Domestic abusers are weaponising joint mortgages against 750,000 UK women

One in eight UK women who held a joint mortgage in the last two years experienced joint mortgage economic abuse from a current or former partner – equivalent to over 750,000 people, according to a new report by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse.

The report, ‘Locked into a mortgage, locked out of my home’, funded by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, uncovers how perpetrators are using joint mortgages to plunge survivors into debt and homelessness.

Perpetrators are causing economic harm by refusing to pay their agreed share of the mortgage, agree to new terms, or sell up. This mortgage-based abuse traps victim-survivors with dangerous abusers, while those who flee are forced into housing insecurity and debt because of ongoing economic abuse. 

The charity is urging the government to set up a cross-government task force on economic abuse with financial services, legal, and domestic abuse experts to strengthen protections for victim-survivors and stop perpetrators from using joint mortgages to abuse.

Over 1,000 UK women who have or had a joint mortgage in the last two years, surveyed by Opinium on behalf of the charity, were asked about whether they had experienced mortgage-related abuse from a current or ex-partner. Of the women who experienced this form of abuse:
• Over three quarters (78%) felt unable to leave their partner or an unsafe living arrangement due to abuse through the joint mortgage.
• Nearly half (49%) had to cut back on utilities or go without essentials, such as food, clothing, or toiletries, to cover monthly mortgage repayments.  
• Almost nine in 10 (89%) experienced negative mental health impacts because of the abuse, such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, or suicidal thoughts. 

Shortly after Sarah left her abusive ex-husband, he stopped contributing to the joint mortgage and began to withhold child maintenance payments. She knew she couldn’t afford the mortgage repayments and meet her and her children’s basic needs, but the abuser blocked every attempt Sarah made to sell the property or negotiate a more competitive interest rate. This pushed Sarah and her children into further hardship. Sarah has been forced to pay tens of thousands of pounds in divorce and financial remedy proceedings, yet she has been unable to remove the abuser from the mortgage. Speaking about her experience, Sarah said: 

“I was forced to use food banks and even stopped putting the heating on in the winter just to pay as much of the mortgage as possible each month. But I still couldn’t afford to maintain the mortgage and make ends meet, particularly as the cost of living continued to rise, so I was finally forced into arrears.

“Over a decade since I left my abusive husband, he remains on the joint mortgage. I can’t sell the property without his permission and, at any point, he can use his position to stop me from making mortgage repayments by withholding child support payments. Me and my children remain trapped in a mortgage prison with no way out.” 

Sam Smethers, Interim CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse, said: “Mortgage abuse is a hidden crime that’s destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of survivors. Right now, domestic abusers are using joint mortgages to cause economic devastation by refusing to pay their agreed share, agree to new terms, or sell up. Being forced to foot the full mortgage bill makes it near-impossible for survivors to flee to safety. For those who do escape, they remain tied to the abuser who can plunge them into mountains of debt. 

“Survivors are doing everything they can to make ends meet – cutting back on food, turning off the heating, and borrowing money to keep up with repayments. But right now, banks are limited in what they can do to stop abusers from causing a lifetime of debt and homelessness for survivors. 

“While banks can do more to support survivors within current rules, only an urgent law change can stop abusers from destroying lives. We urge the government to set up an economic abuse task force to prevent abusers from weaponising joint mortgages. It must also make sure tackling economic abuse is at the heart of its mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. It’s the only way to ensure survivors and their children can have a safe home.”

The report is calling for:
• Financial services firms to boost their support for customers experiencing joint mortgage-based abuse and take steps available under existing guidelines to make it harder for perpetrators to use joint mortgages to cause economic harm.
• The financial services regulator to clarify and strengthen regulations and guidance for firms to avoid causing foreseeable harm to customers experiencing economic abuse through perpetrators’ misuse of joint mortgage products and services.
• The government to urgently convene a cross-government task force on economic abuse, focusing on legal solutions to prevent perpetrators from causing significant harm through joint mortgages. Furthermore, the government should improve financial remedy proceedings by ensuring cases have regard to economic abuse and orders can be properly enforced, as well as introduce cohabitation reform to award legal rights to cohabiting couples.

Under current laws, both mortgage holders are jointly and separately responsible for the whole mortgage debt, and any changes to the terms, such as switching interest rates or removing one party from the mortgage, require both parties’ consent. This stands even in domestic abuse cases.