Tenants in Common or Joint Tenants? What is the difference?

When purchasing a property with joint ownership, your solicitor must confirm with HM Land Registry how the property is held.

A property can either be held as either ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’. The type of ownership affects the rights of each owner. Please find a short summary below:

Joint Tenants:

You will have the enjoyment of:

· Equal rights over the whole property.

· The property cannot pass under a will.

· The property passes to the surviving party upon death.

Tenants in Common:

As tenants in common you will:

· Have different shares of the property, for example 40%/60% split.

· The property does not automatically pass to the other owners upon death.

· The share in property may be passed under your will.

Changing Ownership:

It is possible to change ownership and there is no fee to do this. You may change from joint tenants to tenants in common, an example is if you are in the middle of a separation or divorce. Alternatively, the property may be passed from tenants in common to joint tenants, an example being if you wish to get married.

You may also change the property from sole ownership to joint ownership, this is referred to as a transfer of equity and usually entails a fee. Please see our transfer of equity guide for further information.