28 May 2026 · 6 min read
The situation
You are buying a home together. One of you has a bigger deposit, maybe from savings, an inheritance, or family help, while the mortgage is in both your names. It feels obvious that the larger deposit should be protected. The law does not see it that way automatically. If you do nothing, you can quietly hand half of that money away.
What happens if you do nothing
When two people are named as joint legal owners of a property in England and Wales, the starting point is that they own it in equal shares. So if you put in a £40,000 deposit and your partner put in £10,000, but you take no further steps, the default assumption on a later sale is a 50/50 split. Your extra £30,000 is not ring-fenced.
That presumption can be challenged, but doing so after the fact means a dispute, and disputes are expensive and uncertain. It is far better to put the position beyond doubt at the outset.
Lever one: how you hold the property
The first decision is whether you own as joint tenants or as tenants in common. To protect unequal contributions you want to be tenants in common, because that lets you hold the property in distinct, unequal shares (for example 70/30). Joint tenants, by contrast, are treated as owning the whole equally. We explain the full difference in joint tenants vs tenants in common.
Lever two: a Declaration of Trust
Holding as tenants in common says you own in shares; a Declaration of Trust says what those shares are. This is the document that actually protects the deposit. It can record the split in a few ways:
- Fixed percentages. For example 65% and 35%, agreed up front.
- Deposit off the top. On a sale, your original deposit is returned to you first, then the rest is split, often equally.
- Floating shares. Shares that adjust over time to reflect ongoing contributions such as mortgage payments and improvements.
The mortgage is a separate trap
One thing a Declaration of Trust does not change is your liability to the lender. On a joint mortgage you are both jointly and severally liable. That means the lender can pursue either of you for the entire debt, regardless of how you have agreed to split ownership between yourselves. Your shares govern the relationship between the two of you, not your obligations to the bank.
Protect it, then keep it current
Setting the shares at purchase is half the job. Over the years, mortgage overpayments and capital improvements can shift the fair position, especially if your trust uses floating shares. Whatever structure you choose, keep a timestamped record of who paid what so the document still reflects reality years later.
The bottom line
A bigger deposit is only protected if you take two steps: hold the property as tenants in common, and sign a Declaration of Trust that spells out the split. Do that at purchase, keep an honest record of contributions afterwards, and the money you put in stays yours.
This article is general information about the law in England and Wales, not legal advice. For your own situation, speak to a qualified solicitor.
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