Preparing financially
Buying a home with a partner
Buying together connects your income, your debts and your legal ownership — four questions worth answering before you apply or sign: who owns, who owes, who pays, and what happens if things change.
- Standard joint loans typically make both borrowers jointly and severally liable for the whole debt — a private repayment split doesn't change what you owe the lender.
- The loan contract (who owes the lender) and the property title (who legally owns what) are related but separate — one doesn't automatically determine the other.
- Joint tenants hold the property jointly with automatic survivorship; tenants in common hold defined, possibly unequal shares that pass under a will.
- Family-law time limits apply after separation or divorce — don't assume title percentages will settle things on their own.
Buying together connects your income, your debts and your legal ownership. Before applying or signing, it helps to answer four separate questions: who will own the property, who will owe the lender, who will pay each cost, and what happens if circumstances change.
Are you both responsible for the whole loan?
Standard joint home loans typically make co-borrowers jointly and severally liable — meaning a lender can require either borrower to cover the entire repayment, not just an agreed share, if the other can't or won't pay. A private arrangement to split repayments 60/40 doesn't itself restrict the lender to collecting those proportions; if repayments are missed, both borrowers can be affected and the lender can enforce its rights against the property.
Is the loan the same as the ownership?
No — they're related but separate. The loan contract determines what you owe the lender. The property title records who legally owns what. Paying half the repayments doesn't automatically mean owning half the property, and a title share doesn't automatically limit your liability under a joint loan. Ask your conveyancer or solicitor to confirm the title, finance and contribution arrangements actually work together before the contract becomes unconditional.
Joint tenants or tenants in common?
Two common ways to hold title in Australia, with real, lasting consequences:
| Joint tenants | Tenants in common | |
|---|---|---|
| How ownership is held | Jointly, generally in equal interests | Each owner holds a specified share — can be unequal, e.g. 70/30 |
| If one owner dies | Their interest passes automatically to the surviving owner (right of survivorship), generally regardless of a will | Their share forms part of their estate and passes under their will |
| Often considered when | Equal ownership and automatic survivorship reflect the couple's intentions | Contributions are unequal, or estate-planning outcomes (e.g. leaving a share to children from an earlier relationship) matter |
In Victoria, a transfer defaults to joint proprietorship if the manner of holding isn't specified — procedures and defaults can differ elsewhere. Don't choose based on what's standard on a form; discuss contributions, estate plans and intentions with a conveyancer or solicitor before you sign.
What if one partner contributes more?
Keep these as separate decisions: the deposit (who provides the upfront funds), the ownership percentage on title, the ongoing repayments, and how sale proceeds — gains, losses and costs — will be split. These figures don't have to match, but unexplained differences are a common source of later disputes. For example, if one partner puts in $140,000 and the other $60,000 but they plan to split future repayments equally, worth agreeing upfront: should ownership reflect the contributions or be equal; is part of the larger contribution a gift or a repayable amount; and what happens if the property is sold at a loss soon after buying? There's no universal answer — get advice before choosing title percentages or signing a private agreement, such as a Declaration of Trust (sometimes called a Deed of Trust), which is the usual way to formally record unequal contributions.
What happens if you separate, or one partner dies?
Don't assume the title percentages or a private contribution spreadsheet will conclusively settle things. Australian family law can apply to married couples and eligible de facto partners, and courts can look beyond registered title. Statutory time limits apply: de facto property applications generally must be made within two years of the relationship breaking down, and applications after divorce generally must be made within 12 months of the divorce becoming final — both subject to exceptions and the court's permission. Get family-law advice promptly after separation rather than relying on the original title arrangement.
If a partner dies, a joint tenancy generally passes the property to the survivor automatically; under tenants in common, the deceased partner's share forms part of their estate. The home loan itself doesn't disappear — review wills, life insurance and title ownership together, especially where there are children from an earlier relationship or unequal contributions.
Practical checklist
Before applying and signing as a couple
- Disclose both partners' income, debts, limits and credit issues to each other
- Understand that either borrower may be liable for the whole joint debt, not an agreed share
- Decide, with a conveyancer or solicitor, between joint tenants and tenants in common
- Document and get professional review of any unequal deposit or ownership arrangement
- Agree what happens if one person wants to sell, can't pay, or wants to move out
Questions for a professional
- Are we both liable for the entire loan balance, or only our agreed share?
- Which ownership structure fits our contributions and estate plans?
- Does our proposed title actually align with our deposits and loan obligations?
- What happens if one of us wants to sell or buy out the other later?
Official resources
- Moneysmart: relationships and money
- Land Use Victoria: joint tenants and tenants in common
- Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia: property settlement