To buy someone out of a house, you agree what their share is worth and pay them that amount. The property and the mortgage then move into your name alone. Unless you can pay from savings, you will normally remortgage, and the lender has to be satisfied that you can afford the whole loan alone.
Three things have to line up: a price you both accept, finance to pay it and a legal transfer at HM Land Registry.
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) can also apply, depending on whether you are married and how much you pay.
This guide gives a worked example of the sums, explains how lenders treat a buyout and shows where costs and delays tend to appear. It covers England and Wales, while Scotland has its own property law and its own property tax.
What does it mean to buy someone out of a house?
‘Buying someone out’ means paying a co-owner for their share so that you become the only owner. If you also have a joint mortgage, their name comes off that as well, and the lender then deals with one borrower instead of two.
The legal term: transfer of equity
The legal term is a transfer of equity. Equity is the part of the property you own outright, which is its value minus whatever you still owe on the mortgage.
Owners appear on the title deeds, the official record held by HM Land Registry. A mortgage lender’s legal charge is recorded there too, which is why you cannot sell or remortgage without the lender being involved.
Who buys someone out, and why
People buy each other out after a divorce, after an unmarried relationship ends, after a shared inheritance or when friends who bought together part ways.
There were 105,002 divorces in England and Wales in 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Unmarried couples are a large group too, with the ONS counting 3.5 million cohabiting-couple families in the UK in 2025, or 17.6% of all families.
Marital status matters because unmarried partners do not get the same tax exemption on a buyout, as the stamp duty section below explains.
Buying someone out of a house: key figures at a glance
These are the figures to have to hand, each read from an official source in October 2026.
| Figure | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential SDLT threshold (England and Northern Ireland) | £125,000 | At the time of writing, October 2026 | GOV.UK |
| SDLT on a buyout under a divorce agreement or court order | None payable | At the time of writing, October 2026 | HMRC guidance on GOV.UK |
| Land Registry fee for a transfer of the whole title where one owner buys the other out (online) | £20 to £500, depending on value | At the time of writing, October 2026 | HM Land Registry fees |
| Court fee for a consent order | £62 | At the time of writing, October 2026 | GOV.UK |
| Divorces in England and Wales | 105,002 | 2025 | ONS |
| Cohabiting-couple families in the UK | 3.5 million (17.6% of families) | 2025 | ONS |
How to buy someone out of a house, step by step
You can buy someone out in six stages, and it helps to settle the first three before you spend money on anything else.
- Agree the principle. Both owners need to want the same outcome, and it is worth putting the main points in writing, even if the split is friendly.
- Confirm who owns what. Check whether you are joint tenants or tenants in common and whether a document records unequal shares.
- Agree a value and work out the price. The next section shows the sum.
- Arrange the money. This might come from savings, family help or a remortgage, and a broker can check what lenders would consider before you apply.
- Instruct a solicitor or conveyancer. They prepare the transfer deed, deal with your lender’s requirements and handle any SDLT return.
- Register the change. HM Land Registry updates the record so you are the only owner, and the lender takes you on as the only borrower.
Your lender also needs to agree at stage 4 or 5, because it must release the outgoing owner from the mortgage.
Joint tenants or tenants in common: which are you?
Check your type of ownership before you agree a price, because it decides whether the shares are equal. According to GOV.UK, joint tenants have equal rights to the whole property, while tenants in common can own different shares.
Your solicitor can check the title register and the paperwork from when you bought. Where shares are unequal, they are often recorded in a declaration of trust, which is a signed document setting out who owns what percentage.
A larger deposit or bigger repayments can support a claim to a larger share. Without a written agreement or clear evidence the point may be disputed, so take legal advice before you rely on it.
How do you calculate buying someone out of a house?
The price is the property’s value, minus the mortgage you still owe, multiplied by the share you are buying.
In four steps:
- Get the property valued. You could average the figures from two or three local estate agents, or pay for a surveyor’s valuation.
- Ask your lender for a redemption statement, which shows the exact balance including any early repayment charges and exit fees.
- Take the redemption figure away from the value to find the equity.
- Multiply the equity by the share you are buying.
A worked example
For example, say your home is worth £700,000 and you owe £400,000 on the mortgage. That leaves £300,000 of equity, and a 50% share is worth £150,000. If you had paid a bigger deposit and agreed a 60/40 split in your favour, you would pay 40% of £300,000, or £120,000.
Why the figure can change
The figure moves over time, because property values change and a repayment mortgage balance falls each month. It helps to agree the valuation date in writing so that neither of you reopens the price halfway through.
If you are married and getting divorced, the final financial settlement usually decides what your ex is owed. The buyout price then follows that settlement, and the split it sets may not be 50/50.
Can you remortgage to buy someone out of a house?
Yes, and a remortgage is the usual way to pay for the buyout unless you have the cash.
You apply for a larger loan, repay the existing mortgage with it and pay your ex from the extra. This is a form of capital raising.
In the example above you would need a new mortgage of £550,000: £400,000 to repay the old loan and £150,000 for your ex. Against a £700,000 home that is a loan to value (LTV) of about 79%, meaning the loan is about 79% of the property’s value. A lower LTV usually opens up cheaper deals, and rates change often, so a broker can check what is available when you apply.
How a lender assesses the new loan
The lender will assess you on your income alone, whereas the original mortgage was probably approved on two incomes. Because of that, the loan you are offered can come out lower than the buyout needs, or the application can be declined.
Income, savings and credit checks
Lenders will ask for recent payslips and bank statements. If you are self-employed, they will want tax calculations (called SA302s) or accounts. The number of years they accept varies, so read about self-employed mortgages and the two years of accounts rule first.
Some lenders will let you stay on your existing mortgage and release your ex if you can pay them out from savings. The lender still checks that you can afford the loan alone.
Each full application leaves a mark on your credit score, so applying to several lenders yourself can hurt you. A broker can match your income and credit history to lender criteria first, and A Complete Guide to Remortgaging explains the wider process.
CONTACT A REMORTGAGE EXPERT
If you wish to investigate your re-mortgage options we can put you in touch with a fully qualified whole of market mortgage broker.
Do you pay stamp duty when you buy someone out of a house?
It depends on whether you are married or in a civil partnership and on how much you pay for the other person’s share. Stamp duty land tax applies in England and Northern Ireland, while Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax.
The taxable amount is more than the cash you hand over. HMRC counts the cash plus the share of the mortgage you take on. You pay SDLT if the total is above the threshold, which is £125,000 for residential property at the time of writing in October 2026.
A worked SDLT example
Take two unmarried owners with a £700,000 home and a £400,000 mortgage. You pay your ex £150,000 for their half and take over their half of the mortgage, which is £200,000, so the taxable amount is £350,000. Using the rates published by GOV.UK in October 2026, you would owe £2,500 on the slice from £125,001 to £250,000. Add £5,000 on the slice from £250,001 to £350,000 and the total is £7,500. That assumes standard rates, so the extra charge for owning another home could raise it.
If you are unmarried, HMRC’s guidance on transferring ownership says you must still report the transfer even when no tax is due.
Divorce, separation and other tax points
Divorcing and separating couples are treated differently. No SDLT is payable on a transfer made under an agreement or court order for a divorce, dissolution, annulment or legal separation. You do not need to tell HMRC either. The same guidance says unmarried joint owners may have to pay.
If the home is not your main residence, ask a solicitor or accountant about Capital Gains Tax as well.
How much does it cost to buy someone out of a house?
Apart from the buyout payment itself, you will pay several fees, and the amounts depend on your solicitor, your lender and the value of the property.
Here are the main ones:
- Valuation: an estate agent may do this free, while a surveyor charges a fee.
- Conveyancing fees: the solicitor’s charge for the transfer deed and the lender’s paperwork, which varies between firms.
- Land Registry fee: HM Land Registry’s Scale 1 fees apply when one owner pays another for a share. At the time of writing in October 2026, an online transfer of the whole title costs £20 to £500, and a postal application costs £45 to £1,105, depending on value. Transfers made without payment, such as under a divorce court order, follow a different scale.
- SDLT: covered in the section above.
- Lender fees: a remortgage can bring arrangement, valuation and early repayment charges, plus a broker fee if one applies.
- Mediation and court fees: at the time of writing in October 2026, a mediation information assessment is usually about £120 and a consent order costs £62, both according to GOV.UK.
What if you cannot agree on a price or your ex will not cooperate?
Because a buyout needs signatures from both of you, a disagreement can stop it.
A mediator is often the quickest fix, because mediation can be quicker and cheaper than going to court. A mediation information assessment is usually about £120.
If you are divorcing and agree the split, you can ask a court to approve a consent order, which makes the agreement legally binding. The consent order only takes effect after the final order or decree absolute, so the timing affects when the buyout can complete.
Unmarried couples follow different rules, and ownership shares are usually settled by the title documents and any written agreement.
If talks fail, any co-owner can apply to the court under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. The court can declare each person’s interest and make orders about how the property is dealt with. Court action is best kept as a last resort because it takes time and money.
What if you cannot afford to buy your partner out?
If a lender will not lend enough, you still have options, although each has a trade-off. A broker can check whether a different lender, a longer mortgage term or a different loan structure would work. A longer term lowers the monthly payment but costs more interest overall.
The hard part is that the lender’s affordability test often sets the limit before fairness comes into it. If the most a lender will offer falls below the £550,000 in the example above, the gap is yours and your ex’s to close. Each way of closing it needs the other owner to agree.
You could also bring in family help, wait until your income rises or agree to sell the home and split the proceeds. Which route fits depends on your income, your equity and how quickly the other owner needs their money.
Keeping the mortgage up to date
While you decide, keep paying the mortgage. Everyone named on it is responsible for the monthly mortgage repayments, even if one person has moved out. Missed payments can lead to repossession and damage every borrower’s credit report, which makes a later mortgage harder to get.
Do you need a solicitor to buy someone out of a house?
You can apply to HM Land Registry yourself. A solicitor or conveyancer is the usual choice, though, because the transfer deed, the lender’s requirements and any SDLT return all have to match. The main forms are the change of register application (AP1), the transfer of whole (TR1) and a certificate of identity (ID1).
The legal help you need depends on how friendly the split is. If you agree on everything, a conveyancing solicitor may only need to prepare the transfer and register it. If you disagree, you will each need your own solicitor.
Talk to an independent mortgage broker
Buying someone out comes down to four decisions: the price, how to pay, the tax position and the legal transfer. Getting the finance right first saves time, because a lender’s answer on affordability shapes everything else.
If you want to explore your options, contact us and we will introduce you to an independent, whole-of-market mortgage broker.
They can check which lenders may consider your income and credit history. Our guide to the experienced mortgage broker role explains what a broker does, and one who knows remortgages will already know the usual hurdles.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Neither owner can force the other to buy, because the transfer needs both signatures. You can try mediation or agree to sell and split the proceeds. As a last resort, any co-owner can apply to the court, which can declare each person’s share and make orders about how the property is dealt with. That route takes time and money, so it is worth trying to agree terms first, ideally in writing.
Yes, until the lender releases them. Everyone named on a joint mortgage is responsible for the payments, whichever home they live in. Keep paying and agree who covers what in writing while the buyout is arranged, because any missed payment can harm both credit files.
You agree the value, pay the other owner their share and register a transfer at HM Land Registry. Without a lender you need no redemption figure, though you still need a solicitor’s help for the deed. If you are unmarried and the payment is over £125,000, SDLT may apply.
There is no fixed timescale. It depends on how quickly you agree the price, how fast the lender and solicitors work and whether you need a remortgage. Our guide to how long a transfer of equity takes explains the main delays.
Yes, if the lender consents. The transfer can go from you and your ex to you and your new partner jointly, and the lender then assesses both incomes. Adding someone to the mortgage in this way also needs a solicitor to register the change.
Yes, the lender will want proof of your income, such as tax calculations and accounts. The number of years it accepts varies by lender. Self-employed borrowers often find a broker useful because they can match your records to lenders before you apply.
