Co-ownership

Co-ownership of land is now much more common than successive ownership. The co-ownership of
other goods does not require a trust and can still exist at common law.

There are 2 main forms of co-ownership. 1 tenancy in common, 2. Joint tenancy. The distinction
between the two remains important as joint tenancy carries the right of survivorship whilst a
tenancy in common doesn’t.

1. Tenancy in Common tenants have undivided shares of the whole which do not have to be
equal. Only requires 1 of the 4 unities, possession, though it can have any number of them.
2. Joint tenancies tenants do not have shares but collectively own the whole in a way which
requires their interests to be identical to one another. Needs all 4 unities, possession,
interest, title and time.

In the 1925 Law of Property Act there were a number of provisions merely concerned with speeding
up and simplifying conveyancing. With a view to this, “co-owner must hold a legal estate as joint
tenants, to can’t do this as tenants in common”.

A statutory trust is imposed whenever there is co-ownership that A, B, C and D hold the legal estate
as joint tenants for A, B, C and D. They each have a share in equity – simplifying conveyancing at the
same time as allowing each individual to deal with their share.

When answering a question discuss what happens to beneficial and legal ownership e.g. if A sells his
share to X, A, B, C and D hold the trust on behalf of B, C and D as joint tenants for ¾ and X holds as a
tenant in common.

The process whereby a joint tenancy is turned into an equal tenancy in common in equity is known
as severance.

Harris v Goddard – Does the prayer in a divorce petition serve as relief sufficient for severance? No,
“the prayer merely seeks relief in the most general and unparticularised terms”

Re Drapers Conveyance – Starting legal proceedings can sever a joint tenancy.

A partition is where a tenancy in common is brought to an end by dividing up possession of by selling

an asset and dividing up the proceeds.

The Joint Tenancy Act 1899 contains two important provisions. 1. Corporate bodies can hold joint
tenancy as individuals and 2. On a bodies dissolution the property devolves to the other joint
tenant(s)

Co-ownership in marriage... if the property is owned in the husband’s name does the wife have an
interest and if so how big is that interest? There are 3 tools to solve this dispute, proprietary
estoppels, resulting trust and constructive trust, these will be discussed in part 3...