Free Tool · England & Wales
Can both parties
afford to rehouse?
A needs-based estimate to help you understand whether a proposed settlement leaves each party able to stand on their own feet.
Free Tool · England & Wales
Can both parties afford to rehouse?
Enter incomes, region & proposed split — get a plain-English assessment in minutes.
Income & outgoings
Enter current gross annual income for each party. These drive the mortgage affordability and budget calculations.
Party A
£
£
£
Party B
£
£
£
Why we ask this: Mortgage lenders typically offer 4–4.5x gross annual income to a single applicant. We use this alongside your deposit to estimate what each party can afford to buy. Monthly costs help us assess whether income will cover living expenses after housing.
Housing market
Select your region. We use ONS average house prices to estimate what each party can realistically buy.
Family home
£
£
ONS data (2024 averages): Prices shown are mean values from the UK House Price Index. Your local market may differ. The tool uses these to assess whether each party's borrowing capacity can meet typical prices in the area.
Children & care
The court's first consideration is always the welfare of dependent children. This affects housing need and budget calculations.
Bedroom standard: We use a simplified UK definition: 1 bedroom per adult + 1 per 2 children (rounded up), minimum 2 bedrooms if children are present.
Proposed settlement
Enter the proposed split to see whether it meets each party's housing and income needs.
£
£
£
£
What this does: We combine the settlement lump sum with each party's borrowing capacity to assess whether they can buy a property in your region, then compare monthly income against living costs to check whether the budget works.
This Wasn't The Plan — Needs Estimator
Assumptions & data sources
- ONS UK House Price Index 2024 regional averages
- Mortgage multiple: 4.5x gross annual income (single applicant)
- Income tax: 2024/25 rates — 20% on £12,571–£50,270, 40% above
- NI: 8% on earnings £12,570–£50,270
- Living costs from ONS Family Spending Survey 2022
- Selling costs assumed at 2% of home value
- All figures are estimates — actual lender criteria and local prices will vary
- This tool does not provide legal, financial or tax advice