill, but no regular rent or anything on an agreed basis.

[lady_p_gold]

Well to be honest he has a point I think , although you do not say how long you lived there. To be honest I think your chances would be slim.

[caz21]

You really should have drawn up a contract at the beginning stating if you were to split up he would have to pay a certain amount back to you, but to be honest five years later and without a contract you wouldnt have a leg to stand on, Think you are probably best leaving it this time hun, and if you are ever in a situation like this in the future it is best to have a written agreement!

[marianne1]

Thank you :)

[WendyS]

I don't know how this will resolve itself but at least contact your bank and ask for a copy of the cancelled cheque to prove that the money was paid to him. Although banks don't return cancelled cheques to the writer any longer they do keep them in the archives for up to seven years and if you do decide to do battle on this, you will at least then have proof that the money was paid to him.
All I can suggest is that in future you become at lot less naive about your cohabiting arrangements and make sure that after "once bitten, twice shy" you get any financial loans or agreements properly drawn up in writing.. This isn't mercenry. It's plain common sense and the minimum that would be done in any commercial contract.
In your case, if your ex boyfriend paid all the bills and for your holidays you will probably find that if you lived with him for any length of time, he probably paid out a lot more than �5,000 so it's a case of "swings and roundabouts" and you probably don't have any claim on him.