When you divorce or separate, you usually have three options for a jointly owned home: sell it and split the proceeds, keep paying the mortgage together for now, or one of you buys the other out. Which works depends on what you can afford on one income. This guide walks through each route, the costs, and where to get help.
“Divorce is stressful enough without feeling like you might lose your home on top of everything else. In most cases there are more options than people realise, and the earlier you get advice, the more room you have to find the one that works for you.”
Rachel Geddes
Strategic Lender Relationship Director
What happens to a joint mortgage after divorce?
If you are both named on the mortgage, you are both legally responsible for the full repayments, regardless of who still lives in the home or how things stand between you. That doesn’t change until the mortgage is changed, so keeping payments up in the meantime protects you both. There are three main options for you.
Selling the property
Selling, paying off the mortgage and dividing what is left according to your settlement is often the cleanest option. It releases both of you from the debt and gives you each a share to move on with. The trade-off is that you both need to find somewhere new to live.
One partner keeping the home
One of you stays and takes on the mortgage alone, usually buying out the other’s share and remortgaging into a sole name. This is common where there are children and you want to keep disruption to a minimum. It usually depends on whether the person staying can afford the mortgage on their own, which we come to next.
Both continuing to pay the mortgage
Sometimes, often as a temporary measure or until children finish school, couples keep the joint mortgage and keep contributing. This can be agreed through the courts, for example with an order that delays the sale of the home until a set point. Because you both stay fully liable, it is important to get legal advice before relying on this.
Can I remortgage in my own name after divorce?
Yes, provided you can show a lender you can afford the mortgage on your own. Moving from two incomes to one is usually the biggest hurdle, but there are often more ways around it than people expect.
How lenders assess affordability on one income
A lender looks at your income, your regular outgoings, any existing debts and dependents, and the size of the loan against what you earn. On a single income, the amount you can borrow usually falls. There are ways to bridge the gap, such as extending the mortgage term to lower monthly payments, or putting down a larger deposit using money from your settlement. An adviser can show you an example of what is realistic before you apply.
Can maintenance payments count as income?
Often, yes. Many lenders will take spousal or child maintenance into account as income, particularly where it is set out in a court order and you can evidence it with bank statements showing regular payments. Lender policies vary a lot here, so this is an area where an adviser who knows which lenders are flexible can make a real difference.
How divorce can affect your credit score
Divorce itself does not directly affect your credit score. What can matter is staying financially linked to your ex.
If you have joint accounts, such as a joint mortgage, loan or bank account, those accounts appear on both your credit files and you’re each responsible for the full amount owed. That means a missed payment will show on both your files, even if your ex was the one who agreed to pay, so keep up with joint payments where you can.
Your ex’s individual borrowing won’t appear on your credit file. But while you’re financially associated, lenders may take their credit history into account when you apply for credit.
Once you no longer share any accounts, you can ask the credit reference agencies to remove the financial link between you. This is called a “notice of disassociation”.
Buying out your ex-partner’s share
If you are keeping the home, you buy out your ex’s share of the equity, usually by remortgaging for a larger amount to release the cash to pay them.
Getting the property valued
Start with an accurate, up-to-date valuation so you both know what the home is worth. It is worth getting an independent valuation or surveyor’s opinion and agreeing the figure between you, as everything that follows depends on it.
Working out how much you need to borrow
Your equity is the property’s value minus the outstanding mortgage. Your ex’s share of that equity (often half, though it depends on your settlement) is what you need to pay them. In practice you remortgage for the current balance plus their share, less any extra deposit you add. For example, on a home worth £300,000 with £180,000 left on the mortgage, there is £120,000 of equity; buying out a half share would mean finding £60,000, usually by borrowing it.
Transfer of equity explained
A transfer of equity is the legal process of changing who is named on the property’s title, in this case removing your ex. It is handled by a solicitor or conveyancer, usually at the same time as the remortgage. Your lender has to agree to it, and you will need to pass their affordability checks in your sole name.
Remortgaging after divorce step by step
Understand your finances
Get a clear picture of your income, outgoings and the equity in the home, and work out what you could comfortably afford on your own.
Speak to your lender and a mortgage adviser
Your current lender may offer a transfer of equity or a new product, but it pays to compare. A mortgage adviser can look across the market, including lenders who are more comfortable with maintenance income or single-income affordability.
Get legal advice and a consent order
A solicitor handles the financial settlement, and a consent order makes it legally binding so it cannot be reopened later. It is best to have the legal side agreed before you finalise mortgage arrangements, so nothing has to be unpicked.
Complete the remortgage and update the title deeds
Once the new mortgage completes, the transfer of equity is registered and the title updated so the home is in your name alone.
Protecting yourself after divorce
Separating is also one of the most important times to review the protection you have in place, and your will. Both are easy to overlook when everything else is changing.
Reviewing your life insurance and income protection
Joint policies set up with your ex may need changing, and now that you may be relying on a single income, cover like income protection and life insurance can matter more than ever. If you pay or receive maintenance, it is worth thinking about cover that would protect those payments if something happened. You can read more on our protection page.
Updating your will
Divorce changes how your will works. In England and Wales it does not cancel your will outright, but it treats your former husband or wife as though they had died, which can have knock-on affects you did not intend. It is a good moment to update your beneficiaries, any guardians for children, and who inherits your home. Our wills page is a starting point, and a solicitor can help with your specific situation.
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Something to bear in mind...
FAQs
Usually, you will need either a transfer of equity or a full remortgage, as a lender will not remove a name without being satisfied the remaining person can afford the mortgage alone. Sometimes a transfer of equity with your existing lender avoids a full remortgage, but you still have to pass their affordability checks on your own.
There are options worth exploring before assuming you have to sell: extending the term to lower payments, using settlement money as a larger deposit, or arrangements such as a guarantor or joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgage. An adviser can look at which lenders and structures might work. If none do, selling may turn out to be the sensible route.
A remortgage on its own typically takes a few weeks, but with a transfer of equity and a financial settlement involved it can take longer. Starting the legal and mortgage processes alongside each other, rather than one after the other, helps keep things moving.
You can, but it is usually wiser to wait until your financial settlement is agreed, ideally with a consent order, so your arrangements cannot be unpicked later. Speak to your solicitor about the right timing for your circumstances.