West Hollywood allows multi-partner relationships to register as partners

The West Hollywood City Council in California, United States, unanimously approved an ordinance that allows people in polyamorous relationships to register as partners.

Mayor John Heilman introduced the measure to create a registry for multi-partner domestic relationships involving three or more adults. People in these consensual relationships can now file a declaration with the city clerk to have their partnership officially recorded.

This move follows a March decision by the city council to prohibit discrimination based on family or relationship structures. Registered partners gain specific legal protections, such as the right to visit patients in hospitals or inmates in jails within the city. The registration also provides safeguards against some types of eviction or the termination of a tenancy.

However, the law does not grant these groups the same legal recognition or rights that married couples or domestic partners receive under California state law. To qualify for registration, applicants must provide mutual consent and ensure they do not have blood relationships that would prevent marriage under state law. Activist Christina Fialho described the new ordinance as a starting point for people in non-traditional family structures.

Other cities in Massachusetts, including Somerville and Cambridge, began recognizing similar multi-partner domestic relationships through local registries in 2020.