The three year rule for de facto couples
Updated 2026-08-09. General information, not legal advice.
The three year rule is shorthand for the Property (Relationships) Act 1976's general threshold: once a de facto relationship has lasted three years, the Act's full equal sharing regime applies, and relationship property, usually including the family home, is divided 50/50 if the relationship ends by separation or death. It is three years, not two; the two year figure people often quote comes from other areas of law (like some benefit and immigration rules) and has nothing to do with property division.
The rule does not require a decision, a form or even awareness. Many couples cross it without noticing, which is exactly why it deserves a conversation before it arrives.
What changes at three years?
Before three years, a de facto couple who separates generally each keep what is theirs; the Act mostly leaves short relationships alone. From about three years, the default flips: relationship property is shared equally, whoever paid for it. The family home and family chattels are the headline items, because they are generally relationship property even if one partner brought the home into the relationship.
The three years run from when the de facto relationship began, which can be earlier than the shared address. If the start date is fuzzy, so is the threshold, one more reason couples fix the date in an agreement.
Can the Act apply before three years?
In limited cases, yes. A court can apply the Act to a shorter de facto relationship where there is a child of the relationship, or where one partner made substantial contributions, and in either case not making orders would cause serious injustice. Even then, division in a short relationship is generally based on contributions rather than automatic halves. These are exceptions, not the rule, but they mean "under three years so nothing applies" is not a safe assumption either.
What should a couple do about the three year mark?
Talk before it, ideally when moving in together. The options are simple: accept the Act's default (a genuine choice, and for many couples the right one), or make a contracting out agreement choosing your own rules, most commonly protecting what each of you brings in while sharing what you build together. An agreement signed before the threshold preserves the choice; after it, an agreement is still available but is re-classifying rights that may already exist, which makes disclosure and fairness matter even more.
Common questions
- Is it two years or three years for de facto property rights in NZ?
- Three years is the Act's general threshold for equal sharing of relationship property. Two-year periods you may have heard of belong to other areas of law and do not govern property division.
- Does the three year rule mean everything is split 50/50?
- Relationship property is generally shared equally: usually the family home and chattels, income earned during the relationship and property acquired during it. Separate property, such as pre-relationship assets kept genuinely separate, inheritances and gifts, is not automatically shared.
- Does the clock restart if we break up and get back together?
- Periods of separation and reconciliation complicate the calculation rather than simply resetting it; how the periods count depends on the facts. A couple in that position gets more certainty from fixing dates and rules in an agreement than from arguing the arithmetic later.
- We are at two and a half years. Is it too late to choose our own rules?
- No, it is close to the ideal time. An agreement signed now preserves your choice before equal sharing interests fully arise, and the conversation is usually easier than it will ever be again.
Sources
All information published on prenup.nz, including this guide, is general information only and is not to be construed as legal advice. We strongly recommend seeking independent legal advice about your own situation. A contracting out agreement only binds you once each partner has taken independent legal advice and a lawyer has witnessed and certified each signature, as section 21F of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 requires.