Married Women's Property Act 1882

Married Women's Property Act 1882

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the property of married women.
Citation	45 & 46 Vict. c. 75
Territorial extent	England and Wales[1]
Dates
Royal assent	18 August 1882
Commencement	1 January 1883[2]
Other legislation
Amended by	Married Women's Property Act 1884 Law Reform (Married Women and Tortfeasors) Act 1935 Theft Act 1968 Poor Law Act 1927 Law Reform (Husband and Wife) Act 1962
Relates to	Married Women's Property (Scotland) Act 1881
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Married Women's Property Act 1882 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Married Women's Property Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 75) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that significantly altered English law regarding the property rights of married women, which besides other matters allowed married women to own and control property in their own right.

The act applied in England (and Wales) and Ireland, but did not extend to Scotland.^[3] The Married Women's Property Act was a model for similar legislation in other British territories. For example, Victoria passed legislation in 1884, New South Wales in 1889, and the remaining Australian colonies passed similar legislation between 1890 and 1897.^{[citation needed]}