Cohabitation has become a common form of domestic arrangement in the United Kingdom over the past 30 years. In 1996, only about 1.5 million couples in the UK were living together in legally unrecognized relationships. By 2021, that number had grown to 3.6 million, an increase of 144%. Today, more than one in five couples in the UK live together without being married or having entered into a civil partnership.
An overwhelming number of cohabiting couples believe in the misconception of ‘common-law marriage’ — namely, that after a long duration, an intimate relationship is granted the same rights and protections as legal marriage or a civil partnership. As some couples eventually learn to their detriment, it does not. What follows is an overview of the current rules, rights, and regulations concerning cohabitation in the UK; the Labour Party’s position on reform; and how the newly installed Labour government’s policies might affect cohabitation laws and rights.
Current Rules, Rights, and Regulations
A research briefing published in the House of Commons Library on 3 November 2022 defined cohabiting couples as those who ‘choos[e] to live together (cohabit) in a stable intimate relationship, without getting married or entering a civil partnership.’[1] Despite popular belief, the UK does not recognize ‘common law marriage’. No matter how long they live together, cohabitants do not have the same legal rights as married couples or civil partners. When a relationship breaks down or one partner dies, there can be significant legal and financial complications in areas including:
- Property Rights. Cohabitants have no automatic rights to each other’s property. A partner has no legal claim over a property that is owned by the other partner when a relationship ends unless their name is included on the title deed. Jointly owned property — real estate that is shared based on the ownership agreement — can raise challenges if each party’s rights and responsibilities are not clearly defined. However, according to the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA), a cohabitee can apply to the court to determine their interest in the property of a former partner.
- Inheritance. A cohabitant has no automatic right to inherit from their partner’s estate, unlike married couples or those protected by civil partnerships. As a result, surviving partners may often find themselves in a vulnerable financial position unless they are named in a will or can make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
- Financial Support. In contrast to married couples, cohabiting couples are not legally obligated to support each other financially. As a result, significant financial imbalances may arise when a relationship ends, especially if one partner has been financially dependent on the other.
- Children. Both parents always have a legal obligation to support their children financially, regardless of their relationship status. Custody and day-to-day responsibility for those children, however, are different matters. By default, a man has no parental rights — or responsibilities — to the child of the woman he formerly lived with unless he is named on that child’s birth certificate or acquires a parental responsibility agreement or a parental responsibility order.
- Domestic Abuse. In this important area, cohabitants do benefit under the Family Law Act 1996 from protections similar to those for married couples, allowing them to apply for non-molestation orders and occupation orders in cases of domestic abuse.
- Social Security and Pensions. Cohabitants are recognized as a couple for means-tested benefits, however they cannot claim state pensions based on their partner’s contributions.
Potential Changes to the Law Under Labour
In August 2022, the Women and Equalities Committee of the House of Commons published a report titled ‘The Rights of Cohabiting Partners’. Produced by MPs from both major parties, it recognised that ‘cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in England and Wales’ and recommended that ‘[t]he law should fully recognise the social reality of modern families and protect people regardless of whether they are married, in a civil partnership, or in long-term cohabiting relationships’.
The committee made a number of recommendations. The three most substantive involved (1) creating a legal framework for financial relief for cohabitants after a breakup; (2) extending inheritance rights to cohabiting partners; and (3) making cohabitants equal, under the inheritance-tax regime, to married couples and the civilly partnered. In October 2022, Government rejected all three proposals.
A year later, in October 2023, at a party conference in Liverpool, the shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry MP, expressed concern that ‘for too long, women in cohabiting couples have been left with no rights when those relationships come to an end. If there is no joint property or shared parental dues, a man can leave his partner with nothing… No woman should be forced to get married or stay in an unhappy relationship just to avoid ending up on the street.’
In late April, the Financial Times reported that Labour was ‘consulting experts and researching other jurisdictions’ approaches’ to the concerns outlined by Thornberry. Yet the party manifesto released by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in June made no mention of cohabitation-law reform. If Labour does ultimately prioritize changes, the reforms would likely resemble those recommended by the Women and Equalities Committee, such as:
- Providing financial relief to vulnerable partners and children. To ease the financial burden on the more disadvantaged partner when an officially unrecognized relationship dissolves, Labour might introduce bills that would, for instance, recognize the value of domestic, as well as monetary, contributions to a relationship.
- Allowing cohabitants to inherit from their partners. The party might also put forward bills that would allow cohabitants to inherit their family homes and to obtain a deceased partner’s pension benefits. They might also seek to change the inheritance-tax regime.
- Educating people about relationship status. Alongside legal reforms, the Women and Equalities Committee recommended that Government launch public-awareness campaigns to educate cohabiting couples about limitations on their rights and the importance of formalizing their relationship status. This could involve promoting the benefits of cohabitation agreements to protect each partner’s financial security in the event of a breakup and wills to ensure inheritance rights.
- Conducting outreach to women in ethnic religious communities. In some insular communities, women may feel pressured to be married in ceremonies recognized only by religious authorities, not the UK government. There may be new laws to educate women in such communities about the lack of legal protection they face if a marriage that did not meet legal formalities falls apart.
As the Financial Times noted, any proposed changes by Labour would need ‘to create a policy that will withstand opposition from those who fear it will dilute the importance of marriage and drag couples who have chosen not to marry into a legal status where they could be stripped of their assets.’
Conclusion
People who live together in the UK in intimate relationships unrecognised by the government lack critical legal protections afforded to married couples and civil partners. As a result, many cohabitants — more often than not women — are left financially vulnerable and saddled with full parental responsibilities when a relationship dissolves or a partner dies. Whether the new Labour Government will actually prioritise such reforms remains to be seen. In the meantime, cohabiting couples should stay informed and be proactive in protecting their rights and interests when relationships end.
[1] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03372/SN03372.pdf
By Isabel Graham