Buying a house with a friend in 2026: what everyone gets wrong

7 min read · June 2026

More people are buying with friends than at any point in recent memory. House prices relative to income have made solo buying genuinely out of reach for many people in their twenties and thirties, and the old model of "wait until you're in a couple" is starting to feel like advice from a different era.

But almost everything written about joint mortgages is written for couples. The dynamics of buying with a friend are different in ways that matter — legally, financially, and practically. Most guides gloss over the parts that actually go wrong.

Joint tenants vs. tenants in common — get this right first

This is the most important decision you'll make, and a surprising number of people don't make it consciously at all. There are two ways to legally own a property together:

• Joint tenants: You each own the entire property. There are no defined shares. If one of you dies, the other automatically inherits — regardless of what any will says. On separation, you split 50/50 by default.
• Tenants in common: You own defined, separate shares. These can be unequal (60/40, 70/30, whatever reflects your actual contributions). Each person can leave their share to whoever they choose in their will. On a sale, proceeds are split according to the agreed shares.

For friends buying together, tenants in common is almost always the right structure. It reflects reality: you probably aren't contributing equal deposits, you don't have the same inheritance considerations as a couple, and you'll almost certainly want different things in five years. Tenants in common gives you the flexibility to account for all of that.

The Declaration of Trust — don't skip this

If you're buying as tenants in common, your solicitor should draw up a Declaration of Trust (also called a Deed of Trust). This is a legal document that records:

• Each person's percentage share of the property
• How the deposit contributions are treated (is a larger deposit recognised in the shares, or split equally regardless?)
• What happens if one person wants to sell and the other doesn't
• How ongoing costs (mortgage, repairs, maintenance) are divided
• What happens if one person can't pay their share

It costs a few hundred pounds to have one drawn up properly. It will save you far more than that if anything goes sideways. Don't rely on a verbal agreement or a WhatsApp thread.

The exit plan (the bit everyone skips)

When you buy with a friend, you're entering a legal and financial relationship that's harder to exit than a tenancy. You need to agree upfront what happens in each of the common exit scenarios:

• One person wants to sell, the other doesn't. This is the most common flashpoint. The Declaration of Trust should specify whether either party can force a sale, and after what period.
• One person wants to buy out the other. How is the property valued? Who pays for the valuation? What's the timeline?
• One person can't pay the mortgage. Both names are on the mortgage. If your co-buyer stops paying, you are jointly and severally liable — meaning the lender can pursue either of you for the full amount, not just your share.
• One person wants to bring in a partner. This gets complicated quickly. Plan for it in advance.

None of these conversations are fun to have before you've even found a property. But they're much less fun to have when one of you has accepted a job in another city and wants to sell, and the other has just redecorated the living room.

The stamp duty wrinkle

If either of you already owns a property — anywhere in the world — you will pay the higher SDLT rate on the purchase. As of 2026, this is an additional 3% on top of the standard stamp duty rates, applied to the full purchase price.

On a £350,000 property, that's an extra £10,500. It applies even if the property you already own is mortgaged, rented out, or only part-owned. This catches a lot of people out.

The only way to avoid it is if the person who already owns property is not on this purchase — which is another reason why the joint vs. sole decision (covered in our guide on joint vs. sole mortgages) deserves real thought.

How lenders assess a friend purchase

From the lender's perspective, a joint mortgage between two friends is assessed the same way as one between a couple: both incomes are considered, both credit histories are reviewed, and both people are on the hook for the debt.

The practical implications:

• The weaker credit score of the two affects the application. Some lenders will use the lower score; others apply a blended view. This is worth understanding before you apply.
• Both people's existing debts (car finance, credit cards, student loans) reduce your combined affordability.
• Some lenders have explicit policies on non-couple joint purchases; a broker who knows the market is useful here.