What Is Joint Ownership of a Home? Joint Tenants vs Tenants in Common

Joint ownership means two or more people own a home together. In England and Wales you hold it in one of two ways. Joint tenants own the whole property together, and if one dies it passes automatically to the others. Tenants in common each own a share, which can be unequal and can be left in a will.

The choice matters most at two moments: when an owner dies, and when owners split up. It is recorded when you buy, and you can change it later.

The two types of joint ownership

Joint tenants

• You own the whole property together, with equal rights to all of it. Neither of you owns a particular half.
• If one of you dies, the property passes automatically to the surviving owner or owners. This is called the right of survivorship.
• Because of that, you cannot leave your interest in the home to anyone else in your will.

Joint tenancy suits couples who want everything to go to each other, and who see the home as shared whatever each of them paid in.

Tenants in common

• Each of you owns a share, and the shares do not have to be equal: 50/50, 60/40 or whatever you agree.
• Your share does not pass automatically to the other owners when you die. It goes under your will, or under the intestacy rules if you have no will.
• The shares are shares of the whole property, not of particular rooms or floors.

Tenancy in common suits people who put in different amounts, friends or relatives buying together, and anyone who wants their share to go to their children.

Legal title and shares: two layers of ownership

There are two layers to owning a home with someone else.

The legal title is what HM Land Registry records: who the owners are. No more than four people can be on the legal title. If more are named, the first four hold the property for everyone.

The shares are who owns how much of the value. When you buy, the transfer deed has a "declaration of trust" panel where you say whether you are joint tenants or tenants in common, and in what shares.

If you buy as tenants in common, or leave that panel blank, the Land Registry adds a standard entry to the title called a Form A restriction. It records that a sole surviving owner cannot give a valid receipt for sale money on their own, which protects the other owners' shares.

Not sure how you own your home? Your transfer deed, lease or any declaration of trust will say. Your type of ownership can also change without you knowing, for example if one of the other owners goes bankrupt.

How to choose

Talk these through with whoever you are buying with, before you sign the transfer:

• Are you putting in the same amount? If not, do you want the difference recognised?
• If one of you died, who should get that share? The other owner, or children or other family?
• Are you married or in a civil partnership? The law protects spouses in ways it does not protect unmarried partners. See below.
• What should happen if you split up, or if one of you wants to sell and the other does not?

Declaration of trust: putting the shares in writing

A declaration of trust, sometimes called a deed of trust, is a document stating each owner's share in a jointly owned property. It can also set out what happens if one of you wants to sell, or if you split up.

It matters most when:

• one of you is putting in a bigger deposit, or a gift from family
• one of you will pay more of the mortgage
• you are not married

The panel on the transfer deed records the basic split. A separate declaration of trust lets you say more, such as how deposit money is paid back on a sale before the rest is divided.

Unmarried couples: what the law does not do for you

Couples who live together have fewer legal rights than married couples or civil partners. Three gaps matter for a shared home.

• Splitting up. The divorce rules on dividing money and property do not apply to you. What you each own depends on the title, any declaration of trust and, failing those, what a court decides you intended. If you bought in joint names with nothing in writing, the starting point is that you own the home equally. Either of you can argue it was meant to be different, but that argument is usually expensive.
• Death without a will. If one partner dies without a will, the other does not automatically inherit anything, unless the home was owned jointly. As joint tenants, the home passes to the survivor. As tenants in common, a partner's share does not.
• Inheritance tax. Married couples and civil partners can usually leave everything to each other free of inheritance tax. Unmarried partners cannot.

If you are not married and are putting in different amounts, a declaration of trust and a will each are worth doing at the time you buy, not later.

What happens when a joint owner dies

Joint tenants. The home passes automatically to the surviving owner or owners. It does not go through the will. To update the register, the survivor sends HM Land Registry form DJP with an official copy of the death certificate.

Tenants in common. The share of the owner who died goes to whoever inherits under their will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will. The surviving owner is still on the title, but because of the Form A restriction they cannot sell on their own signature alone.

Whichever way you own, make a will. It is the only way to control where a tenant-in-common share goes, and it covers everything else you own.

What happens if you separate

You both still own the home after you split up, and as joint owners you each have an equal right to stay in it.

• Married couples and civil partners agree how to divide money and property, and make it legally binding with a consent order. If you cannot agree, you can ask the court to make a financial order.
• Unmarried couples are bound by the shares on the title and any declaration of trust. If you cannot agree, either of you can ask the court to declare what you each own. The court can also make orders about the property, including whether it is sold.

In practice the home is usually sold and the money divided, or one of you buys the other out. A buy-out is a transfer of equity: we explain how it works, including when stamp duty is due, in transfer of equity: the 5 key steps.

One point people miss: coming off the deeds does not take you off the mortgage. A joint mortgage stays in both names until the lender agrees otherwise.

Changing from joint tenants to tenants in common

This is called severance. You do not need the other owner's agreement.

1. If the other owner does not agree, serve them a written notice of severance. You can hand it to them, leave it at their address or send it by registered post.
2. Fill in Land Registry form SEV to register a Form A restriction.
3. Send it with your evidence: the notice signed by all the owners, or proof that it was delivered.

There is no Land Registry fee.

People usually do this when they separate, so that their share no longer passes automatically to an ex-partner if they die, or when they want to leave their share in a will.

Going the other way, from tenants in common to joint tenants, needs every owner to agree.

Questions people ask

What is joint ownership of property?

It means two or more people own a property together. In England and Wales they hold it as joint tenants, owning the whole together with automatic inheritance on death, or as tenants in common, each owning a share they can leave in a will. Up to four people can be on the legal title.

What is the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common?

Joint tenants own the whole home together. If one dies, it passes automatically to the others, whatever their will says. Tenants in common each own a share, which can be unequal, such as 60/40. Each share passes under the owner's will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will.

Does my partner automatically get the house if I die?

If you own it as joint tenants, yes: it passes to them automatically. If you are tenants in common, your share goes under your will. Without a will, an unmarried partner does not automatically inherit it. Married couples and civil partners are treated differently, so check how your home is held.

Do we need a declaration of trust?

Not always. If you are married and own equally as joint tenants, the transfer deed may be enough. A separate declaration of trust is worth having if you put in different amounts, one of you has a gifted deposit, or you are not married. It records each person's share and what happens on a sale.

Can I change from joint tenants to tenants in common without the other owner agreeing?

Yes. Serve a written notice of severance on the other owner, then send HM Land Registry form SEV with the notice signed by everyone, or proof that it was delivered. There is no Land Registry fee. Changing back from tenants in common to joint tenants needs every owner to agree.

What happens if joint owners cannot agree to sell?

Talk first, ideally with solicitors or a mediator. If that fails, any owner can ask the court to decide. The court can declare what share each person owns and make orders about the property, including whether it should be sold. Married couples who are divorcing deal with the home as part of the financial order instead.

Does joint ownership affect inheritance tax?

The type of ownership does not change the tax, but marriage does. Married couples and civil partners can usually leave everything to each other free of inheritance tax. Unmarried partners cannot. Whatever passes to an unmarried partner is not exempt, so for a larger estate the way you own and the will you make are worth planning together.

Our residential conveyancing team sets up joint purchases, declarations of trust and changes of ownership.

Sources

Joint tenants and tenants in common: gov.uk/joint-property-ownership

Checking your type of ownership: gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/check-your-ownership-details

Changing to tenants in common (severance, form SEV): gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/change-from-joint-tenants-to-tenants-in-common

Changing to joint tenants: gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/change-from-tenants-in-common-to-joint-tenants

Four-owner limit, Form A restriction, declaration of trust: gov.uk/government/publications/private-trusts-of-land/practice-guide-24-private-trusts-of-land

When a joint owner dies (form DJP): gov.uk/update-property-records-someone-dies

Dividing property on divorce: gov.uk/money-property-when-relationship-ends

Court orders about jointly owned land: legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/47/section/14

Homes in joint names, the starting point: supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2010-0130 (Jones v Kernott)

Living together and marriage: citizensadvice.org.uk/family/living-together-marriage-and-civil-partnership/living-together-and-marriage-legal-differences/

Inheritance tax: gov.uk/inheritance-tax

This is general information about owning a home jointly in England and Wales, not advice on your situation. Your own position depends on facts we would need to see.