Who owns the house when an unmarried couple separates?
Who really owns the property?
The first question is not who paid how much. The first question is: who is in the land register?
Sole ownership
If only one person is in the land register, the house belongs to them alone — even if the other paid in for years.
Co-ownership by fractions
If both are registered, the house belongs to both in their shares, usually half each. Every decision needs both.
Other quota or partnership
Sometimes a different quota or a joint partnership is registered. Then the rules set out there apply.
The land register decides — not the gut feeling
This is exactly where many miscalculate: they assume their own payment automatically creates a claim on the house.
The land register counts
not who paid how much — the payment share creates no ownership
It does not. Clarify right at the start what the land register says — before you talk about prices and buy-outs. Anyone who paid more but is not registered accordingly has to pursue their money through the cumbersome route of a reclaim.
Three routes out of joint ownership
If both want different things, three routes remain.
| Route | When it makes sense | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Buy-out | One wants to stay and can finance it | new financing needed, the bank has to agree |
| Joint sale | Neither wants or can keep it | both must agree on process and price |
| Partition auction | No agreement possible | usually brings less, last resort |
The joint sale is usually the cleanest solution: house sold, loan redeemed, the rest divided by shares. The partition auction is the emergency exit — and almost always costs money compared with an orderly sale.
The joint loan does not separate with you
A point that often gets lost: the joint loan continues after separation, and both remain jointly and severally liable to the bank. Whoever moves out is not automatically out of the liability. If the other stops paying, the bank turns to both.
You only get out of the liability with the bank's consent
Anyone who really wants out needs the bank's release from liability — or the loan is redeemed on sale. Until then the joint debt remains, however estranged you are.
What the house is worth today is shown by the property value calculator. For married couples, different rules apply — see selling a property in a divorce.
Note: This information is no substitute for individual legal advice.
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