Cohabitation Rights for Unmarried Couples in the UK (2026): The Common Law Marriage Myth, What You Actually Have, and the Reform on the Table

Unmarried couples in England and Wales have no automatic legal rights over each other's property, pension, savings, or inheritance, no matter how long they live together. There is no such thing as common law marriage. A couple who cohabit for thirty years, raise children, and share a mortgage have a fundamentally weaker legal position on separation or death than a couple married for thirty days.

This catches people out constantly. The British Social Attitudes survey found nearly half the public believes the common law marriage myth. The Office for National Statistics estimates 3.5 million couples now live together without marrying, making cohabitation the fastest-growing family type in England and Wales. Most of them assume protections they do not have.

The Government announced a consultation on reform on 5 June 2026. Change is on the table. It is not yet law. This article covers what the law actually gives unmarried couples now, what the reform proposes, and how to protect yourself under the rules as they stand.

The common law marriage myth

The phrase "common law husband" or "common law wife" has no legal meaning in England and Wales. Living together does not create a marriage, a civil partnership, or any equivalent status. The length of the relationship makes no difference. Sharing a surname, a child, a home, or a bank account makes no difference.

Married couples and civil partners who separate go to the family court, which has wide powers to divide property, share pensions, order maintenance, and do what is fair across the whole financial picture under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. None of those powers apply to unmarried couples. When cohabitants separate, the court asks the narrow question of who legally owns what, using ordinary property and trust law.

Scotland is different. The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 gives cohabitants limited financial claims on separation and death. England and Wales have no equivalent.

Property: how TOLATA works

When cohabiting couples separate and dispute a property, the relevant law is the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, usually shortened to TOLATA.

If the property is jointly owned. Where both partners are on the legal title, the starting point is the ownership share recorded at purchase. If the transfer deed declared a beneficial split (for example 50/50, or 70/30), that declaration is usually conclusive. Where no declaration was made, the court works out the beneficial shares from the parties' common intention and conduct.

If the property is in one partner's sole name. The non-owning partner has no automatic claim. To gain a share, they have to establish a beneficial interest under a trust. This usually means proving either a common intention that ownership would be shared (backed by conduct such as financial contribution), or direct financial contributions to the purchase price or mortgage. Paying rent, buying groceries, or general domestic contribution rarely establishes a property interest on its own.

TOLATA claims turn on ownership rather than fairness. A partner who gave up a career to raise children, contributed years of unpaid domestic work, and has no name on the deeds can find they walk away from a long relationship with nothing in the property. This is the single harshest feature of the current law.

Since 1 October 2024, procedural rules impose cost sanctions on parties who unreasonably refuse mediation or alternative dispute resolution in TOLATA claims, bringing these disputes closer to family court practice and pushing couples toward settlement.

Children: Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989

Cohabiting parents have a separate route for the benefit of their children. Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 lets a parent apply for financial provision for a child, including lump sums, property to live in during the child's minority, and (alongside Child Maintenance Service calculations) periodic payments in some cases.

Schedule 1 benefits the child rather than the partner. Any housing provided usually reverts to the paying parent once the child reaches adulthood. It does not give the cohabiting parent a personal share of assets. It is valuable but limited.

Inheritance: the intestacy gap

If an unmarried partner dies without a will, the intestacy rules pass the estate to blood relatives in a fixed order: children, then parents, then siblings, and onward. The surviving cohabitant inherits nothing automatically, whatever the length of the relationship.

A surviving cohabitant who was financially maintained by the deceased can apply to the court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision. To qualify under the cohabitation category, they generally need to have lived with the deceased as a couple for at least two years before the death. The claim is not automatic, requires a court application, and produces an uncertain outcome.

The practical lesson is blunt. An unmarried partner who wants their cohabitant to inherit must make a will. Without one, the survivor faces litigation at the worst possible time.

The June 2026 reform proposals

On 5 June 2026 the Justice Secretary announced a Government consultation on reforming the law for cohabiting couples. Family lawyers have called for this since the Law Commission's recommendations in 2007.

The proposals under discussion include:

• Automatic inheritance rights for a cohabiting partner where the other dies without a will, closing the intestacy gap.
• New financial claims on separation for couples who have lived together for at least three years, or who share a child.
• Stronger protection for the financially weaker partner, often the primary carer who stepped back from earning.

Ministers have stressed that reform will not make cohabitation identical to marriage. The Law Society has cautioned that new rights mean little without legal aid and court resources to enforce them.

Two points matter for anyone reading this now. First, this remains a consultation rather than law. The current rules above continue to apply until any reform is enacted, which is likely years away even if it proceeds. Second, even the proposed reform sets thresholds (three years, or a shared child) and stops short of marriage-equivalent rights. Relying on future reform is no substitute for protecting yourself under the law as it stands.

How to protect yourself under the current law

Four tools do most of the work.

A cohabitation agreement. A written contract recording how the couple holds property, splits outgoings, and divides assets if they separate. Drafted as a deed, with independent legal advice on each side and full financial disclosure, it is generally enforceable. It is the most effective single protection available to unmarried couples.

A declaration of trust. Where a couple buys or holds property together, a declaration of trust records the exact beneficial shares and what happens on sale or separation. It removes the uncertainty that TOLATA litigation is built on.

A will. Each partner makes a will leaving the other what they intend. This closes the intestacy gap directly and avoids a 1975 Act claim. For unmarried couples, a will is not optional if you want your partner to inherit.

Life insurance written in trust. A life policy written in trust for the surviving partner pays out directly, outside the estate, free of the intestacy problem and usually free of inheritance tax. For couples with a mortgage and no marriage, this is often the cheapest meaningful protection.

Common mistakes

Assuming time creates rights. It does not. A twenty-year cohabitation gives no more automatic right than a two-month one.

Assuming the survivor inherits. Without a will, the survivor inherits nothing on intestacy and has to litigate under the 1975 Act.

Paying toward a partner's sole-name property without documenting it. Years of mortgage contributions can be hard to convert into a property share without a paper trail or a declaration of trust.

Believing reform already protects you. The June 2026 announcement is a consultation. The protections do not exist yet.

Waiting until separation or death to take advice. The protective tools (agreement, trust, will, insurance) work only if put in place while the relationship is intact.

When to instruct a solicitor

Instruct a family solicitor when any of these apply:

• You are buying property with a partner you are not married to
• You are moving into a property your partner owns, or contributing to one
• You have children together and are not married
• You want your partner to inherit from you
• You are separating and there is a property or financial dispute
• You want a cohabitation agreement drafted so it is enforceable

For the matter, find a family solicitor, ideally a member of Resolution, the family law association whose members commit to a constructive, non-confrontational approach. For property-specific disputes, a solicitor with TOLATA litigation experience is the right fit.

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Current as at 11 June 2026. This is educational. The June 2026 reform is a Government consultation rather than enacted law, and the current rules described here continue to apply. For your specific facts, instruct a qualified family solicitor.

Part of the Janus Compliance Family Law cluster. See also: Pension Sharing Orders in UK Divorce, Legal hub, Immigration, Employment law.