In recent decades, cohabiting has become a normal part of life. For many couples, moving in together is a natural way to build a life together without rushing into marriage or a civil partnership, and may be a decision that fits your finances, work and plans for the future.

National statistics reflect that shift. The proportion of people aged 16 and over who live in a couple and are cohabiting (not married and not in a civil partnership) increased from 19.7% in 2012 to 22.7% in 2022. That’s the equivalent of 5.4 million people in 2012 and 6.8 million people in 2022.

However, while society has changed, the legal framework around property ownership rights hasn’t moved at the same pace. If you’re living with your partner, or planning to, it’s important to understand what legal protections you have, what the law won’t give you automatically and how a family law solicitor can protect you by creating a cohabitation agreement.

The common law marriage myth

Married couples and civil partners have clear legal rights if their relationship ends or one partner dies. These include rights to apply for financial orders on separation, automatic inheritance rights under intestacy rules, and legal mechanisms for resolving disputes about property, pensions and ongoing financial support. Similarly, people who jointly own property usually have defined rights linked to their legal ownership, which can be enforced if the relationship breaks down.

Cohabiting couples often assume that similar rights apply to them through “common law marriage” if they have lived together for long enough. In reality, common law marriage is not a legal status in England and Wales. Living together does not create the same rights as marriage or civil partnership, regardless of the length of the relationship or whether a couple has children together.

As a result, cohabiting partners may have no automatic right to a share of property, financial support or inheritance, even where they have built a life together. Many couples only become aware of this gap in legal protection when a relationship ends or an unexpected event occurs, at which point their options can be limited and uncertain.

What legal rights don’t apply automatically to cohabiting unmarried couples?

The law around cohabitation doesn’t work like divorce law. If a married couple makes the decision to separate, the court has a well-established approach to making decisions about finances. There are clear principles, and the starting point is that the court can redistribute assets to meet needs. If you’re cohabiting and the relationship ends, you won’t automatically have the same rights as a married couple.

For example, you don’t automatically have the right to claim a share of your partner’s assets, just because you lived together, and you won’t have access to financial support in the way divorcing spouses might. The legal routes to resolve finances that are available when married couples divorce won’t be an option and, if your partner dies, you won’t automatically have inheritance rights in the same way a spouse or civil partner would.

This can be particularly difficult for people who have made major financial contributions to a relationship, raised children or taken time away from work while assuming they were building shared security. If the relationship ends, the law doesn’t state that your contributions give you the same financial rights you’d have if you were married, even where you’ve sacrificed income or contributed heavily to the household.

What happens if the relationship ends?

When a cohabiting relationship ends, disputes often centre on property and finances. This is where many people feel blindsided, as they realise they have fewer legal routes to resolve financial matters than married couples. Where partners can’t agree on how to split things, the court may focus on ownership and evidence, rather than dividing assets broadly on the basis of fairness as it does in divorce cases.

This can create real problems where a partner:

• Moved into a home owned by the other.
• Paid towards the mortgage or renovations but isn’t named on the property.
• Paid the deposit while the other covered day-to-day bills.
• Reduced work to raise children or manage the home.

In these situations, couples may end up in a dispute about what each person is entitled to, even where both parties were acting in good faith throughout the relationship.

How you can protect yourself with a cohabitation agreement

A cohabitation agreement is the most effective way to protect yourself if you live with your partner but you aren’t married or in a civil partnership.

This agreement is a written legal document that sets out how you want to deal with finances and property while you’re together, and what should happen if the relationship ends.

A cohabitation agreement can cover things like:

• Who owns what, and in what shares.
• What happens to the home if you separate.
• How you’ll deal with mortgage payments, rent and bills.
• What happens if one person pays more towards household costs.
• How savings are handled.
• How debts are managed.
• What happens to jointly purchased items.
• When you’ll review the agreement in future, such as if you buy property together, have children or your financial circumstances change.

For many couples, this is a pragmatic way to avoid uncertainty and reduce the risk of future disputes, especially where one partner is contributing more financially, moving into the other’s home or stepping back from work to raise children.

It can be tempting to draft a cohabitation agreement yourselves, but small mistakes or unclear wording can cause real problems later. A solicitor will make sure the agreement is properly written, reflects your circumstances, and fits within English law. At Switalskis, our family law team will guide you through the process of creating a cohabitation agreement in plain English, so both parties understand exactly what they’re agreeing to.

How Switalskis can help

If you’re cohabiting, or you’re thinking about moving in with your partner, we can help you understand your legal position and what protections are available to you. To speak to a solicitor, call us on 0800 138 0458 or contact us through the website.