Who Owns the House If Only One Partner Is on Title in Alberta?

You live in a home that only your partner's name is on, and the relationship is ending or you are worried about a sale. You may be wondering whether you have any right to the house at all.

In Alberta, the answer usually depends less on whose name is on title and more on whether you count as an adult interdependent partner. This article explains how that works, how the Family Property Act treats the home, and what to do before anything is sold.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Title is not the only question

Whose name is on title is only part of the picture, because the law also asks what kind of relationship you had. The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act sets out who counts as an adult interdependent partner, and the Family Property Act applies to those partners as well as to spouses; adult interdependent partners can use it if they separate on or after January 1, 2020.

If you qualify, a partner whose name is not on title may obtain a share of or an interest in a home through the Act, because the Court can declare an interest in property, order a sale, or give a partner exclusive possession of the family home. If you do not qualify, you cannot use the Family Property Act and must rely on other claims such as unjust enrichment or trust claims.

Do you count as an adult interdependent partner?

The starting point is a relationship of interdependence: a relationship outside marriage in which two people share one another's lives, are emotionally committed, and function as an economic and domestic unit. There are three routes to partner status.

Whether you function as an economic and domestic unit is looked at through factors such as exclusivity, household roles, how you present yourselves to others, mutual contributions, financial dependence, child care, and property ownership and use.

There are limits. People related by blood or adoption can become partners only by signing an agreement. A person cannot have more than one adult interdependent partner at a time, and a married person cannot become one while living with their spouse. Paid domestic support and personal care does not create a relationship of interdependence.

How the Family Property Act treats the home

The Court shall divide non-exempt property equally between the partners, unless that would not be just and equitable. The rules apply to property obtained after the relationship of interdependence began. The Court can order payment of money, transfer of an interest in property, a sale with the proceeds divided, payment over time, security, a charge on property, or a trust.

Some property is exempt, including gifts from a third party and inheritances. For partners, the exempt amount is its market value on the later of the date the relationship began or the acquisition date. The increase in value of exempt property is not exempt and is distributed by the Court. If your partner bought the home before the relationship, or received it as a gift or inheritance, that can affect the result, and a lawyer can help you see how.

The Court may depart from an equal split after looking at factors such as contributions as homemaker or parent, contributions to a business or to acquiring or improving property, income and earning capacity, the length of the relationship, any agreement between you, and dissipation of property. Partners can also opt out by their own property agreement.

Deadlines and protecting the home

A property application by former partners may be started no later than 2 years after you first knew, or ought to have known, that you had become former partners. The Act contains no stated way to extend that limit. The application is started by statement of claim.

If your partner is on title and is transferring or gifting substantial property to defeat your claim, or dissipating property, you can apply while you are still living separate and apart. For a transfer made to defeat your claim, the deadline is the earlier of 2 years from knowing you became former partners or one year after the transfer. The Court can restrain a partner who does this.

Status as a partner ends in several ways, including a written agreement to live separate and apart without possibility of reconciliation, or living separate and apart for more than one year with one or both intending the relationship not to continue. If a claim cannot be brought under the Act, a separate unjust enrichment claim may be possible. The general Limitations Act bars a claim 2 years after the claimant first knew, or ought to have known, of it, or 10 years after it arose, whichever expires first. How that applies to an unjust enrichment claim in your situation is worth confirming with a lawyer.

What to do next

• Write down when you began living together, and when the relationship ended or may end.
• Gather proof of the relationship: shared bills, leases, tax filings, photos, and records of who did what in the household.
• Collect records of what you paid toward the home, such as mortgage, renovations, taxes and repairs, and of unpaid work at home.
• Find any signed adult interdependent partner agreement or property agreement.
• Note the date you first knew, or in the circumstances ought to have known, that you had become former partners, and ask a lawyer to help you confirm that date and the 2-year deadline that runs from it.
• Speak with a lawyer promptly if you fear a sale or transfer of the home.

Every situation turns on its facts, including how long you lived together and when the home was bought. A lawyer can confirm whether you qualify and what your options are.

Frequently asked questions