Types of Tenancy
When a owner passes on without a will, who will inherit his property?
This depends whether the property is a sole ownership or co-owners, if sole owner, intestate succession applies.
Properties can be owned by more than one person, co-ownership. The legal term is Joint-Tenants of Tenants-in-Common.
Joint-Tenancy
All owners own the whole property with no divided shares. Right of survivorship - where one owner dies, the surviving owners automatically acquire the deceased's interest in the property. However all joint owners must jointly agree to any sell/transfer agreements. The 4 unities that distinguishes joint-tenancy are:-
No unity of interests as owners are like shareholders, all their shares are distinct and separate (words of severance). So a tenant-in-common has rights of ownerhsip limited to his share only, thus he has right
Subsidiary Proprietors (SPs) share the concept in the form of tenancy-in-common, the strata units have different share values to show their shares in common area, SPs get to use all the common area regardless of their shares (unit of possession)
Note: a Tenant-in-common has no right to sell/lease a portion of the property without the other owners' consent because of their undivided shares. On death of one tenant, the property cannot be dealt till a representative of the deceased has been appointed.
This depends whether the property is a sole ownership or co-owners, if sole owner, intestate succession applies.
Properties can be owned by more than one person, co-ownership. The legal term is Joint-Tenants of Tenants-in-Common.
Joint-Tenancy
All owners own the whole property with no divided shares. Right of survivorship - where one owner dies, the surviving owners automatically acquire the deceased's interest in the property. However all joint owners must jointly agree to any sell/transfer agreements. The 4 unities that distinguishes joint-tenancy are:-
- Unity of possession,
- Unity of interest,
- Unity of title,
- Unity of time.
Note: A joint tenant cannot prepare a will to will his joint-tenancy property interests upon his death because of right of survivorship.
Tenancy-in-common
Only has one unity, unity of possession, all tenants have right to enjoy and use the whole property, enter each other's room, common areas anytime.No unity of interests as owners are like shareholders, all their shares are distinct and separate (words of severance). So a tenant-in-common has rights of ownerhsip limited to his share only, thus he has right
- to will his share in his will,
- to sell his share without consent of the other owners,
Subsidiary Proprietors (SPs) share the concept in the form of tenancy-in-common, the strata units have different share values to show their shares in common area, SPs get to use all the common area regardless of their shares (unit of possession)
Note: a Tenant-in-common has no right to sell/lease a portion of the property without the other owners' consent because of their undivided shares. On death of one tenant, the property cannot be dealt till a representative of the deceased has been appointed.