Improved rights for cohabitees?

As the law currently stands heterosexual couples are banned from entering into civil partnerships. They can get married but cannot choose to live together and enter into a civil partnership. Same sex couples, however, can choose either option.

The 2004 Civil Partnership Act requires civil partners to be “two people of the same sex”, while the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act of 2013 made it legal for two people of the same sex to also marry.

This means if a straight couple do choose simply to live together they have no “rights” and importantly no “claims” against each other if the relationship breaks down. The myth of common law marriage is just that.

However, one couple have recently brought a judicial review case against the government to challenge this position. Dr Steinfeld, 34, and Mr Keidan, 39 are academics who have been in a committed cohabiting relationship since 2010 and have a baby together. They claimed that the Government’s position on civil partnerships is “incompatible with equality law”.

However, Mrs Justice Andrews found against the couple and held:

“Just as the UK was under no obligation to extend marriage to same-sex couples, it has never been under an obligation to extend civil partnership to heterosexual couples”

The couple in the case argued that the inconsistency between the law on civil partnerships and marriage in this way was incompatible with the Human Rights Act.

Many commentators believe that everyone, be they straight, gay or bisexual, should have the same freedom to choose how to define their relationship.

The couple were given permission to take their case to the Court of Appeal because it raises issues of “wider importance”.

A Private Members’ Bill to amend the Civil Partnership Act 2004 to extend it to heterosexual couples was due to have a second reading in the House of Commons last week but that has now been rescheduled for 11th March 2016. The Bill has cross-party support from MPs, as well as support from lawyers, academics and a petition with over 36,000 signatures.

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