Joint tenants or tenants in common: buying a home together

The two types of joint ownership

GOV.UK says you must decide which type you want if you buy, inherit or become a trustee of a property with someone else. The choice matters most in two situations: when the relationship between owners breaks down, and when one owner dies.

The “tenant” in these names has nothing to do with renting: it is the legal word for an owner.

Example, as a rule of thumb rather than a calculation. Two friends buy a flat, one paying a larger deposit. As joint tenants, neither has a defined share and the survivor takes everything. As tenants in common, they can record unequal shares in a trust deed (a “declaration of trust”, which GOV.UK describes as a document stating an owner’s share), and each share passes under its owner’s will.

How to find out which type you have

GOV.UK lists the documents that show it: the property transfer, the lease, or a trust deed. If you are unsure, a solicitor, conveyancer or legal executive can check. GOV.UK also warns that your type of ownership can sometimes change without your knowledge, for example if one of the other owners goes bankrupt.

Changing from joint tenants to tenants in common

This is called severance of joint tenancy. GOV.UK says you should apply for a “Form A restriction” on the register, and that you can make this change without the other owners’ agreement. There is no fee.

If the other owners do not agree:

1. Serve a written notice of severance on the other owners (a conveyancer can help).
2. Fill in form SEV to register the restriction. If you cannot provide any of the evidence of severance that form SEV lists, form RX1 can be used instead.
3. Send it to HM Land Registry’s Citizen Centre with the supporting documents.

The supporting document is an original or certified copy of the notice signed by all owners. If you cannot get their signatures, GOV.UK accepts a letter certifying that you gave the notice to each owner, left it at their last known UK home or business address, or sent it there by registered post or recorded delivery without it being returned.

If everyone agrees: form SEV and the supporting documents, sent to the same address, also free.

Changing from tenants in common to joint tenants

This needs the agreement of all the other owners. GOV.UK sets out the steps: a new or updated trust deed, the form to cancel any restriction already registered, and supporting evidence. That evidence must show that nobody else has a share, that no owner is being made bankrupt, has a charging order or is mortgaging their share, and that all owners now hold the property as beneficial joint tenants. It is given either as a statutory declaration prepared by your conveyancer or as a statement of truth (form ST5, or your own document containing the wording GOV.UK specifies). There is no fee.

If one owner loses mental capacity

To sell a jointly owned property when one owner has lost mental capacity, GOV.UK says you must apply to the Court of Protection to appoint someone to act for that owner, unless a registered power of attorney means you do not need to. The application fee is £432, with a possible further £494 if the court decides a hearing is needed.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The GOV.UK guide is about registration with HM Land Registry, which covers England and Wales. Payotte has not checked the Scottish or Northern Irish rules for this guide: ask a solicitor in those nations how co-ownership and survivorship work there. See buying a home in Scotland and buying a home in Northern Ireland.

Which professional to consult

A conveyancer records the type of ownership when the purchase is registered, drafts a declaration of trust and serves a notice of severance. For what happens on death, see also inheritance tax on a home, the title register and selling an inherited home.