Shared house buying is debt danger

Neil Munroe, of credit reference agency Equifax, said that while sharing a house could make buying property affordable, if one partner can’t pay then others must foot the bill.

“There is no guarantee that things won’t go wrong when people buy a home together,” said Neil Munroe, of Equifax.

“But there are steps buyers can take to avoid any potential problems.”

His comments come as figures from the agency show that 23 per cent of Britons under the age of 25 already have as much as £10,000 of long-term debt.

Andrew Smith, of debt resolution firm ClearDebt, warned house-sharers to be scrupulously honest with one-another: “If one party fails to declare all their debts, this can affect the credit-ratings of all who live at the address – sometimes even after they have moved on.”

Richard Cohn of SharedSpaces.co.uk added: “I would urge people who decide to buy together to have a deed of trust drawn up by a solicitor, setting out the rights and responsibilities of both parties involved and in particular what should happen when one of you decides to move on.”