Yelda Rashid — SRA-regulated solicitor
Transfer of equity: changing whose name is on your home
Adding a name to the title, or taking one off, after a marriage, a separation, or a gift within the family. The transfer deed, your lender’s consent where there is a mortgage, and the registration at HM Land Registry.
How it works
We keep you updated in writing at every step.
Instruction and checks
File opened, identity checks completed for everyone going on or coming off, and the title obtained.
Week 1
Lender consent
Consent to the transfer is applied for and chased. Where the mortgage is also changing, the lender’s new offer is dealt with in parallel.
Weeks 2–5
Transfer deed
The deed is drafted, approved, signed and witnessed, and any Stamp Duty return is prepared.
Weeks 4–6
Registration
The transfer is registered at HM Land Registry and the updated title is sent to you.
After completion
What’s included
- Obtaining and checking your title from HM Land Registry
- Drafting the transfer deed
- Obtaining your lender’s consent to the transfer
- Advising on how the property will be held afterwards
- Preparing and filing a Stamp Duty return where one is required, and registering the transfer at HM Land Registry
Stamp Duty Land Tax depends on your circumstances, not only on the price. It is calculated for you in your written quote and confirmed formally before completion. Properties in Wales are subject to Land Transaction Tax instead.
Your Stamp Duty return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion.
Read HMRC’s guidance on Stamp Duty when ownership is transferred (opens in a new tab)
Separating? Taking an ex off the deeds
Removing an ex from the house deeds, or taking over the mortgage in your sole name, is one of the most common reasons for a transfer of equity.
- In a separation we act for you only. The other person should take their own independent legal advice.
- If there is a mortgage, the lender must agree. It will usually check that you can afford the mortgage on your own before it releases the other borrower.
- A transfer between spouses or civil partners under an agreement or court order on divorce, dissolution or separation is usually exempt from Stamp Duty. Between unmarried partners, taking over a share of the mortgage can count as paying for the share. We confirm your position in your quote.
- If the other person will not sign, the transfer cannot go ahead by agreement, and an application to the court may be needed. We can advise you on the options.
FAQs
Can we just do this ourselves with a form?
The form is the easy part. What it does not do is obtain your lender’s consent, get the Stamp Duty position right, or make sure the way you hold the property afterwards matches what you both intend. Those are the parts that cause problems years later, when the property is sold or someone dies.
How long does it take?
Four to six weeks where there is a mortgage, and it is the lender’s consent that determines it. Without a mortgage it is usually faster.
Do both of us need our own solicitor?
Not in a straightforward family transfer where your interests are aligned. Where they are not — a separation, or a transfer where one person is giving up something of real value — independent advice protects both of you, and you will be told plainly if that is the situation.
Ready when you are.
Answer a few questions. We'll email your quote, usually within one working day.
No retainer is created by this website or by sending an enquiry. Yelda acts for you only once a client care letter has been signed and returned.