Joint Ownership Guide

Joint Tenancy

This doesn't actually have anything to do with tenancy in the normal sense of the word. It is when a property is owned by two or more individuals known as 'co-owners'. This is the most common form of joint ownership for couples in a marriage and civil partnership but may also be appropriate for unmarried couples too.

The property is held in 'undivided shares'. This means that the shared ownership is not defined in separate parts. The property is owned as a whole by all co-owners and there is no division of shares or of particular parts of the property.

The joint owners are jointly responsible for most obligations affecting the property. They will almost always be jointly responsible for the mortgage so that the lender can pursue either or both of them if they fall behind with repayments.

When one of the joint tenants dies, the ownership will pass automatically and immediately to the surviving joint tenant(s) under the "right of survivorship" principle. The property does not form part of the deceased's estate and therefore the passing of the ownership is unaffected by any Will that may exist.

Tenancy In Common

This refers to a form of co-ownership where the owners specify what shares in the property they each own. These shares can also be passed down normally in a Will rather than transferring directly to the other co-owners like in a joint tenancy.

As with joint tenants, tenants in common have joint responsibility for the property and related obligations, including the mortgage. However, these responsibilities between the owners should be declared in a 'Declaration of Trust' or 'Trust Deed' document.

A tenancy in common can involve either equal or unequal division of shares in the property. The law will presume the division to be equal unless there is a statement (ideally contained in the Trust Deed) specifying otherwise. The property itself is not divided physically with different floors or rooms belonging to different people.