Proposed reforms of cohabitation rights
The UK Government’s “A Fairer end to a relationship consultation” includes the following proposals:
- Unmarried couples who live together would get stronger legal protection if they separate. The proposed framework would generally cover couples who have lived together for at least 3 years, or who live together and have a child.
- A court could potentially make financial/property orders when the relationship ends, particularly where one partner would otherwise be left in a significantly worse financial position.
- It is not intended to make cohabitation the same as marriage. The Government says the rights would be narrower than those available to married couples.
- Couples would apparently be able to opt out of the new framework if both agree.
- There are also proposals to give qualifying cohabitants inheritance rights if their partner dies without a will, subject to conditions.
- It isn’t law yet. The Government is currently consulting on the proposals, with the consultation closing 14 August 2026.
The aim of the proposal is to stop someone who has built a long-term life with an unmarried partner—especially someone who has sacrificed earnings to care for children—from being left financially vulnerable simply because they weren’t married.
Consequences of the proposals
The controversial part is that some legal consequences could arise automatically, rather than couples having to explicitly agree to them. Critics argue this could undermine the choice of people who deliberately choose not to marry.
In an article for Financial Remedies Journal, His Honour Judge Hess, who is a Lead judge of the London Financial Remedies Court (FRC) has said the general view among judges is likely to welcome the overall reform, particularly because judges are generally convinced that it is unfair that separating cohabiting couples currently have such limited financial remedies.
However, he raised a major warning about the practical consequences:-
- The reforms could create a substantial increase in cases coming before the Financial Remedies Court.
- He estimates that extending financial remedies to cohabitants could potentially increase the FRC’s workload by around 27% (ie 16.5 million couples rather than 13 million – He points to ONS statistics for 2026 showing that there are approximately 13 million married couples and 3.5 million cohabiting couples in the UK. )
- He thinks the Government may have underestimated how many cases would actually be brought.
- He is concerned that insufficient judges, court time and administrative resources could lead to longer delays, which would itself create injustice.
- He also questioned the Government’s assessment that the reforms would ultimately save money through greater clarity in the law. He described the financial analysis as superficial and unsatisfactory and said codification could actually produce more litigation initially.
- Most importantly, he says that if the reforms go ahead, the courts need to be properly funded and resourced before they are implemented
Current timetable
- 14 August 2026: Government consultation closes.
- After August 2026: The Government will consider the responses and decide which proposals to take forward.
- Then: Any legislation would need to be drafted, introduced to Parliament, debated and passed by both Houses, followed by Royal Assent.
- After that: The Government would set a commencement date for the new rules.
So, it is very unlikely to become law immediately after 14 August. Realistically, we’re looking at months at the very least, and potentially 1–2 years or longer before the new rules actually take effect. There is currently no announced implementation date.
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