Only take the actions below if it is safe to do so. You are the best judge of whether making any changes might lead to further harm. In an emergency, call 999.
Spotting the signs of economic abuse via a mortgage
Abusers may use a mortgage as a tool to cause you harm, both during your relationship or even after it has ended. The abuser may have told you certain things about separation and home ownership that are not true in an effort to maintain control over you and the property.
Things they might have said include:
If you leave, you will lose your children
If you leave, you will lose your rights to the house and possibly become homeless
That they won’t pay the mortgage and you will lose the home
No one will believe you if you tell them about the abuse
Perpetrator tactics
If you and the abuser jointly own the property,the abuser might:
fraudulently apply to remortgage the property, including releasing equity, or force you to agree to apply for a remortgage under duress
stop making their share of mortgage payments or forcing you to pay more than your agreed share, even if you have had to leave the property
withhold consent to re-negotiate the mortgage interest rate, causing payments to rise
withhold consent for a sale, remortgage or equity release
leave the UK, leaving you to deal with debts and repayments
refuse to move out of the house
coerce you into ‘agreeing’ to use the house as security for another loan
prolong contact with you, particularly if their permission or consent is needed to make changes to an account or mortgage
put you into mortgage arrears even if you are no longer living at the property due to domestic abuse
If you are the sole homeowner, the abuser might:
use matrimonial home rights to register their name on the title deed if you are married
fraudulently apply to be added to your mortgage or the title deed
make it harder for you to pay the monthly mortgage repayments by not contributing towards other costs such as child maintenance
deliberately cause severe damage to the property, putting it in negative equity
If you need to sell your home, other tactics that may affect your property include the abuser:
insisting an estate agent/surveyor values the property too highly to make a sale unlikely if it goes on the market
sabotaging viewings to put off prospective buyers
deliberately causing damage to the property to sabotage a sale or make it so that no one wants to buy it
manipulating estate agents to their advantage
refusing to remove their name from the property register
Abusers can use mortgages as a tactic even if they do not have a joint mortgage with you. For example, they might have:
applied for a mortgage in your name
forced you to apply for a mortgage you didn’t want to
fraudulently applied to be added to your mortgage
The impact of economic abuse via a mortgage
Knowing the possible effects of economic abuse via a mortgage can help you prepare for the possible outcomes.
Debt:if you have experienced economic abuse via a mortgage, you may be left with significant debt. This could be mortgage arrears, or debt from loans or credit cards taken out to maintain payments or pay legal fees. We have more information about debt here.
Damaged credit rating: if the abuser has forced you into debt or mortgage arrears, this may impact your credit rating. A damaged credit rating may prevent you from getting another mortgage.
Affordability: you may have paid a joint mortgage on your own for many years if the abuser has refused to pay their share. You may get the property signed over to you after court proceedings, only to find that you do not meet the lender’s affordability criteria for a mortgage in your sole name.
Mortgage prisoners:you may find yourself trapped in an unaffordable mortgage if the abuser has refused to re-mortgage or switch.
Economic abuse via a mortgage can also cause stress, impacting your physical and mental health.
