Finance and ownership
Declaration of trust for property
A legal document recording who owns what share of a property, who paid what, and how the money is divided when it is sold.
This work depends on the details, so our team prepares a quote for you, usually within one working day.
A declaration of trust records who owns what, but it does not change your responsibility for the mortgage. Keep the signed original safe, because HM Land Registry does not hold a copy of its terms.
When two or more people own a home, the register at HM Land Registry shows who the legal owners are, but not how much each one owns. A declaration of trust, sometimes called a deed of trust, fills that gap. It records each person's share, often in unequal proportions, and sets out what happens if you separate, one of you wants to sell or one of you dies.
It is most useful for unmarried couples, friends or relatives buying together, and anyone contributing different amounts, such as a larger deposit from one buyer or a gift from parents. It can be signed when you buy, when someone joins the title, or at any time afterwards. To record unequal shares, the owners hold the property as tenants in common.
As each declaration is drafted around your own arrangement, the price depends on what it needs to cover, and our team prepares a tailored quote, usually within one working day.
What is involved
Preparing a declaration of trust usually involves:
- Understanding the arrangement: your conveyancer asks who paid what towards the deposit, the purchase costs and the mortgage, and what each of you expects to happen in different situations.
- Checking the title: confirming how you own the property now. If you are joint tenants, the joint tenancy usually needs to be severed so you become tenants in common, and a Form A restriction is registered to show this.
- Choosing the structure: fixed percentage shares, or a formula that returns one person's deposit first and then splits the rest, with or without adjustments for later contributions.
- Drafting: setting out each share, who pays the mortgage and running costs, what happens if one of you wants to sell or buy the other out, how the property is valued and what happens on a death.
- Advice: where your interests differ, your conveyancer may recommend that each owner takes separate legal advice before signing.
- Signing: the declaration is signed as a deed in front of a witness.
- Keeping it safe: HM Land Registry does not hold the terms of the trust on the register, so the signed original is stored securely and each owner keeps a copy.
What the legal fee covers
- Discussing your contributions and what you each expect
- Checking the title and how you currently own the property
- Advising on severing a joint tenancy where needed
- Drafting the declaration of trust around your arrangement
- Explaining the document to all the owners
- Arranging signing and witnessing as a deed
- Applying for a Form A restriction at HM Land Registry where needed
- Storing the original or sending you certified copies
Costs you may see on top
- Official copies of the title from HM Land Registry
- Separate legal advice for each owner, where recommended
- Identity checks for each owner
- Any fee your lender charges if it asks to be told about or approve the arrangement
- A transfer of equity, if someone also needs to be added to or removed from the title
- Updating your wills, which is separate work
- Tax advice where shares change hands for money or a share of the mortgage is taken on
What to have ready
- Names of everyone who owns, or will own, the property
- A breakdown of who paid what towards the deposit and purchase costs, with evidence
- Details of any gift towards the purchase and who gave it
- Your mortgage details and how the payments are shared
- What you want to happen if you separate, one of you wants to sell or one of you dies
- Photo identification and proof of address for each owner
How long it takes
A straightforward declaration of trust can often be prepared and signed within a few weeks, once everyone has agreed the terms. Most of the time goes on discussing what should happen in different situations and on each person taking advice if they need it. When it is signed as part of a purchase, it runs to the purchase timetable and is usually completed at the same time. Disagreements between owners about contributions or future plans are the most common cause of delay.
Things to watch for
- A declaration of trust does not change who is responsible for the mortgage. If you are joint borrowers, the lender can still ask either of you for the full amount.
- If you are joint tenants, your shares are treated as equal and pass automatically to the survivor. To hold unequal shares, the joint tenancy needs to be severed so you become tenants in common.
- Update your wills at the same time. As tenants in common, each share passes under the owner's will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will.
- For married couples and civil partners, a court dealing with a divorce or dissolution can make different orders, but a declaration of trust is still useful evidence of what you intended.
- Review the declaration if your circumstances change, for example if one of you pays off a large part of the mortgage or you have children.
Questions people ask
Do we need one if we are not married?
It is often a good idea. Unmarried couples do not have the same legal protection as married couples if they separate, and without a clear written agreement it can be difficult to prove who owns what. A declaration of trust sets this out at the start, while you are in agreement, rather than leaving it to be argued about later.
What happens when the property is sold?
The declaration says how the proceeds are shared. After the mortgage and the costs of the sale are paid, the money is divided according to the shares or formula you agreed, for example returning one person's larger deposit first and splitting the rest equally. It can also set out how a buyout works if one of you wants to keep the home, including how the property is valued.
Is the declaration registered at HM Land Registry?
No. HM Land Registry records who the legal owners are, but trusts are kept off the register. Instead, where owners hold as tenants in common, a Form A restriction appears on the title, telling future buyers and lenders that a trust exists and that a sale needs at least two trustees to sign. The declaration itself is kept by you and your conveyancer.
Can we sign one after we have bought?
Yes, at any time, for example when one of you pays off part of the mortgage or your circumstances change. If you own as joint tenants, the joint tenancy usually needs to be severed first, which can be done by agreement or by one owner giving written notice to the other. Your conveyancer will check whether any tax is due if shares change in return for money or a share of the mortgage. See GOV.UK on joint ownership.
Who does the work
Your matter is handled by a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or CILEx Regulation, or in Northern Ireland by a solicitor regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. At the moment the law firms on our panel act for property in England and Wales, so for property in Northern Ireland we tell you whether a firm can act for you before we pass your details to anyone. The firm confirms who will work on your file, their experience and its terms before you instruct it. How we choose our firms.