Home ownership explained
An all you need to know guide on home ownership in estate administration
Joint tenants
As joint tenants (sometimes called ‘beneficial joint tenants’):
- You have equal rights to the whole property
- The property automatically goes to the other owner(s) if you die
- You cannot pass on your ownership of the property in your Will
Joint tenancy is a type of ownership where each person owns the whole of the property, so each person has a 100% stake in the property’s value. In the eyes of the law, you must all act together as a single owner. You’d need to get a joint mortgage to cover the amount you’re borrowing to buy the property.
If you want to sell the property, you must all agree. As a joint tenant, you can’t leave part of the property to someone else in a Will. If one of you dies, the property automatically passes to the other owner(s). This is known as ‘right of survivorship’. Married couples that own property together would typically be joint tenants.
In Scotland, this type of ownership is called ‘joint owners with a survivorship clause’.
Tenants in common
As tenants in common:
- You can own different shares of the property
- Your share of the property does not automatically go to the other owner(s) if you die
- You can pass on your share of the property in your Will
As tenants in common (or ‘joint owners’ in Scotland), you each own a separate share of the property. These shares don’t have to be equal size; for example, you might own 50% of the property while your two children each own a 25% share.
This type of joint ownership is typically used by friends or relatives who are buying together. As with joint tenancy, you must all agree if you want to sell the property.
However, tenants in common can each leave their share of the property to whoever they like in their Will.
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