And finally… Brits in relationships have a ‘break up plan’ for how to split their house

The study, conducted by Good Move, surveyed 2,000 adults in relationships and found that 18-24-year-olds believe buying and even renting a house with a partner are bigger statements of loyalty than tying the knot.
 
When asked to rank a series of traditional milestones on their required commitment, marriage came a lowly fourth for the age group, despite it taking the top spot for the country overall.
 
For the nation as a whole, the top 10 relationship milestones which Brits think involve the biggest commitment are:
 
1)    Marriage/civil partnership
2)    Starting a family
3)    Buying a property
4)    Saying ‘I love you’ for the first time
5)    Opening a joint bank account
6)    Renting a property together
7)    Going on holiday together for the first time
8)    Booking a holiday far in advance
9)    Owning a pet
10) Giving each other keys to your respective homes
 
With such significance placed on buying a property together - 25-34s and 35-44s both rank it equally with marriage - it’s perhaps unsurprising that many people in relationships are still planning for the worst case scenario.
 
Nearly two in five (39 per cent) Brits in relationships admit to having made such pessimistic preparations, with younger generations the most likely. Over half (53 per cent) of 25-34-year-olds say that they have a plan for dealing with the potential property logistics of splitting up with their partner.
 
The fear of break-ups and the difficulty of dividing assets is enough to dissuade some Brits from buying houses altogether. Nearly one in five (18 per cent) UK adults in relationships said that they wouldn’t buy a property with their partner in case they split up. Again, this stance is most popular with younger Brits, with over a third (36 per cent) of 25-34-year-olds and a quarter (25 per cent) of 18-24s put off buying for such a reason.
 
On average, Brits wait nearly two years and two months before purchasing a property as a couple. This is slightly longer than the average wait for weddings (two years and one month), despite the nation as a whole considering marriage a bigger commitment.
 
Ross Counsell, director at Good Move, said: “Buying a house together is a huge decision for couples, not just because of the significant financial commitment, but if the relationship comes to an end, it can be incredibly complicated and stressful to deal with the logistics. With recent changes to divorce legislation making it easier to end marriages, buying a house is now understandably seen as the primary relationship milestone.
 
“It’s why so many Brits want to live with their partner first before committing to buying anywhere. Our research found that nearly two-thirds of Brits in relationships would only buy a property together if they’d trialled co-habiting first and that’s a really sensible way to approach the situation.”