TOLATA Claim

Under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, any trustee of land, or anyone with an interest in property subject to a trust of land, may apply to the court for an order. The court can make an order relating to how the trustees exercise their functions, or an order declaring the nature or extent of a person's interest in the property. TOLATA claims are the standard route for unmarried cohabitants — who have no equivalent to a divorcing spouse's financial remedies — to ask a court to determine who owns a shared home, and in what shares.

In deciding a TOLATA application, the court must have regard to a defined list of factors under section 15, including the intentions of whoever created the trust, the purposes for which the property is held, and the welfare of any minor who occupies or might reasonably be expected to occupy the property as their home. The court's powers under section 14 are also limited in scope: it may not use the section to appoint or remove trustees, so a TOLATA claim resolves the exercise of trustees' powers and existing beneficial interests rather than the identity of the trustees themselves.