The issue
1 in 4 couples living together are not married or in a civil partnership (ONS statistic). In the event of a separation or death, they have extremely limited rights, yet almost half mistakenly believe they are protected under the law.
When married couples separate, they can ask the courts to divide their home, belongings, and finances fairly, to meet the needs of them and their children. These rights do not exist for unmarried couples.
1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime. If they are not married or in a civil partnership, even if they have contributed financially, they have extremely limited legal rights to their home, belongings, or finances held in their abuser’s name.
We receive calls from a huge number of cohabiting women experiencing different forms of abuse, but the one common theme is that they are not protected through the law.
They include:
- Victims of economic abuse who have been forced to take debt out in their name for the benefit of the abuser or forced to transfer property into the abuser’s name
- Victims of coercive control who have been forced to leave their job by their abuser
- Women experiencing domestic abuse who have undergone a religious marriage which is unrecognised in the U.K.
By denying unmarried women cohabitation protections and rights, the Government is ignoring their vulnerability to domestic abuse and blocking their access to justice.
We’re seeking justice
We want the Government to change the law, so women’s rights to justice and safety aren’t dependent on their marital status.
The Law Commission and Women’s and Equalities Commission have recommended introducing legal protections for separating cohabitational partners with children, and that cohabitational partners should have the right to inherit from each other with the same inheritance tax exemptions as maried couples and those in civil partnerships.
Despite these recommendations, nothing has changed.
We need your help to raise our voices for justice and equality in the law for women.
The way we conduct long-term relationships has evolved – around 19% of all couples living together in the UK are neither married nor in a civil partnership, and the total number of cohabiting couples grew 150% between 1996 and 2022 to 3.7 million.
Amidst this shift in behaviours the myth of the ‘common law marriage’ persists, with 47% of the UK public believing this provides legal protections. This has created a false sense of security, yet in the event of separation or death, cohabiting couples have extremely limited rights.
An estimated 40% of UK adults do not have a will, yet on death property does not automatically pass to a cohabitating partner and inheritance tax rules do not allow exemptions.
If married couples separate, spouses have the option of applying to the court to divide their home and assets based on what is fair and meets the needs of the family. No such option exists for cohabiting couples that separate. Those rights which do exist rely on highly complex property law and trust principles that do not take the needs of the parties and children into account.
The system is designed to encourage couples to resolve their differences without going to court, and does not take into account the power imbalance when one of them is a survivor of domestic abuse, making justice even more inaccessible.
The lack of recognition for certain religious marriages leaves many women from specific cultural backgrounds who are primarily from Black and minoritised communities without any legal protection despite them being married and being treated as being married by society and many institutions such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Women experiencing economic abuse are particularly harmed by the lack of cohabitation laws. For example, abusive partners may prevent survivors from being a joint owner of the property knowing this would mean that if she left she would be homeless, If they are joint owners, abusive partners can refuse to agree to a new mortgage with lower interest rates or refuse to sell the home and force survivors into debt and poor credit ratings.
You can read further in our submission (made jointly with Southall Black Sisters) to the 2022 Women’s and Equality Select Commission consultation.
Take action to support cohabiting women
We are calling on the government to improve rights for cohabiting women.
If you fill in your postcode in this website it will provide you with a blank template to fill in and allow you to email your MP directly through the website, or use their details to send your own email.
You can include some information from our letter below in the template, but please make sure you add your own first paragraph if using the platform to email directly (for example with your own personal story or circumstances), as the form will reject identical pasted letters.
Please share this campaign with your own networks and encourage them to take action too. The more emails MPs receive on this issue, the more likely it is they will support improved rights.
Dear MP,
[Please insert your own initial sentences or paragraph if emailing directly through www.writetothem.com as identical copied letters will be rejected. If emailing directly this template can be used as is]
As a concerned constituent, I am writing to urge you to prioritise the issue of cohabitation rights.
Currently, legal protections for cohabiting couples in the UK are insufficient and do not reflect the realities of modern relationships.
Despite there being 1 in 5 families with a couple who are not married or in a civil partnership, almost half of cohabitants mistakenly believe they have rights if one of them dies or they separate. This misconception leaves them vulnerable, especially in situations of separation or the death of a partner.
Cohabitation rights are particularly crucial for survivors of domestic abuse, as they often find themselves in precarious legal and financial situations when trying to leave an abusive partner.
As part of the strategy to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, the Government must bring about the change needed to ensure justice and safety from economic abuse is not dependant on marital status.
I ask you to champion this cause within Parliament. Specifically, I urge you to:
- Advocate for a Cohabitation Act to strengthen rights and protections for cohabitees to safeguard the interests of cohabiting partners and their families.
- Support measures that raise public awareness about the legal status of cohabiting relationships and the protections available.
Thank you for your time and attention on this important issue.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
Your contribution will help us continue our advocacy, raise awareness, and provide vital support to women in need. Together, we can push for the introduction of a Cohabitation Act, ensuring justice and safety from economic abuse is not dependent on marital status.
Your support is crucial and deeply appreciated.
Our crowdfunding campaign for cohabitation rights can be found here.
With your donations we can campaign for stronger legal protections for women and increase their access to justice and safety from domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Alice’s Story
Alice called Rights of Women after experiencing verbal and physical abuse by her long-term partner Tom. Alice wanted to end the relationship but was scared she would lose her home. Alice had contributed towards household bills and had paid Tom half of the mortgage for years, but because the house and mortgage were solely in Tom’s name, she had no legal rights to her home. Alice was faced with the unfair and devastating option to have to give up her home to escape her abuser.
If Alice and Tom had been married, divorce proceedings would consider Alice’s needs and contributions (both financial and non-financial) when deciding how to divide up the couple’s assets (such as their home).
*Note that names and elements have been changed and anonymised.
