Emyr Pierce

Professional Legal Services | Cardiff

Cardiff: 029 2061 6002

You are here: Home / Archives for charge against a property

Fiance’s parents want Pre-Nup Agreement

I shall be getting married in five months and we plan to live in a house which was bought for my future husband by his parents. They are suggesting we sign a prenuptial agreement to ensure their investment remains in their family in case we separate. Is this something I should agree to?

Prenuptial Agreements are a little mercenary and can cause suspicion from the outset which is not always good for one’s relationship! On the other hand, the property issue can be simply addressed by your fiancé’s parents taking a charge on the property for the amount that they provided.

However, this will imply that the purchase monies were not a gift and that monies remain owing to your fiancé. This may not be appropriate if it was intended that the property should be a gift from your fiancé’s parents and if this gift had been made some years ago then it may only be a matter of years before the value of the gift falls outside the Estate of your fiancé’s parents and therefore will represent a tax effective lifetime gift of their assets.

If a charge were taken over the property then it is a matter for your fiancé’s parents as to whether they would require that loan to be repaid, but in the event of your separating then it is recorded that the funding for the property came from your fiancé’s parents and that you made no direct contribution to the acquisition of the property.

What your ordinary entitlement would be in any divorce settlement is then entirely down to those criteria that are appropriate in any divorce proceedings.

Secure permission before making changes

I live in a shared ownership property to which I would like to fit a solar panel. Do I need to seek permission from the Housing Association who own a share in the house for me to be able to do this?

Housing Associations who own properties on a shared ownership basis with the occupier secure their interest in the property via a charge against the property, which include provisions that mean you are not entitled to carry out alterations to the property without the consent of the Housing Association.

In many cases the Housing Association will own a majority share in the property and will not be willing to allow the occupier to make any alterations to the property which may either prejudice their interest or devalue the property.

You must contact the Housing Association with details of your proposals and they may well approve them – provided their interest in the property is not prejudiced and the proposed alteration does not have an adverse effect on the valuation of the property.

You must retain any written consent given by the Housing Association for this installation as you will be required to hand this over to a prospective purchaser on re-sale.