Author: Andy Bedford » Publish Date: 21 May 2025

A big decision when applying for a mortgage is often whether to apply solely or jointly with a partner or spouse.

I frequently get enquiries where a customer wants to arrange a mortgage alone, despite being in a relationship or married. Often, they can be a little disgruntled about me digging deeper into this decision.

You shouldn’t be offended if a broker questions this decision, though.

It’s actually a sign of good mortgage advice. Ultimately, a mortgage advisor should ensure (to the fullest extent possible) that you get the best solution.

Whilst we cannot advise on matters of tax and law, we have a general awareness of the situations that can give rise to the biggest issues. It’s an important part of giving the best advice to ensure that a customer is basing decisions on genuine facts, not hearsay and getting other advice where relevant.

As part of that, many customers should get recommendations on both a sole and joint basis and consider options fully. If a broker doesn’t expand on this with you, it’s questionable whether they are doing a good job.

Why is applying in your sole name an issue?

There’s a myriad of complex legal and taxation issues that arise from the decision of whether to apply solely or jointly.

How you arrange the ownership will determine whether additional stamp duty or exemptions like First Time-Buyers Relief might be applicable. They may also impact on capital gains tax liabilities.

But these decisions can also lead to missing out on the additional relief for Inheritance Tax on a main residence, a property being inherited by a sibling or parent rather than an unmarried partner, a partner unintentionally becoming a co-owner and lots of other issues.

Secondly, there are a broad range to alternative solutions to ownership that might be suitable. Including specifying different percentages or ownership, secondary legal instruments like declarations of trust, mortgage products that allow a “joint borrower- sole proprietor”, etc.

It’s vital you know and understand your options. The cost implications can be life changing.

So let’s consider some of the reasons people might assume they must apply alone first:

• I’m the only income earner; this doesn’t mean you have to apply alone, although it might affect the potential loan amounts with some lenders (but not all). Either way, a good broker could give recommendations on a sole & joint basis.
• My partner is self-employed or has complex income; again, the mortgage broker should at least offer a sole & joint basis recommendation here. Self-employment isn’t complex for a competent advisor, and you might jeopardise the rate you could receive by placing constraints on the best solution.
• My partner is a foreign national on a visa; another example of a situation where you might be better off joint, and advice should cover all your options.
• My partner’s income is foreign; although most lenders don’t accept foreign income, it might not even be required on the application. This should not preclude a joint mortgage.
• My partner owns another property; This is an example where it may, for tax reasons, or possibly affordability, mean that a sole application is best. But it’s still a case where an adviser should consider the numbers and ensure this seems correct.
• My partner has significant debts; this doesn’t mean you should always apply alone, and the mortgage advisor should consider the level of debt, its impact on affordability and potential credit scoring and should discuss and agree this with you.
• My partner’s income is cash-based, seasonal or irregular; again, this does not mean they cannot be joint applicants, and it also doesn’t mean the income cannot be considered. Good advice should cover all options.
• My partner doesn’t have good credit; an advisor should consider what that means. If someone was previously bankrupt (for example), this might be relevant, but if an applicant just had a low credit score due to never having had credit, it might be irrelevant and have little to no effect on suitable products.

There are countless examples of reasons why someone might assume they should apply alone. But in reality, good advice should usually consider both sole and joint applications and then give you a cost differential for those options.

For many customers, though, the decision has been made based on legal or tax considerations and is about a preference for a sole application. So let’s consider some of those preferences:

• We want to take advantage of first-time buyer stamp duty relief and capital gains tax benefits on a buy-to-let investment in the future; current tax law would prevent this if the applicant is married or in a civil partnership in terms of stamp duty but might give some benefits in capital gains, so the advisor should be checking this to ensure this preference makes sense and guiding an applicant to take suitable tax advice. For those in a non-marital relationship, it could be a good decision. Also see the next point.
• My partner wants to buy a buy-to-let investment property, and it will be easier for them to get a mortgage; curiously, whilst the tax situation could be better for some situations, the mortgage eligibility situation is often worse. Most of the time, being on the ownership of your main residence and having experience with a mortgage will generally improve your buy-to-let mortgage options and potential maximum loans.
• All of the deposit is mine, and I want to retain full ownership of the property; where this is the case, it can make sense, but if the applicant is married, it may be irrelevant and marital law advice should be sought. Whether married or not, if the other person subsequently contributes to the bills or mortgage, they could gain a legal interest. Again, it’s best that some legal advice is taken, and there is the option to split ownership in differing percentages. An applicant should be advised of these options.
• I’m going through a divorce; The advisor needs to have considered this, as the finalising of the divorce settlement may need to take place before completion (or the property could become part of the settlement anyway). Considerations like whether there will be a level of maintenance to pay a former spouse must be factored into the lender’s affordability.

In concert with those considerations, though, an applicant must understand the legal effects of sole ownership, particularly regarding inheritance tax and the potential ownership of the property on death.

Sole ownership for a married couple could negate the joint inheritance tax threshold on a married couple’s main residence and cause a double tax bill on separate deaths. Similarly, for non-married couples, it could invoke double IHT bills and greatly increase the liability.

Where someone simply wanted to protect their interest on separation, other legal instruments might have given a better balance of risks. So this would be a situation where good tax and legal advice is paramount.

Wills must be made reflecting preferences for ownership and considering the impact of death where the property might pass into the ownership of parents, siblings or even children who are still minors rather than an unmarried partner who is also a parent.

Summary

To conclude, then, good mortgage advice should test your assumptions, offer you the opportunity to consider both sides of the coin if relevant, and direct you to take legal and tax advice in many instances.

Whilst it’s ultimately your choice to arrange things as you prefer, any advisor that doesn’t discuss these things with you and document them in their suitability letter is likely leaving scope for future complaints; whilst also ignoring the delivery of the best outcome for you.

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