A Living Together Agreement — also known as a Cohabitation Agreement — is a legally binding written contract between two people who are living together or who intend to live together outside of marriage or a civil partnership. It sets out each partner's rights and obligations in relation to property, finances, and other matters during the period of cohabitation and on separation. In England and Wales, a Cohabitation Agreement is governed by ordinary contract law and, where it relates to interests in property, also by the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996) and the Law of Property Act 1925.

The need for a Cohabitation Agreement arises from a fundamental gap in English family law: unlike married couples and civil partners, cohabiting couples have no automatic legal rights over each other's property, savings, or pension on separation or death. The widespread belief in the concept of 'common law marriage' — the idea that couples who live together for a long period acquire rights similar to married couples — is a myth that has no basis in English law. The Law Commission confirmed this in its report Cohabitation: The Financial Consequences of Relationship Breakdown (Law Com No 307, 2007), which recommended legislative reform that has not yet been enacted.

A Cohabitation Agreement removes this legal uncertainty by clearly documenting each partner's ownership interests in property, their agreed financial contributions during the relationship, and what will happen to jointly owned assets and the shared home if the relationship ends. It can also address the holding of bank accounts, savings, and personal property.

For property matters, a Cohabitation Agreement serves as a declaration of the beneficial interests held by each partner under a trust. The Supreme Court in Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 and Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53 held that where property is owned in joint names, the starting point is equal beneficial ownership, but that this presumption can be displaced by evidence of a different common intention — and a properly drafted Cohabitation Agreement is the clearest possible evidence of such an intention. Our UK Cohabitation Agreement template is drafted in accordance with English law and is designed for use by couples living together or planning to live together in England and Wales.

A Cohabitation Agreement is appropriate in any situation where two people are living together or intend to live together outside of marriage or civil partnership and wish to protect their individual financial interests and clarify their mutual rights and obligations. It is particularly important where one or both partners owns property, has significant savings or investments, or has children from a previous relationship.

The most common circumstances in which a Cohabitation Agreement is needed include: where one partner owns the home and the other moves in; where both partners are jointly purchasing a property and they wish to record their respective contributions and shares; where one partner is contributing financially to a property owned solely by the other (for example, paying for renovations or a portion of the mortgage), creating the risk of an informal constructive trust claim under TOLATA 1996; where one partner has significantly more assets or income than the other; and where either partner has children from a previous relationship whose inheritance interests need to be protected.

A Cohabitation Agreement is also valuable as a complementary document to wills and estate planning. Since cohabiting partners have no automatic right of inheritance under the intestacy rules in England and Wales, it is essential that each partner makes a valid will and considers the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 in their estate planning. The Cohabitation Agreement can record the couple's intentions regarding the property during their lifetimes, while their wills deal with what happens on death.

Finally, a Cohabitation Agreement is an important document at the beginning of any significant cohabiting relationship, not only when one party is concerned about the future. Making the agreement at the outset, when the relationship is positive and both parties are willing to engage openly, produces the clearest and most enforceable document. Waiting until the relationship is in difficulty often makes negotiation more difficult and may give rise to arguments of duress or undue influence.

A well-drafted Living Together Agreement for use in England and Wales should address several key areas that together provide a comprehensive framework for the couple's financial relationship during cohabitation and on separation.

The property clause is the most critical element of any Cohabitation Agreement. It must clearly identify the shared home, specify how it is owned (as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, or as tenants in common in equal or specified unequal shares), and set out what will happen to the property on separation — whether it will be sold and the proceeds divided, transferred to one partner, or dealt with in some other way. Any change to the form of co-ownership (for example, severing a joint tenancy to become tenants in common) should also be addressed, as this requires a written notice of severance under section 196 of the Law of Property Act 1925.

The financial contributions clause sets out the agreed division of household expenses — mortgage or rent, utility bills, council tax, food, and other outgoings. Clarity here prevents disputes about financial contributions during the relationship and reduces the risk of one party later claiming a beneficial interest in the property on the basis of informal financial contributions.

The separate property clause protects assets that each partner owned individually before the relationship and intends to keep separate during it. Under English property law, assets remain the separate property of the person who owns them unless there is an agreement or conduct that transfers or shares the beneficial interest — but clear documentation is always safer than relying on implied trusts.

The separation clause is the most important provisions from a practical standpoint. It sets out clearly what happens if the relationship ends: whether the property is sold, how the proceeds are divided, what happens to jointly owned furniture and personal property, and how any joint financial arrangements are wound up.

The inheritance and intestacy clause should alert both partners to the risk that they have no automatic right of inheritance under English intestacy law and encourage them each to make a valid will, as well as to consider the provisions of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

The dispute resolution clause specifies the mechanism for resolving disputes — typically negotiation or mediation before resorting to court proceedings under TOLATA 1996 — and the governing law clause confirms that the agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales.