Tenancy in Common

Make a Tenancy in Common online in 5 minutes for £19.95

When two or more people share the ownership of a property, there are two ways in which the 'Joint Ownership' can be held:-

1. Joint Tenants

2. Tenants in Common

Joint Tenants (Joint Tenancy)

With this arrangement, all co-owners effectively own 100% of the property while they are alive and 0% of it if they die leaving a survivor. This means that if two people own a property as Joint Tenants and one of them dies, the survivor automatically becomes the sole 100% owner of the property and the deceased (and the deceased's estate) owns 0%.

This means that the deceased cannot leave the property in his/her Will - as he/she no longer owns any interest in it.

This is clearly somewhat unsatisfactory in many cases, especially from a tax vantage or in the case of unmarried owners.

Unfortunately the majority of property ownership in the UK is under Joint Tenancy arrangements. The good news is it is easy to change!

Tenants in Common (Joint Tenancy)

With this arrangement, each co-owner owns a specific share of the property, with the shares adding up to 100%. This means that if one of the co-owners dies, his/her share of the property becomes part of his/her estate and he/she can dispose of it howsoever he/she pleases.

This is clearly far more satisfactory as it gives each owner the CHOICE - they can still leave their share to the other owners anyway if they choose.

How to find out if you have a Joint Tenancy or Tenancy in Common?

To find out if you are Joint Tenants, you will need to check on your Title Register Document. If you have a mortgage then this will be held by your mortgage company, but for £3 you can now check your Title Register Document online at www.landregistryonline.co.uk .

The Title Register Document will show the names of the people that own the property and, if you are already tenants in common will also have wording similar to: "No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court".

If there is no such wording in the Title Register Document then you are almost certainly joint tenants.

Quick Tip: When you've got your Title Register Document, download it and print it out: it also tells you your Land Registry Administration Area and your property's Title Number - both of which are required for severing the Joint Tenancy.

Setting up a Tenancy in Common (also called Severing a Joint Tenancy) is easy.

You can do this online here for just £19.95