Cohabitation Law

Our Family team can help you with all aspects of Cohabitation law. Our solicitors ensure that you are fully aware of your legal rights pertaining to living together with a partner as an unmarried couple.

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Cohabitation Law

Cohabitation is where two people live together as husband and wife or as civil partners in a family framework analogous to marriage or civil partnership, without having gone through a ceremony or marriage or entering into a civil partnership. Unlike marriage or civil partnership, there is no family legislation that specifically caters for all situations on relationship breakdown.

Cohabitation law covers a wide range of areas. If the couple are living together, the relationship itself can be regulated under a cohabitation agreement which is then relevant also in deciding what happens if they subsequently split up.

In deciding who owns the family home, legal ownership must be established. Unless the paperwork is clear as to ownership, ownership is determined by reference to trusts law, in which the couple’s intentions as to ownership may be decisive.

The financial provision for children includes not only child maintenance under the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) but orders that can be made under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989. An application to the Family Court must be made for housing and lump sum orders to benefit the children.

The legal concepts are complex and early legal advice is strongly recommended to provide informed legal advice as to a couple’s property ownership rights; and the financial provision that can be made for their children.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are cohabitation agreements legally binding?

Cohabitation agreements that regulate the resolution of financial and property matters between the separated couple are likely to be upheld if they are fair and both have taken their own legal advice. They normally cover property ownership and are particularly helpful in setting out clearly the couple’s intentions while they are living together. They should not be used to seek to regulate private activity. Additionally, they are likely to have limited or no value if attempts are sought to regulate future care of the children between the couple.

What is the current law on cohabitation?

Cohabitation is currently governed under a number of separate laws governing property ownership, financial provision for children, and children law. A declaration of ownership of the family home can be sought under the Trusts of Land (and Appointments of Trustees) Act 1996, following which, the ownership shares on a sale or buyout can be calculated.

Financial provision for children can be sought under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989. This covers living arrangements for the children and the parent they live with until they reach adulthood, as well as any cash sums that may be needed, for example, for a car, or furnishings. The issue of which of the parents the children lives with or spends time with when parents split up is decided under the Children Act 1989.

What rights does my partner have living in my house?

There are no automatic rights to live in your partner’s home unless you jointly own the house together by having your name on the property land registry title. If your partner owns the home outright, it is difficult to establish rights once you separate unless your partner has been abusive in which case an occupation order can be obtained for you to live at the house to your partner’s exclusion. Unless you are married or civil partnered, your rights are otherwise limited although there is a right to apply to remain in the house for 6 months initially, which can be extended on one occasion to 12 months.

How many nights a week is classed as living together?

There is no set number of nights to confirm when a couple are living together, but there is a distinction between couples who are at different stages of their relationship. If a couple are living together full time in the same home as if they were married, they will be classified as living together. Some couples spend nights at each other’s home during a week, and in that instance the frequency and extent to which they spend time at the other’s home may need to be considered to establish if that is living together. Couples who see each other without living at each other’s homes are not living together. To establish cohabitation, there is an expectation that the couple are in a physically intimate relationship and that they live in the same home. Evidence that they have made financial arrangements together or are making such plans, for example, applying for a mortgage may also be relevant.

What is the 2 year cohabitation rule?

There is no such thing as the 2-year cohabitation rule, but many people wrongly believe that by living together for a number of years, they automatically obtain rights under the law. This is not the case, and the laws that apply to cohabitants are drastically different to those that apply to couples who are married or civil partnered. There is no such thing as a common law marriage.

If a cohabitant dies leaving a bereaved cohabitant who does not otherwise inherit under the deceased’s will, the bereaved cohabitant can make a claim that the will did not make reasonable financial provision for them if they can prove that they have lived together for more than 2 years. Additionally, under various proposals to reform cohabitation law, included a 2007 Law Commission Report, recommendations have been made to change the law so that people who have lived together for a number of years can apply for provision in a similar but more limited way than those who make claims for financial remedies on divorce. This is not the law, however, and it is not anticipated that the law will change quickly as this will require Parliament to pass new legislation.

What is the cohabitation rights Bill 2023?

The Cohabitation Rights Bill 2023 is an attempt made by Lord Marks to try to change cohabitation law by reforming it largely in accordance with the 2007 Law Commission recommendations. If it were to succeed, cohabitants without children who have lived together for a defined period would then have the right to apply for similar but more limited financial provision as married and civil partnered persons. Cohabitants with children would have those rights automatically. It is anticipated under new legislation that cohabitants would have the ability to opt out of such rights by entering into opt out agreements or to regulate their relationship and relationship breakdown through a cohabitation agreement. This Bill is unlikely to succeed without Government support, and the Government indicated in November 2022 that it had not intention to reform cohabitation law until after the law relating to weddings has been reviewed by the Government, and additionally a review has been undertaken by the Law Commission of financial remedies on divorce.

What is cohabitation proof?

Cohabitation proof refers to evidence that a couple is living together. This is often relevant under social security and housing legislation under which proof of cohabitation will demonstrate that an applicant for benefits is not entitled as a result of living together with another person as opposed to living on their own. Proof of cohabitation may be relevant when a couple subsequently marry, because pre-marriage cohabitation can be relevant in deciding the length of a relationship which then determines how much money a spouse or civil partner receives on divorce or dissolution. If the law were to be reformed, it is anticipated that cohabitation proof would be more relevant and necessary in establishing rights to financial provision at the end of the relationship. This does not apply currently, but in other countries where modern cohabitation laws have been introduced, proof of cohabitation such as the period living together has been the subject of disputes. Clarifying cohabitation can be done relatively easily and inexpensively by entering into a cohabitation agreement.

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