Ending a cohabitation relationship

Around 22% of couples who live together aren’t married or in a civil partnership. Many people think they automatically gain rights to their partner's property and belongings if they live together for a long time. However, in reality, if they break up or if one partner dies, couples who aren't married or in a civil partnership don’t have the same rights or protections as married couples unless they have legal arrangements like a will.

This blog explains how you can protect yourself as a couple if you live together but aren’t married.

What is a cohabiting relationship?

A cohabiting relationship is when two people live together as a couple but aren’t married or in a civil partnership.

Cohabiting couple rights:

Living together as an unmarried couple means you don’t have many rights around property, finances and children. You should consider making a cohabitation agreement to protect your rights or having a will prepared, so your property and money go where you want them to go.

If you and your partner split up, having a separation agreement prepared ahead of time will relieve the stress of what to do with your property and belongings should one of you die or the relationship breakdown. amicable can prepare your separation agreement for a fixed fee.

How to protect yourself if you’re in a cohabiting relationship?

If you’re in a cohabiting relationship, you can have a ‘cohabitation agreement’ (also called a ‘living together agreement’) to help set out arrangements whilst living together and settle disputes if any arise. Cohabitation agreements are also used by people who combine their finances to buy a property. For instance, if a property is co-owned, a cohabitation agreement can detail how to split the proceeds if the property is sold after they stop living together.

The kinds of arrangements that are recorded in a cohabitation agreement include:

• Financial arrangements (e.g., who’s paying the mortgage, rent, or bills);
• Responsibilities;
• Rights while living on the property;
• Ownership of personal property (including items such as cars, furniture, or art);
• What will happen to items or property if the cohabiting people decide to no longer live together?

How do you protect yourself if your cohabiting relationship ends?

Having a cohabitation agreement already in place can make things easier if you split up. You will need to agree between you on what happens to the property.

If you jointly own a property, and one dies, the other automatically inherits the property. This cannot be changed by your will.

With tenants in common ownership, you will be entitled to your share in the property if you split up.

If you are renting, if you split up and one of you wants to move out, you will need to talk to your landlord or letting agency to change the tenancy agreement.

If you live in a property owned by your partner, you will not usually have any rights to the property unless you can prove you have either contributed to the deposit for the house or the mortgage payments or made a financial commitment, like paying for major work on the house, with the understanding that you would own a share of the house.

This means if you split up and aren’t the owner, you have no right to continue living in the property. Unless it’s left to you in your partner’s will, you won’t automatically inherit the property if your partner dies.

FAQs

What rights do common-law husband and wife have?

There is a myth that cohabiting raises the legal status of a relationship, giving couples what is sometimes referred to as a ‘common law marriage’. The reality is that there is no such thing as a common-law marriage. A cohabiting relationship does not impact your legal relationship or marital status. Your rights and responsibilities towards each other are limited, and you don’t have the same legal protection as a married couple, even if many years pass while you cohabit (live together).

What rights do you have if you end a cohabiting relationship?

If your relationship ends, you do not automatically have any rights as a cohabiting couple. You should explore getting a cohabitation agreement and a will prepared to protect yourself.