Scottish cohabitation law is under active review, and the changes being considered would matter to every unmarried couple in Scotland. This page tracks the reform process and what it may mean for cohabitants’ claims, time limits and remedies. The law described elsewhere on this site is the law as it stands today.
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Legal review: Brian Rooney, Managing Partner and Law Society of Scotland Accredited Specialist in Family Law. Last reviewed: 20th July 2026.
On this page
Scotland gave cohabiting couples statutory rights in 2006 — earlier than the rest of the United Kingdom — but the regime has been criticised almost from the start as unclear, inflexible and too narrow. Reform is now firmly in motion. This guide tracks where it stands, what the Scottish Law Commission has proposed, and what cohabiting couples should do while the law catches up.
The position today: none of the proposed reforms is yet law. The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 applies in full — including the strict one-year deadline for separation claims and the six-month deadline for claims on death.
The Reform Timeline
2006 — The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 creates the first statutory rights for cohabitants in Scotland (sections 25 to 29), including the section 28 claim for financial provision on separation.
2012 — In Gow v Grant [2012] UKSC 29 the Supreme Court applies section 28 with a “broad brush”, but also calls attention to the lessons to be learned from the provision’s shortcomings.
2020 — The Scottish Law Commission consults on reform of cohabitants’ financial rights.
2nd November 2022 — The Commission publishes its Report on Cohabitation with a draft Cohabitants (Financial Provision) (Scotland) Bill.
30th January 2024 — The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 receives Royal Assent. Section 78 will extend the deadline for a surviving cohabitant’s claim on intestacy from six to twelve months — but it has not yet been brought into force.
21st April 2026 — The Scottish Government’s family law consultation, covering implementation of the Commission’s cohabitation scheme, closes. The Government’s response is awaited.
What the Scottish Law Commission Proposed
A modern definition of cohabitant. The current definition compares couples with spouses or civil partners — a comparison the Commission considered outdated and restrictive. The proposed test asks instead whether two people are, or were, living together as a couple in an “enduring family relationship”.
A wider menu of remedies. At present the court can essentially only order a capital payment. The draft Bill would allow transfer of property, orders for sale and valuation, interim orders, and relief where one party would otherwise suffer serious financial hardship after the relationship ends. For separating cohabitants this is the single biggest practical change: the family home itself could be transferred, rather than argued about through the narrow lens of a capital sum.
A clearer test for awards. Awards would take fair account of economic advantages gained and disadvantages suffered by each party during the relationship, and fair sharing of the economic burden of childcare — with the parties’ resources relevant, and outcomes required to be fair, justified and reasonable. The intention is to replace the current provision’s much-criticised vagueness with guiding principles courts and solicitors can actually apply.
Flexibility on the one-year deadline. The Commission recommended keeping the one-year time limit for separation claims, but allowing couples to agree in writing to extend it to eighteen months to give negotiation a chance, and giving the court discretion to allow a late claim on special cause shown — subject in every case to an absolute limit of two years from the end of the cohabitation.
What Is Not Changing
Even under the full reform package, cohabitation would not become marriage-lite. There is no proposal for automatic property sharing, no proposal for pension sharing orders for cohabitants, and no proposal for ongoing maintenance. The policy throughout has been that couples who have chosen not to marry should not have the full matrimonial regime imposed on them — the reforms aim at fairness on separation, not equivalence with divorce. Anyone relying on “the law is changing” as a reason not to protect themselves now is making a mistake: see our guide to the common law marriage myth.
Reform is also in the air elsewhere: Westminster opened a consultation in June 2026 on inheritance rights for cohabitants in England and Wales, a sign of how far public attitudes have moved across the United Kingdom. It has no effect on Scots law.
What Cohabiting Couples Should Do Now
Until any new Act is passed and commenced, the existing regime applies in full — and its deadlines are unforgiving. Three steps matter more than anything the reform may eventually deliver.
If you are separating: take advice immediately. The section 28 clock runs from the date you cease to cohabit, the one-year deadline is absolute, and the court currently has no power to extend it.
If your relationship is healthy: a cohabitation agreement gives you the certainty the statute does not, whatever the reform eventually delivers.
Whatever your situation: make a will. The six-month deadline for a surviving cohabitant’s claim — twelve months once section 78 is commenced — is a safety net with large holes; a will removes the need for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has cohabitation law changed in Scotland?
Not yet. The Scottish Law Commission recommended reform in November 2022 and the Scottish Government consulted on implementation in a consultation which closed on 21st April 2026, but the current law under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 still applies in full.
Is the one-year time limit for separation claims changing?
The Scottish Law Commission recommended keeping the one-year limit but allowing couples to agree an extension to eighteen months, and giving the court discretion to allow late claims on special cause shown, capped at two years. None of this is law yet — the one-year limit remains absolute today.
Will cohabitants get the same rights as married couples?
No. The proposed reforms widen the remedies available on separation but deliberately stop short of the matrimonial regime. There is no proposal for automatic property sharing, pension sharing or ongoing maintenance for cohabitants.
Should I wait for the new law before doing anything?
No. There is no timetable for the reforms becoming law, and the current deadlines are strict. If you are separating, the one-year limit is already running; if you are not, a cohabitation agreement and a will protect you under the current law and any future one.
Separating from a partner, or want your position protected?
Accredited family law specialists advising cohabitants across Scotland. free initial telephone call of approximately 10–15 minutes and clear fixed fees.
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Affected by Cohabitation Law?
Reform may come, but your rights today are governed by the current Act and its deadlines. Free initial telephone call of approximately 10–15 minutes.
