What Are The Different Types Of Joint Ownership?

The buyers should know the principles of having joint ownership or co-ownership of the property before they enter into any kind of agreement. In this article, you will get to know about the different types of co-ownership or joint ownership of property.

What Is Joint Tendency?

Before we know the types, we should know what is a joint tendency. When you see that the title deed of any property has the unity concept which means equal sharing of the property, it is called a joint tendency. In this co-ownership or joint ownership of property, the key determinates are the unity of possession, unity of interest and lastly the unity of time. As this type of ownership is based on the survivorship law, when one owner dies, the share of that owners gets transferred to the other.

Note that the joint tenancy cannot be created using intestacy. Only a deed or will can be used to create a joint tenancy or ownership. It can also be transferred easily. In 1882, Transfer of property act in section 44 was passed which works with the transfer of property share from one ownership to another.

It is been mentioned that the person to whom the property is transferred, he or she has the same power as the previous owner. So you can buy a property in India and have a joint tenancy.

Tenancy In Entirety

In this kind of joint ownership, the co-ownership of the property is joined usually by marriage. In this, the co-ownership of the property works based on four different models of survivorship and unity but this happens only between the spouse. You can also alter the arrangement in this kind of joint ownership only when the spouse agrees to it mutually. If a couple has tenancy in entirety, they cannot transfer the property and sell it to the third party until both agree to this.

Tenancy In Common

When people have a property which is jointly held but does not have the three different types of unity, it is called tenancy in common. This also doesn’t work on the survivorship concept. The only thing that you will find of the agreement is the unity of title. Each tenant of the property can transfer his or her interest in the property as there is no concept of survivorship.

Please note that until a joint ownership agreement talks categorically about other ownership forms in the agreement, it is known as a tenancy in common.

Coparcenary Or Joint Ownership Under Hindu Law

In 1956, the Hindu Succession Act was passed. In this, the coparcenary ownership form was discussed among the members of HUF or also known as Hindu Undivided Families. In this concept, even a child who is not born can have an equal amount of share in Hindu Undivided Families property. When the child is born, a coparcener is also made a shareholder in the property which is held jointly by Hindu Undivided Families.

In this concept, the survivorship is not applied. This is the reason why if there is an undivided share of a member in a particular property, the share is passed to their heirs. The coparceners can not claim the property share after the members’ death.

Points To Remember About Joint Ownership

• The Co-ownership and joint ownership doesn’t have any difference under any law.
• The tenancy in entirety and the joint tenancy that has the right of survivorship mentioned in the deed includes all the rights of survivorship.
• In Hindu law, the different joint ownership types don’t work.
• Every coparcener in the coparcenary property gets a share by birth.

These were some of the joint ownership that the buyers of property in India should know.

I have vast experience of real estate market and own/manage RealEstateIndia.com, a leading property portal in India that manages huge database of property/agent across the country.