What rights do I have living in my partner’s house?
On the face of it, the short answer to this question is that if your partner is the sole owner of the property that you both live in, you do not have any automatic rights to this property if you are unmarried.
Living as cohabitees, so without being married or being in a civil partnership, means that you do not have a given right to property in the same way as married couples. This is irrespective of any children of the family, and any significant lapses of time that the couple have lived together.
There is a widespread misconception that cohabitees have the same financial claims as married couples or civil partners. This is the myth of a ‘common law marriage’.
If you move in with your partner without getting married or entering a civil partnership, you will not have any legal claim to their income or pension by virtue of your status as a cohabitee.
Only in some circumstances will you have a valid claim against a property held by your partner in their sole name. These claims are governed by civil laws rather than family laws and can be a costly and lengthy exercise should a claim need to be made at some point down the line.
How can I protect my position?
A cohabitation agreement is a legal document between unmarried couples living together, and a sensible solution in protecting both parties’ intentions and interests when it comes to arrangements for property, as well as finances and children, in the event of a relationship break, illness or death.
Entering into a cohabitation from the start of the cohabitating relationship would offer the most protection to parties so that matters are clear from the outset, however, there is no deadline for when a cohabitation agreement must be drawn up. Parties can enter into a cohabitation agreement at any time.
The cohabitation agreement can detail each partner’s financial responsibility and outline clearly the extent of their financial interests in the family home and/or other assets. The agreement expressly confirms the parties’ intentions as to how assets ought to be held, providing both parties with peace of mind.
A cohabitation agreement may serve one party by protecting their assets from a partner seeking to establish a financial interest in them upon separation and serve the other party by enduring any contributions made to provide them with a recognisable financial interest in the event of separation.
A cohabitation agreement can also outline other wishes aside from how property interests ought to be held, such as conferring next of kin rights in the event of a medical emergency.
Cohabitation agreements are not exclusively for people in romantic relationships and can also be a useful tool for friends or siblings, for example, residing together.
The position for cohabitants in the absence of a cohabitation agreement
As set out above, if your partner legally owns the property, you will not usually have any right to the property, save for limited circumstances. For example, if there is a Declaration of Trust setting out their partner’s interest.
A claim may be established if you can show that you have a beneficial interest by way of financial contributions you have made towards the property. The Court may also recognise an understanding you had with your partner at the time it was purchased that you would have a share in the event it was sold. This is a complex area of law and specialist advice from a family lawyer should be sought.
If you have purchased a property together, you could hold this either as joint tenants or as tenants in common.
If you hold the property as joint tenants and one of you dies, the other will automatically inherit the property. This cannot be changed by your will. If you hold the property as tenants in common, you each own a share in the property either equally or with one party owning a larger share. If one of you dies, the other does not automatically inherit the other’s share unless this has been left to them in a will.
Cohabitants will not be treated as next of kin for their partners in the event of medical emergencies or death unless there is a written agreement in place beforehand. This means you do not have an automatic right to have updates on their medical status or visit them in hospital.
State pensions and separate bank accounts also do not pass to your partner in the event of death where the parties are cohabitants.
A will should also be considered alongside a cohabitation agreement to ensure that both documents are enforceable and provide the protection sought.
A family lawyer can advise on you what ought to be included in your cohabitation agreement, and draw this up for you.
