Cohabiting Couples: What Rights Do You Have?

England and Wales does not recognise common law marriage. Couples who live together — however long they have done so — do not acquire the same rights as married couples or civil partners when the relationship ends or one partner dies. This leaves many people in a highly vulnerable position without realising it.

Property rights when you separate

If you separate from a cohabiting partner, you have no automatic right to a share of their property — even if you have lived there for years and contributed to the mortgage or household costs. Your rights depend entirely on whether you are a legal owner of the property, and if so what share you own, or whether you can establish a beneficial interest through trust law.

Establishing a beneficial interest

Even if you are not on the legal title, you may have a beneficial interest if you can show a common intention that you would share ownership — evidenced by direct contributions to the purchase price or mortgage, or by an express agreement — and that you acted to your detriment in reliance on that intention. These are complex legal arguments and the outcome is uncertain without clear evidence.

Declarations of trust

The safest way to record your respective shares in a property is a declaration of trust — a legal document that records who owns what proportion of the property and what happens when it is sold. This removes uncertainty and avoids expensive litigation if you separate. It should be prepared by a solicitor and registered at the Land Registry.

Cohabitation agreements

A cohabitation agreement is a contract between unmarried partners recording how you will manage finances, property, and other arrangements during the relationship and on separation. While not automatically legally binding in the same way as a court order, a well-drafted agreement prepared by solicitors with independent legal advice is likely to be upheld by a court. It is particularly important where one partner owns property, has significantly more assets, or gives up work to care for children.

What happens when a cohabiting partner dies?

Without a will, a cohabiting partner has no automatic right to inherit. The rules of intestacy do not recognise cohabiting couples regardless of the length of the relationship. If your partner dies without a will leaving everything to you, their estate passes to their relatives according to the intestacy rules. The only route to a claim is through the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, which requires court proceedings and is not guaranteed to succeed.