Cohabiting couple, any rights?

stormbreaker

Get her to seek advice from a solicitor. I believe she does have rights as it has been a 'matrimonial home' This is far too important to go on what other say on a social media site.

https://www.gov.uk/stay-in-home-during-separation-or-divorce/overview

fairy_lights

PasturesNew wrote: »

If she'd not met him at all, she'd have been paying rent all these years.

How does that "saving" stack up against what she's paid for a roof over her head over the time she's lived with him? .

If the boyfriend has only recently bought the house then presumably she has been paying rent for all these years?
There's nothing in OP's post to indicate he has supported her financially.

Soundgirlrocks

Op, something that get mentioned a lot on the housing board is beneficial interest normally when someone asks about their partner moving in. Its a bit of a bogieman on there ("beware they might accrue a beneficial interest in your property!!:eek::eek:")

I think your friend would count as having a beneficial interest in the property some more information Here

TBagpuss

stormbreaker wrote: »

Get her to seek advice from a solicitor. I believe she does have rights as it has been a 'matrimonial home' This is far too important to go on what other say on a social media site.

https://www.gov.uk/stay-in-home-during-separation-or-divorce/overview

Not if they are not married.

OP she doesn't have any automatic rights. If they can't agree, then she would have to satisfy a court that there had been a joint intention or agreement that she would get her money back if she put it into the house.
It's further complicated by the fact that £9K spent on a kitchen doesn't mean £9K increase in the value of the house.

Has she made other contributions? For instance towards the mortgage payments or other household bills? Again, the issue is down to what their joint intentions were, but a court can make inferences about those if appropriate.

However, if they were already in a relationship before he bought the house it is much harder to argue that there was a joint intention that she should gain an interest, as that could easily have been done at the point of purchase, so the starting presumption would be that it wasn't intended.

Gloomendoom

stormbreaker wrote: »

Get her to seek advice from a solicitor. I believe she does have rights as it has been a 'matrimonial home' This is far too important to go on what other say on a social media site.

https://www.gov.uk/stay-in-home-during-separation-or-divorce/overview

If you click the "I'm not married so what shall I do?" link on that page, it takes you to the Shelter website!

[Deleted User]

They have the right not to co-habit
They also have the right to 'formalise' things if they wish by getting married.

pphillips

A cohabitation agreement is essential for non married couples as they have almost no legal rights without one. Normally when a cohabiting couple splits up, they just take their own property with them but this is impractical in relation to a kitchen. The law doesn't normally get involved in domestic arrangements and the situation is difficult to comment on without knowing the circumstances surrounding it. Was the kitchen a gift or was there an understanding that the partner was going to pay her back some or all of the money when they sold the property?

Guest101

TheSilentMeow wrote: »

My friend has been with her partner for nearly ten years, but they're unmarried and no children between them. He recently bought a property outright but only in his own name. She used money she inherited to pay for a brand new kitchen to be installed, around £9k, and it's only been installed for about a month. Things have not been good between them recently and she's thinking they won't be together for much longer. My question is, does she have any rights at all and is there any way she can claim her money back for the kitchen if she moves out and they split up?

Thank you

Missed this, but yes she has a beneficial interest in the property and can make a claim for the value of her improvements.

stormbreaker

Apologies, I didn't realise the link took you to the shelter website.

As much as they are not married, the property is considered a 'matrimonial' home and she does have rights of occupancy etc. It would be up to a court of law (civil) to decide on what further rights by way of financial compensation she would be entitled to.

pphillips

stormbreaker wrote: »

Apologies, I didn't realise the link took you to the shelter website.

As much as they are not married, the property is considered a 'matrimonial' home and she does have rights of occupancy etc. It would be up to a court of law (civil) to decide on what further rights by way of financial compensation she would be entitled to.

Actually it is not a matrimonial home as they were not married and this is the wrong terms to use as it relates to married couples / civil partners only. Unlike in a divorce case, a court will only considers the financial contributions to the property and the intention behind those contributions in order to establish whether or not she has financial interest in the property.