Following up on "Cohabitation: Tips for buying property before getting married"

After writing Cohabitation: Tips for buying property before getting married. a reader asked If you have the time would you mind explaining how a cohabitation agreement would prevent the house from being sold.

Remember this idea: cohabitation agreements are contracts. Contract law allows for allocating risk. Certainly the risk of a house being bought but the relationship failing is a foreseeable risk. The options then depend on who wants the house and who has the ability to pay the mortgage. Two paths present themselves at this point depending on the finances of the parties. Either one party assumes the mortgage or the house is sold.

Which is why a cohabitation agreement is a good idea.