The Law Society has called for legislation to provide financial redress for cohabiting couples in the event of relationship breakdown.

President John Wotton expressed disappointment at the government’s refusal to consider changing the law to protect cohabitants in the current parliamentary session.

Wotton said the current ‘disjointed and grossly inadequate’ law failed to protect the vulnerable, and should be changed to provide a more rational and structured system that gave cohabitants adequate redress when their financial and property rights needed to be adjusted.

Reform could reduce costs, free up time for courts and provide separating couples with a more satisfactory experience, he said.

The Law Commission has proposed legislative change in this area. But justice minister Jonathan Djanogly indicated that the government would not be acting on the proposals in the current session as the family justice system is under review.

However the review, led by David Norgrove, specifically excludes ancillary relief and the financial proceedings surrounding the separation of a couple, as well as cohabitation law, which is dealt with under civil law.

Wotton said family law solicitors regularly see injustice when cohabiting couples' relationships break down.

‘Unmarried couples who are living together and those who are still married, but are now living with a new partner, need to know where they stand in the event of a break-up,’ he said.