Many couples decide that they want to live with each other, so move in together. Sometimes it’s into one partner’s home, or sometimes they get a whole new one together.

Here’s some things to think about to make the process go smoothly.

Should We Move In Together?

Only you can decide that! Some people prefer to wait until they are married or engaged but whatever you do you need to think about it carefully beforehand. If your family and friends are against you moving in together then it’s a good idea to calmly explain your reasons to show that you’ve thought and talked about it.

Where Should We Live?

Some couples move into one person’s flat or house, others prefer to find a new place together, particularly if you have been living with family or friends. See our Housing pages for more information about setting up a new home.

Who Pays For What?

Again, this one is up to you, there are different ways to keep it fair. Some couples divide everything in half, some divide it up according to how much each earns. Many find it useful to open a joint account to put living expenses money in. If you need some help with managing your money or opening an account, check out our money pages.

Do We Have Legal Rights?

A lot of people think that if you live together you have the same rights that you have as a couple who are married or in a civil partnership. This isn’t true, and it’s worth checking out what your rights are especially if you are buying property together rather than renting, or have children together. The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 helps protect you during a break up. There’s more information in the Family Matters booklet on the Scottish Government website.

Cooking & Cleaning

It’s obviously fairest if you take turns in cooking and cleaning, or divide the chores up between yourselves. It’s not always as easy as that as you may work different hours, one of you might be a fantastic cook and one of you might absolutely detest hoovering. Try and work out who does what based on what you like and what you’re good at, but remember you’re probably going to have to do things you don’t like as well. Make sure you support each other, if one isn’t very confident with cooking the other can help out or suggest easier recipes. If your partner has done a rubbish job at cleaning the toilet explain what they haven’t done rather than fly off the handle.