Sorting the Mortgage Covenants Is the Key Issue
If your name is still on the joint mortgage, you are still legally responsible for it. A joint mortgage is “joint and several”, which means the lender can pursue either borrower for the full debt if payments are missed, even if you no longer live there.
A solicitor can help with the separation and the property title position, but only the lender can release you from the mortgage covenants. The lender is under no obligation to do that unless the remaining borrower can afford the mortgage alone, or the mortgage is repaid.
Why you can’t “just take your name off”
Removing someone from a mortgage usually happens via a transfer of equity and or a remortgage. Either way, the lender must agree. If your ex cannot meet affordability, or their credit position has deteriorated, the lender is unlikely to release you.
This is why the promise to “remove your name later” often becomes the problem. It isn’t a simple admin change.
What options typically exist in practice
The realistic routes tend to be:
- Your ex remortgages into their sole name. This is the cleanest route, but it depends entirely on their income, outgoings and credit profile.
- The property is sold and the mortgage is repaid. If your ex cannot refinance and the lender will not release you, sale is often the only guaranteed way to sever the financial tie.
- Someone else joins the mortgage to support affordability. In some cases a new partner or family member can join the borrowing so the lender is comfortable releasing you. The lender will fully reassess affordability and credit, and the legal ownership position needs to be structured properly.
Will Your Ex’s Missed Payments Damage Your Credit File?
Potentially, yes. If you are still linked through an active joint mortgage, any arrears can show against the mortgage account and may affect you.
You can ask credit reference agencies about a notice of disassociation, but where there is still a live joint mortgage, you are still financially associated in practice. The more immediate step is to check your files and act quickly if anything is reported inaccurately.
What About the Mortgage You’ve Taken with Your New Partner?
This is usually not “illegal”. Your new lender will have carried out its own checks at the time of application.
The main risk is not the existence of your new mortgage, it’s the ongoing exposure to the old one until you are formally released by the lender.
The Practical Next Step
Seek independent legal advice without delay. You need to protect yourself from being in the position where you give up rights in the property but remain liable for the mortgage.
In parallel, speak to a broker to test what is genuinely possible in the market, whether that is a remortgage into your ex’s sole name, adding a new borrower, or planning for a sale if that is the only clean exit.
If you’d like us to map your options properly, call 023 8235 2300 and we can look at the mortgage balance, the property value, whether there are arrears, and what a lender is likely to accept.
