posted 11th June 2025
Two factors will dictate if you can walk away from your timeshare: The type of timeshare contract you have and the policies of the timeshare company that bills you for your maintenance. Many different legal structures support timeshare ownership. Most timeshare ownership is based on a 'Holiday License Certificate'; others include 'Fractional (right to use)", 'Esquaturas' and 'Warranty Deeds'. The actual usage of a timeshare isn't affected by the type of deed you hold, but getting out of your timeshare is. Many timeshare/maintenance companies enforce maintenance fee payments through legal measures, while others are more forgiving and are happy for you to walk away from your timeshare for free.
What are your options and the best ways to approach walking away from your timeshare?
The cheapest way to walk away from your timeshare is to contact your resort and see if they will take it back for free. Some resorts may still offer this option, so it's always worth checking with them first.
Historically and evidentially, many timeshare companies will use your desire to get out of your timeshare to their advantage by designing 'new' products that limit your maintenance liability and have a shorter end date than a traditional timeshare.
Most notable is the Seasons Holidays Fractional Ownership scam. Seasons timeshare owners were duped into 'investing' in a Fractional ownership scam that promised a sixteen-year end date and an investment return. However, this so-called exit from traditional timeshare ownership has led members to fall into the exact same position they were led to believe they were getting out of. This particular company is now using the 'planned obsolescence' trap to sell its missold members yet another exit product and asking them to pay up to another £20,000. Trusting a timeshare company to uphold the terms of exit products is a minefield best avoided.
Some of the more 'reputable' timeshare companies may offer to let you walk away from your timeshare contract for a fee. This fee usually is 2-3 years of maintenance fees paid upfront. This fee can sometimes be extortionate if members already pay huge yearly maintenance fees. However, it is worth considering all options as long as the exit contract is watertight. As with everything within the timeshare industry, things are not always what they seem. Due to the mass misselling of timeshare finance, subsequent high court decisions, and remediation programmes, some resorts encourage owners to sign exit paperwork to limit and disrupt the timeshare compensation claims process. This paperwork is often a condition of a free or paid-for timeshare exit.
As with any financial loose ends, depending on their seriousness, they can come back to haunt you. However, we are well aware that cold callers will prey on timeshare owners and scare them into believing that their timeshare wasn't appropriately cancelled or that a new company has taken over the previous ownership and will be seeking to collect on outstanding fees. Every single timeshare cold caller is a scam. They will give you the wrong advice and seek to take thousands of pounds from you for what is, in most cases, unnecessary work based on lies and deceit.
If you need transparent guidance, free help or legal assistance in breaking the chains, we can help. For the last ten years, we have cancelled thousands of timeshare contracts and helped our clients do this without paying any upfront fees. Our expert knowledge of the timeshare industry, laws, and experience have eliminated unnecessary maintenance fees and inheritance worries and created financial freedom for thousands. No matter what situation you find yourself in, get in touch. We provide free timeshare advice and take pride in helping members avoid exit scams and make safe and secure exits from their timeshare ownerships at affordable rates.
