Rights of an Unmarried Live-In Partner Who Helped Pay the Mortgage (Philippines)

Updated for the Philippine legal framework as of 2025. This is general information, not legal advice.

1) The Core Question

If you’re an unmarried live-in partner who helped pay the down payment and/or monthly amortizations on a home (or a housing loan secured by a mortgage), do you gain enforceable rights over the property—even if the title is in the other partner’s name?

Short answer: Often yes, but how and how much depends on (a) whether you were legally free to marry each other during the cohabitation, (b) what exactly you contributed, and (c) the proof you can present. The governing rules are principally Articles 147 and 148 of the Family Code, plus relevant provisions of the Civil Code on co-ownership, obligations, and trusts.

2) Two Legal Regimes for Unmarried Cohabitation

A. Article 147: Both partners not disqualified to marry each other

This applies if, during your cohabitation, neither of you was married to someone else and there was no other legal impediment.

What becomes co-owned: Wages, salaries, and property acquired by your joint efforts, work, or industry during cohabitation.
Default rule on shares: Equal shares (50–50), unless there is proof of a different proportion of contribution.
Property bought solely with one partner’s exclusive funds (e.g., pre-relationship savings clearly segregated) remains exclusively that partner’s—but the increase in value attributable to the other’s industry (e.g., substantial sweat equity, management) may still factor into partition/accounting.

Mortgage angle: If the house was acquired during cohabitation and both partners contributed (cash, amortizations, or industry), courts usually treat it as co-owned under Art. 147—even if titled in only one name—subject to proof of contribution if you want to depart from the 50–50 default.

B. Article 148: One or both partners disqualified to marry (e.g., one is still married to another)

This is stricter and aims to prevent profiteering from an illicit union.

What becomes co-owned: Only property acquired by the partners through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry.
Rule on shares: In proportion to proven contributions. Courts demand proof (receipts, bank records, credible testimony). If neither can prove exact amounts, some rulings allow an equal-shares presumption, but courts are generally more exacting under Art. 148 than under Art. 147.
If only one partner contributed, the acquisition belongs to that partner alone (subject to property regimes of any existing valid marriage).
Spillover to a valid prior marriage: If a partner is validly married to someone else, his/her share in the property acquired with the live-in partner accrues to the property regime (absolute community or conjugal partnership) of the valid marriage.

Mortgage angle: Payments made by both from their respective funds or industry during cohabitation can create a co-ownership proportionate to those contributions. If only you can show contributions, you can claim that proportion or, at minimum, reimbursement/equitable relief to avoid unjust enrichment.

3) Why the Mortgage Matters (and how courts look at it)

A mortgage is just the security for the loan used to buy the property. Courts examine the economic reality:

When was the property acquired?
- During the cohabitation → likely within Art. 147/148.
- Before the cohabitation → generally exclusive to the titled partner; however, payments you later made can support reimbursement and in some cases an equitable lien or resulting/constructive trust over the portion your funds effectively purchased.
What did each of you actually pay?
- Down payment (cash), closing costs, monthly amortizations, lump-sum prepayments, insurance and real-estate taxes, major renovations/improvements materially increasing value.
Source of funds and proof:
- Salary slips, bank transfers, official receipts, loan statements showing who paid what and when, messaging/email trails acknowledging joint payments, sworn statements, testimony.
Title in one name only?
- Not decisive. Courts can recognize co-ownership or impose a trust/equitable lien if evidence shows joint acquisition or joint payments tied to acquisition.

4) Legal Theories You Can Rely On

Statutory co-ownership (Art. 147/148): Primary basis in live-in situations.
Civil Code co-ownership rules: Partition, reimbursement of necessary/useful expenses, accounting for fruits (rents) and expenses.
Resulting trust (purchase-money resulting trust): If you provided purchase money but title was placed in the partner’s name, a trust may be implied by law in your favor to the extent of your contribution.
Constructive trust / unjust enrichment: Where strict co-ownership proof is lacking but equity demands return of what was paid (with or without interest), or recognition of an equitable lien on the property.
Obligations/Contracts: If you have a written agreement (even informal but signed) on sharing, courts give weight to it if not illegal.

5) How Shares Are Computed (Practical Scenarios)

Property acquired during cohabitation; both free to marry (Art. 147):
- Starting point: 50–50 co-ownership.
- Variation: Show evidence if you want 60–40, 70–30, etc.
Property acquired during cohabitation; one partner still married (Art. 148):
- Starting point: Proportionate to actual contributions (cash/industry).
- If you alone can prove payments: You may claim your proven portion; the other’s share may be nil absent proof (subject to spillover to his/her valid marriage regime).
Property acquired before cohabitation; you later paid amortizations:
- You typically don’t become an automatic co-owner, but you may claim reimbursement + equitable lien to the extent your payments reduced the principal or added value (e.g., renovations), including a fair share of appreciation attributable to those payments/improvements (courts vary in methodology).
Improvements:
- Necessary expenses (taxes, insurance, repairs) → reimbursable.
- Useful/major improvements that increased value → reimbursable; sometimes you can claim a share of the increment in value, not just raw cost.
Fruits and rentals:
- Co-owners share net fruits (e.g., rental income) in proportion to ownership, with proper accounting for expenses and amortizations paid by each.

6) Evidence Strategy (What Actually Wins Cases)

Documents: Bank transaction histories, official receipts from the lender, payment confirmation emails/SMS, housing loan statements, tax/insurance payments, contractor receipts for renovations.
Tracing: A simple table mapping date → amount → source → what it paid (e.g., “Amortization #36”) is powerful.
Link payments to acquisition: Courts care most about payments that created or preserved ownership (down payment, principal amortizations, foreclosure redemption).
Industry contribution: Proof of one partner’s business/household management can matter under Art. 147 (equal-shares default), less so under Art. 148 (courts require clearer quantification).

7) What If We Break Up?

A. Negotiated exit (recommended)

Options: One buys out the other; refinance to remove one from the mortgage; sell the property and split net proceeds per shares; or keep co-ownership temporarily with a written management agreement.

B. Judicial remedies

Action for partition and accounting (Rule 69): Ask the court to declare shares, order sale if indivisible, and settle reimbursements (amortizations, taxes, improvements, rentals).
Reconveyance / trust action: If property is titled solely in the partner’s name but your purchase money is proved, seek recognition of your share or a resulting/constructive trust.
Sum of money / unjust enrichment: If co-ownership is hard to prove, claim refund of identifiable payments that benefited the titled owner.

Prescription (time limits):

Trust-based reconveyance typically 10 years from repudiation (i.e., when the titled partner clearly denies your interest), but nuances abound.
Actions for accounting/partition among co-owners generally do not prescribe so long as co-ownership is not repudiated.
Unjust enrichment/collection follows ordinary contract/obligation periods (often 10 years for written, 6 years for oral), subject to case-specific facts. When in doubt, file early.

8) What If the Mortgage Goes Bad (Default/Foreclosure)?

Both paying? Keep proof of each payment.
Foreclosure: A foreclosure sale can extinguish your property rights against the world, but your inter-se claims (reimbursement/equitable share) survive against your ex-partner from the sale proceeds (if any) or as a personal claim.
Redemption: If the mortgage is on a registered land title, the mortgagor (titled owner) has the statutory right of redemption within the legal period. A contributing partner can fund redemption and assert a lien/equitable share proportional to the rescue funds.

9) Death of a Partner

No automatic inheritance rights between live-in partners.
Your co-owned share is safe but the deceased’s share passes to his/her heirs (spouse, legitimate/illegitimate children, etc.).
A will can leave a portion to the partner, but must respect legitime of compulsory heirs.
If the deceased was still married to someone else, expect conflicts with that spouse’s property regime and heirs.

10) Children and the Home

Parental authority and support issues are separate from property title.
The family home protections can apply where there is a head of a family and dependent family members, but being live-in partners does not by itself create spousal-level protection. If the home qualifies as a family home, certain execution exemptions may apply—but not against the mortgagee (the bank).

11) Donations and “Name-Only” Titling

Putting title solely in one name does not automatically prove exclusive ownership; courts will look behind the title.
Donations between partners in illicit relationships may be void under public-policy rules (e.g., donations between persons guilty of adultery/concubinage). Rely instead on Art. 147/148, not gratuitous transfers.

12) Practical To-Do List (If You’re Paying—or Have Paid—Part of the Mortgage)

Keep (or reconstruct) a full paper trail: bank slips, screenshots, lender statements, tax and insurance receipts, renovation invoices.
Make a contributions ledger: date, amount, purpose, source account.
Preserve communications: messages acknowledging joint payments/ownership.
If still on good terms: Sign a simple written agreement clarifying shares, reimbursements on exit, and who carries taxes/repairs.
Consider annotations: In contentious cases, consult counsel about adverse claim or lis pendens annotations on the title to protect your claim pending suit.
Act early: Time limits can quietly erode trust/reconveyance claims.

13) What Remedies Typically Yield

Under Art. 147: A declaration of co-ownership (often 50–50) + accounting (netting amortizations, taxes, improvements, rents).
Under Art. 148: A declaration of proportionate shares strictly tied to proven contributions; absent proof, courts may award reimbursement rather than ownership.
If property predated the relationship: Reimbursement/equitable lien for your amortizations and value-enhancing improvements.
If foreclosure occurred: A share in net proceeds or a money judgment against the partner equal to your contributions, sometimes with interest.

14) FAQs

Q1: I sent cash to my partner’s account; no receipts from the bank. Is that useless? Not useless. Bank transfer records, remittance slips, and the partner’s acknowledgments can be persuasive—especially when matched to the lender’s due dates and amounts.

Q2: We lived together intermittently. Does that wreck my claim? Not necessarily. Courts look at when the acquisition happened and whether your payments tie to that asset. Consistency helps, but traceable contributions matter most.

Q3: We broke up; the titleholder refuses to sell or pay me back. File an action for partition and accounting (if co-ownership) or reconveyance/collection (if reimbursement/equitable lien). Ask for interim relief to prevent disposal pending the case.

Q4: Can I be made to leave the house if I’m not on title? Possession follows ownership and contract. If you’re a co-owner, you have correlative rights to possess. If not, you may still negotiate occupancy for a period, but ownership ultimately controls.

15) Takeaways

Cohabitation + contributions ≠ nothing. Philippine law does protect the contributing live-in partner.
Art. 147 (no impediment) is friendlier (equal-shares default). Art. 148 (with impediment) is stricter (prove your proportion).
Proof wins cases. Collect, organize, and trace every peso you put in.
If things sour, pursue partition/accounting or reconveyance/reimbursement promptly.

Quick Document Checklist for Your Lawyer

Title (TCT/CCT) and deed of sale / loan and mortgage documents
Lender’s amortization schedule + official receipts/statements
Down payment and closing-cost proofs
Bank statements/remittances matching payment dates
Tax declarations, RPT and insurance receipts
Renovation contracts, invoices, and before/after valuations (if any)
Any written agreement/messages acknowledging joint ownership/payments

If you want, tell me your situation (timeline, who was free to marry, when the property was bought, how you paid), and I can draft a tailored partition/accounting strategy and a contributions ledger template you can use immediately.