Updated 16/07/2026
Table of Contents
Joint ownership and trust law – useful for understanding how equitable title works.
However, the golden rule is the case of Stack v Dowden – if you do not sign your declaration of trust (when you buy a house or land) – the joint owners IN EQUITY are joint tenants owning 50% each AND that share passes by survivorship to the other joint owner when one dies – this means your will is irrelevant to land held under an equitable joint tenancy.
If you sever (change from) a joint tenancy by serving notice – you become tenants in common with 50% each. If you want to have unequal shares, or other conditions (life interest springs to mind) – then you must draw up a trust deed and sign it.
You also need to remember there are two sets of rules.
Legal owners – i.e. the ones the Land Registry put on part B of the HMLR title – are always recorded as ‘Joint Tenants’ and no more than five BUT this is a separate issue to equity (how money is split). Legal owners are trustees of the equity. Equitable title can be held in any reasonable way you agree – the owners can be the same people, or totally different people with different shares.
Here’s the old advice mainly for posterity… it’s provided for information only and you need independent legal advice before committing yourself either way ! I’d say advice is the minimum – you really must understand it before you tick a box or agree to something and commit yourself.
“Please read this email carefully.
OWNING A PROPERTY JOINTLY
You have received this email as there is more than one person buying the property and you have to decide how to share the property with the other person or people.
When two or more people are purchasing a property, there are two ways in which the property can be held, namely “Joint Tenants” or “Tenants in Common”. You need to think about which is best for all of you and then tell us how you want to proceed. Every property has two titles, a legal title and an equitable title. Legal titles are always held as “joint tenants” no matter what. The equitable title i.e. how you split the money and the shares of the house, can be held as either Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.
Tenants in Common
Owning the property as tenants in common means that the property belongs to you all but you are each regarded in law as having separate shares. It is becoming more and more common as it offers more flexibility in planning your inheritance, saves money and reduces risks in the long term.
Often the shares are equal e.g. half each. However, if one party is introducing more money into the purchase the shares can be varied i.e. 70/30, 60/40 or £X to person A and so on. If you want to have unequal shares of the property i.e. one person is paying a larger deposit, this is the option for you. Unequal shares must always be held as Tenants in common.
Being tenants in common means that in the event of death, the deceased’s share of the property passes into the deceased’s estate. If there is no will, the share passes to the person who is entitled to their estate under the intestacy rules.
Tenants in common is frequently used for example…
1. For unmarried couples, where one party is introducing more money into the purchase. e.g. first time buyers. You draft a declaration of trust to say that one party receives the deposit back when the property sells before the rest of the money is split equally.
2. Where one party has children from a previous relationship or marriage and you want to give a share of the house to them on death.
3. Older owners who are concerned about estate planning and legitimately minimising future costs, like care home costs. It is not viewed as ‘deprivation of assets’. Older couples often elect to be Tenants in Common and the pass half of the house to the children on the first death. This reduces the amount the survivor inherits. It is a good idea provided the survivor has enough savings and income to live on for the foreseeable future.
If you are considering being tenants in common please tick here [ ] – you should make a new will and include a ‘life interest’ in your will to protect your partner if you are purchasing a residential property. If you want to make a new will now, it is recommended, please tick here [ ] and we will contact you to take instructions. You will receive a discount and save money as well. It is easier to make the will as you move house – i.e. all in one go.
Please also indicate your shares of the property e.g. 60% : 40%…………………. or add any special instructions you think are relevant here
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Joint Tenants
Owning the property as joint tenants means you will not own any specific shares in the property and you cannot give away a share of the property in your Will. All joint owners have an equal share of the equity in the property. In the event of death of one of you, that persons share or interest in the property automatically passes to the surviving owner or owners.
Joint tenants is commonly used between married couples where there is not an advantage to defining separate shares in a property and where you require the property to automatically pass to the surviving owner. It is simpler to arrange and less time consuming. If you want to be joint tenants please tick here [ ]
Joint tenants moving into their new house – frequently a difficult and fraught time!
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