Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL]

The government has introduced the Cohabitation Rights Bill in the House of Lords, legislation that would give unmarried couples who live together legal rights and protections that are broadly equivalent to those enjoyed by married couples, addressing what campaigners describe as one of the most significant gaps in family law.

The bill, which has been introduced several times in previous parliaments without becoming law, would give cohabiting couples the right to apply for financial support if their relationship ends, to inherit from each other if one partner dies without a will, and to be recognised as next of kin for medical and legal purposes. The bill would apply to couples who have lived together for at least two years, or who have a child together.

The bill addresses a significant gap in the law. Approximately 3.5 million couples in England and Wales cohabit without being married or in a civil partnership, and many of them believe, incorrectly, that they have legal rights equivalent to those of married couples. The "common law marriage" is a myth — it has no legal force — and the bill's supporters argue that the law should reflect the reality of modern relationships.

The bill has cross-party support but has previously been blocked by governments that have argued that marriage should retain a special legal status and that couples who choose not to marry have chosen not to accept the legal obligations that marriage entails. The bill's supporters argue that the choice is often not a conscious rejection of marriage but a reflection of the fact that many couples simply do not think about the legal implications of their relationship until it is too late.