Am I entitled to Mortgage interest relief

Hi all,
I have a question about Mortgage interest relief.
Back in about 1996 I bought a house with my partner at the time and sold it about 3 months later as things didn't work out.
At that time, no Mortgage interest relief was claimed.
Now I'm in the process of applying for a Mortgage again and I'm wondering if I can claim TRS?
Do they even need to know that I had bought a house before?
Thanks in advance

And as far as I can see you should be entitled to claim it and should also qualify for the 7 year period of "FTB" relief at the higher rates.

Thanks for the reply Clubman.
It will be great if that's the case.
My solicitor is checking it out for me but it's been bothering me so i was hoping someone out there would know.