How can I sell my partner a share of my property?

[C-C]

I have an interest only mortgage due to be paid off in a couple of years. My partner has lived with me for 7 years and greatly helped with improving the property. He has offered to pay off the mortgage and understandably needs official proof. The endowment will be short and its proceeds will come to me. I am considering a 40% share. A solicitor has told me to use him to sell a % and for my partner to use another solicitor to purchase a %. Can we arrange this without using solicitors?

[Didwot]

You can, but it is not straightforward. You will need to create a document called a deed of trust setting out your respective rights and interests in the property, who pays what, when it may be sold, and who gets what when it is sold. You will also need to transfer the proeprty into your joint names as Tenants in Common in unequal shares. That is a simple matter of obtaining details of the title from the Land registry, Filling in a Land Registry transfer form TR1, filling in a stamp duty form SDLT60, paying off the mortgage, and getting the mortgagee to clear its charge from the land registry title, and then send the TR1, SDLT 60 a completed Land Registry form AP1 and a cheque for �40 to the Land Registry. Easy really!

[C-C]

Thanks for your very informative response.

[Golden Shred]

The Didwot answer is garbled;
(a) what you are seeking to do is alter the Register at the Land Registry so that the property is held in a Tenancy in Common with your partner holding 60% of the shares and you 40%
(b) you do not need a Deed of Trust through a solicitor. Such things are frequently worthless anyway if shove ever comes to push.
(c) speak to your local District Land Registry Office who will guide you through their process. Whilst the forms are straightforward there is some terminology and a method of signing for which you might wish explanation.
(d) speak also to 0845 6030135 and tell them of your proposal and the valuation of the property. Sometimes Stamp Duty is payable on these transactions particularly where money is changing hands as in your case. Depending on your situation, they will tell you how to obtain a Stamp Duty Land Tax Certificate which the Land Registry must have before it can do anything at all. If Stamp Duty is payable it must be paid in full before you can have a Certificate.
(e) sometimes people do not proceed because Stamp Duty must be paid. However, if you continue you should now speak to your Mortgage Lender and ascertain the terms for early redemption, and if agreeable tell them of your proposal. They will have something called a Restriction completely blocking you from doing this on your own entered at the Land Registry.
(f) as your partner requires proof, you should arrange with your lender to send all of your documentation to them with the request that when the cheque settling the mortgage has cleareded they send your documentation together with their Form lifting the Restriction to the Land Registry all at the same time. They will charge for this, usually around �100 including VAT.
That is the way it is done.

[Didwot]

Although Goldenshred thinks Deeds of Trust are worthless, the Court of Appeal would beg to differ EG Lord Justice Mummery in Carlton v Goodman [2002] EWCA Civ 545

[C-C]

Thanks so much Didwot and Goldenshred. After discussing with my partner (7 years living together as husband & wife) I've decided to split the property into equal 50/50.
The mortgage is �50k which should be below the Stamp Duty threshold. There is no early redemption fee with the building society. I was hoping to simply receive the �50k from my partner via his bank account and then simply pay my lender to redeem the mortgage. On the day that this is transacted, I wish to arrange for the Deeds to show that my partner is a joint owner of the property at 50% each. When I phoned a solicitor to see if this could be done, they suggested we use separate solicitors to officially buy & sell which obviously would bring expense that appears uneccessary.

[Golden Shred]

(1) If you have factually checked that no Stamp Duty is payable you still need a Stamp Duty Land Tax Certificate before the Land Registry can do anything. You can obtain the form by a telephone call.
(2) after that the mechanism is quite simple
(a) you must firstly decide between you whether you wish to hold the 50/50 as a joint tenancy or tenancy in common
(b) then the Restriction must be lifted which will be done by your mortgage lender after the settlement has been cleared into his bank
(c) simultaneously you must obtain two forms from the Land Registry ( they can be downloaded but rather than me detail it please speak to your local District Land Registry Office as your dealings will be with them. They will also advise you of their current fee). After the Restriction is lifted it is only a matter of altering the name on the Register at the Land Registry
(d) if your partner trusts you then you can send their forms and the SDLT Certificate directly to the Land Registry advising them that the Restriction is about to be lifted and asking them to action your application after that has been done, or
(e) you can send them to your lender asking that they be included with their application to lift the Restriction.

It is quite easy to do yourself and you do not need a solicitor. I repeat that this Deed of Trust business is frequently a nonsense and a waste of time and money.

[C-C]

SUCCESS! Thanks Goldenshred & Didwot. Your answers really helped. No tax to pay, TR1 form, D1 & D2 form and APforms all downloaded, completed & returned. The Building Society made no charge, sent me the deeds on cleared payment. The Land Registry have just sent me their copy of the register showing myself & my partner as equal tenants in common. The total cost: a mere �40. Much better than the �500 solicitors would have charged.
BRILLIANT ADVICE, THANKS SO MUCH!