lake How can I get my ex to accept the money and sign over the property when he wont respond to solicitor?

Hang fire, here... for one thing you have no case whatsoever against him unless he agreed under some form of legal contract to the 5k - I'm guessing there is no such concrete agreement. Him allowing you to buy you out is entirely his prerogative, but he could quite reasonably change his mind and decide he doesn't want to do that and wants a proportion of the sale of the property. That choice is entirely up to him and you cannot force him to make the choice that suits you. Unless he has signed a legally binding agreement to allow you to purchse his share of the flat for �5k he is perfectly at liberty to change his mind about what he wishes to do. He can also (as far as I am aware) take his own sweet time to do so. He may have decided (rightly or wrongly) that he is the aggrieved party in this matter and he doesn't see why he should make things easy for you... annoying for you, but not much you can do about it. The fact that he has not replied to solicitor contact is irrelevant and there is absolutely no right under law to forfeit his interest simply for failing to respond to correspondence. You cannot take him to court to force him to sell to you, so the cost question is entirely moot, however any costs ociated with sorting out the sale could be taken from the overall settlement amount, but there is little doubt they would be split jointly. The only way that this will be resolved is as part of a divorce settlement (if you are/were married) or as a result of a both party agreement if not. You may also wish to examine the legal basis of the property ownership - whether you are tenants in common or joint tenants. It makes a difference to what action is/ is not possible.there