Buying with a Partner: Getting the Financial Foundations Right

For many couples in New Zealand, buying a home together is a milestone they have been working toward for years. It represents both a financial commitment and a personal one, and the excitement of finding the right property is real. But beneath the excitement, there are important financial and legal foundations to get right before you sign anything. At Chaperone, we find that couples who take time to work through these questions together are far better positioned to manage homeownership successfully, whatever the future holds.

Combining Incomes: More Than Just Addition

One of the main advantages of buying with a partner is that your combined income may allow you to borrow more than either of you could individually. Lenders will assess your combined income, existing debts, and living expenses to determine how much you can borrow. However, this is not as simple as adding two salaries together. The lender will also account for all existing financial commitments, and each partner's financial situation will be assessed individually as well as jointly.

It is worth having an honest conversation about each other's financial position before you approach a lender. This includes income, any existing debts such as student loans, personal loans, or credit card balances, credit history, and savings. Surprises about a partner's finances during the mortgage application process can be stressful and may complicate the outcome.

Deposit Sources and KiwiSaver

Many couples buying their first home in New Zealand use KiwiSaver as part of their deposit. Both partners may be eligible to withdraw their KiwiSaver savings for a first home purchase, which can meaningfully increase the combined deposit. Eligibility for the First Home Grant, which provides additional government assistance for eligible first-home buyers, can also be assessed for both partners individually and may double the benefit available to the couple as a household, subject to income and purchase price caps.

If one partner has previously owned property, they will generally not be eligible for the first-home KiwiSaver withdrawal or First Home Grant, even if the other partner is eligible. A mortgage adviser can help you understand exactly what entitlements apply to your situation as a couple.

Understanding the Property (Relationships) Act

New Zealand's Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (PRA) sets out how relationship property is divided if a couple separates. In general, after three years of living together in a de facto, civil union, or married relationship, the family home is treated as relationship property and divided equally, regardless of the relative financial contributions each partner made. This applies even if one partner paid the entire deposit from their personal savings.

This is an important consideration for couples where one partner is contributing a significantly larger amount to the deposit or purchase, or where one partner is bringing existing assets into the relationship. A contracting out agreement, sometimes called a section 21 agreement or pre-nup, allows couples to agree on a different division of assets. Both partners must receive independent legal advice before signing such an agreement.

How to Structure Ownership on the Title

When you purchase a property together, you will need to decide how your names appear on the title and in what structure. Joint tenancy means you both own the whole property equally with a right of survivorship. Tenancy in common allows you to own defined shares, which can reflect unequal financial contributions and can be directed through a will independently. For most couples in a committed relationship, joint tenancy is common, but tenancy in common may be preferable if contributions are very unequal or if estate planning considerations are relevant.

Having the Difficult Conversations Early

It might feel uncomfortable to discuss what happens if you separate before you have even bought the property together, but these conversations are much easier to have before you are legally committed than after. Questions worth discussing include how you would handle the mortgage if one of you lost your job, what you would do if one of you wanted to sell and the other did not, and how you would manage repayments and expenses if your income levels changed significantly.

Practical Steps to Get the Foundations Right

• Share full financial disclosures with each other before approaching a lender
• Understand both partners' KiwiSaver balances and first-home eligibility
• Speak with a property solicitor about ownership structure and whether a contracting out agreement is appropriate
• Agree on a shared budget for all homeownership costs, not just the mortgage
• Consider how you would handle financial hardship as a household

At Chaperone, we are here to help couples navigate both the mortgage and the broader financial planning that comes with buying together. Getting the foundations right at the start makes everything that follows much more manageable.