The Cohabitation Right Bills has passed through to Committee Stage after receiving its second reading in the House of Lords.
The bill, which was proposed by Lord Marks, will now be examined line-by-line before reaching the Reports Stage.
Over recent years the Government has faced calls to improve rights for cohabitation couples, to reflect what many believe to be a necessary evolutionary shift towards supporting those that choose not to formalise their relationship. This has been triggered by an increase in the number of couples opting against traditional marriage, in part reflecting the overall change in religious attitudes across the country.
The issue was illustrated recently through the changes to intestacy rules, in which greater legal rights were granted to spouses in cases of marriages and civil partnerships. However, the rights relating to cohabitation couples were unchanged, leaving them vulnerable in cases of their partner’s death.
Speaking of the bill, Steve Kirwan from Resolution, an organisation representing the nation’s family lawyers, said: “Ultimately, the law needs to reflect the standards of modern society, and in the case of cohabitation, it does not. More couples are living together than ever before, with an estimated 2,859,000 cohabiting households in Britain – there’s a significant portion of the country who are currently served by outdated and unfair laws.”
Resolution argues that whilst being a significant step forwards, the bill does not go far enough. It advocates creating a system in which cohabitation couples would be granted automatic rights, subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria showing that they are in a committed relationship.
Kirwan said: “The current law on cohabitation is in desperate need of change and we believe that even Lord Marks’ bill, whilst welcome, does not go far enough to address the inequality in the current system.”