My girlfriend has recently moved in with me. If we were ever to split up would she have any claim on my property? She wants to help me out with the bills: would this improve her claim on my house? We have no children.
You don’t develop a financial interest in a property just by living there. If at some stage your girlfriend claimed to have a financial interest in your house, the courts would consider what it was you intended. A written cohabitation agreement would make things clear, but failing that the court could conclude that financial contributions from your girlfriend would give her an interest. You can probably accept help with utility bills, but anything more substantial could give her a foot in the door.