When might you change who’s on your mortgage? 

Adding someone to a mortgage or taking someone’s name off a mortgage can be called a transfer of equity. 

You’ll need to talk to us about a transfer of equity if:
You get married and want to transfer a mortgage with one name into joint names.
You get married or separated and want to transfer a joint mortgage to a single name.
You want to remove someone from a joint mortgage and add someone else.
A mortgage holder has passed away and you want to add a new name to the mortgage.

What legal advice will I need?

You will need to appoint a conveyancer to carry out the legal work for you.

You won’t need a separate solicitor to act for somebody who is being removed from the mortgage. However, if they want to do this, they can.

You can use our conveyancing service to find a conveyancer, or you can choose one of your own. If you decide to choose one of your own, they must be on our approved panel.

If you use our conveyancing service, you’ll get a range of quotes from up to 60 firms. The service is completely independent, and you will have your quotes within seconds.

More about changing borrowers

What does transfer of equity mean?
A transfer of equity is when you change the names on a mortgage. This could mean adding someone’s name to or removing someone’s name from the mortgage. 

This may be necessary due to divorce, separation or if there has been bereavement in the family. Or you might decide to add someone to your mortgage if you get married or want to live together.
Make sure you can still afford your mortgage
If you want to transfer the property ownership and mortgage into just your name, you’ll need to show that you can afford the mortgage on your own. We’ll ask you to prove that you can afford the monthly payments. 
Divorce or separation
If you have a joint mortgage with another person, you are both equally responsible for the repayment of the mortgage loan. You have a number of options.
Transfer of equity
If you or your former partner decide to stay in the house, the person who stays in the property would need to go through the process to transfer ownership into their sole name. This means that one person buys out the other. A valuation of the property's current value would be needed in this scenario.

Options that don’t involve transfer of equity

You can decide to sell the house and divide the proceeds between you. The proceeds from the sale would be used to repay the mortgage and any money left over would then need to be split between you (similar to any shared assets). Early repayment charges may apply.
If the mortgage doesn't have long to run you may decide to continue making the mortgage payments with your former partner. You both remain responsible for the mortgage, so it is in the interests of both of you to make sure that the mortgage payments are made.
Remember, while you’re in the process of making any decisions, you still need to pay your monthly repayments. 
Any missed payments may affect you and your partner's credit reference files.
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