National Conveyancing Week (NCW) is held from 17 March to 21 March 2025. The annual event aims to “inform, educate, assist and inspire” conveyancing professionals, with an emphasis on learning, networking and fundraising.
Numerous events are held during the week, including educational webinars on topical issues, a collaboration coffee morning and a fun Friday fundraising quiz.
By celebrating the industry, NCW2025 seeks to raise the profile of conveyancing, and demonstrate the important role conveyancers and property lawyers play in the home-moving process.
A property purchase involves a considerable financial outlay. With rising property prices and the difficulty of buying alone, more people are choosing to buy property jointly, as couples, or with friends or family.
A survey by the Halifax last year showed that nearly two-thirds of first-time buyer mortgages (63%) are taken out in joint names as people increasingly team up to get on the property ladder.
However, buying a property with other people comes with additional risks.
Joint Property Purchase
For people who choose to purchase property jointly, there are two ways of doing so:
- As joint tenants.
Up to four people can buy a property together as joint tenants.
Joint tenants do not own specific shares in a property. For example, it doesn’t matter if someone paid more of the deposit or contributes more towards the mortgage, as joint tenants, each co-owner owns the entire property and has equal rights over it.
If you sell the property, any proceeds from the sale are split equally between all joint owners.
As joint tenants, you cannot give away a share of a property in your Will. Rather, the property automatically passes to the other owner, or owners.
- As tenants in common.
A tenancy in common can have up to four named legal owners, and each co-owner owns a separate share in the property, which can differ in size.
For example, two owners can stipulate that there is a 50/50 split, or say whether there are unequal percentages of ownership, such as 60/40, or 70/30.
If there are more than two owners, this can be reflected in the percentage split, with shares split in whatever way owners choose, providing the total amounts to 100 per cent.
Each owner receives their respective share of the proceeds if the property is sold.
If one of the owners dies, the property does not automatically pass to the other owner(s). Rather, owners can pass on their share of the property in their Will.
Declaration of Trust Solicitors
If you are buying property jointly, either as joint tenants or tenants in common, a declaration of trust can help co-owners protect themselves and their interests.
To mark this year’s Conveyancing Week, in this blog, our Residential Conveyancers answer some frequently asked questions about a declaration of trust.
What is a declaration of trust?
A declaration of trust is a legal document that confirms how the net sale proceeds or shares in a property should be divided between owners in the event of a future sale.
For example, if two friends are buying a flat together, but one puts in a £50,000 deposit and the other contributes £25,000, a declaration of trust could stipulate that each party gets those sums returned to them before splitting any profit made when the property is sold.
Alternatively, the friends might agree that the amounts they each put in are reflected as percentages of any proceeds they make if they sell the property later.
It can also set out each party’s expected financial contributions towards the mortgage and information about what happens to a property upon an owner’s death.
How do I make a declaration of trust?
A declaration of trust is usually made at the time of a property purchase.
If you are thinking of buying a home with a partner and need advice on how to protect your investment, get in touch with Bowsers Solicitors.
Our property solicitors have extensive experience helping clients draw up a declaration of trust that safeguards the interests of each party.
A declaration of trust is legally binding, provided it meets the necessary legal requirements.
To speak to one of our solicitors who specialises in declarations of trust, please call 01945 583194 (Wisbech) or 01354 652606 (March), or email reception@bowsers.co.uk.
Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form.
What are the benefits of a declaration of trust?
A declaration of trust offers numerous benefits, including:
- Clarity. Establishing at the start of joint property ownership what each party is contributing and how much they are entitled to in the future means co-owners know where they stand.
- Protection. A declaration of trust protects your investment and secures your legal rights to a property.
- Reduces likelihood of future disputes. Setting out in a declaration of trust what co-owners are entitled to minimises the chances of disagreements over ownership rights further down the line.
Conveyancing Solicitors Wisbech and March
Getting specialist legal advice about the ramifications of different forms of legal ownership is vital if you are thinking of buying a property with a partner.
At Bowsers, our experienced Residential Conveyancers can advise on declarations of trust and other property law issues.
Our specialist conveyancers have a wealth of experience selling and buying leasehold and freehold properties in March, Wisbech and across Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.
If you are looking for property law advice, please contact our experienced conveyancing solicitors and chartered legal executives today on 01945 583194 (Wisbech) or 01354 652606 (March), or email reception@bowsers.co.uk. Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form.
Find out more about our residential conveyancing service by clicking here.
