Abigail Marsh is a Paralegal in the Wollens property team and advises on the types of property ownership.
A property can be owned by one person or jointly by more than one person. When jointly buying a property with someone it is crucial to understand the types of ownership and the implications of these. If you are unsure whether you jointly own or who owns a property you should always check.
It is important to consider your situation and your circumstances when deciding how you would like to own the property.
How can you own a property?
You can own a property as either ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’.
The type of ownership affects what you can do with the property if your relationship with a joint owner breaks down, or if one owner dies.
Joint tenants
Owning a property as Joint Tenants, sometimes referred to as ‘beneficial joint tenants’, you both have equal rights to the entire property.
Also as joint tenants if one owner were to die, the property will automatically pass to the surviving owner/owners. You cannot pass your ownership of the property in your Will.
Tenants in common
If you decide to own the property as Tenants in Common you can own different shares of the property. This can be any proportion of shares. To determine each share of the beneficial interest, you will need to consider the contributions made towards the purchase.
The property will not automatically pass to the other owners if an owner were to die. You can pass your share of the property in your Will.
How we can help
At Wollens we have committed teams in each of our offices who will work closely with you and be able to advise on ownership and the things to look out for. While it may seem a streamlined process to us, we know how daunting it can be and are on hand to help, each step of the way.
For further information, please contact Abigail on our conveyancing team. Call us on 01803 225118 or email [email protected]
Email us : [email protected]
call one of our offices:
South Devon 01803 213251
Exeter 01392 274006
North Devon 01271 342268
You can also complete an online enquiry form. One of the Wollens team will contact you as soon as they are available.
