Many people own land. It can be a place to live, or an
investment, or both. Land can also be owned by more than one
person.
There are two general ways in which land can be co-owned; as
joint tenants or tenants in common.
- Joints tenants each own 100% of the
land together in undivided shares. For instance, a husband and wife
often own their family home as joint tenants, which is to say, they
together own the entire property.
- In contrast, tenants in common own
100% of the land, but in divided shares. For example, three people
may own a commercial property in equal shares of 1/3 each. Each
owner's 1/3 share is listed on title to the property.
Sometimes co-owners of land get into disagreements about how a
property should be administered or whether to retain or sell the
land. It is not uncommon that one co-owner of a property wishes to
sell it and the other co-owner does not.
