The Core Difference
| Joint Tenants | Tenants in Common | |
|---|---|---|
| What you own | Undivided interest in the whole | Defined share (e.g. 50%, 60%) |
| On death | Passes automatically to surviving owner | Passes under your Will (or intestacy) |
| Overrides your Will? | ✓ Yes — bypasses probate entirely | ✗ No — your share goes through your estate |
| Can you leave your share to someone else? | ✗ No | ✓ Yes — to anyone |
| Best for | Simple married couples | Blended families, IHT planning, asset protection |
💡 How to check which you are: Look at your title register at HMLR (£3 online). If it says "no restriction" you're likely joint tenants. A Form A restriction means tenants in common.
When Joint Tenants Causes Problems
Blended families
If you own as joint tenants and your partner dies first, you inherit everything. If you then remarry and die, your new spouse could inherit — cutting out children from your first relationship entirely.
Care home fees
As joint tenants, if one of you enters care, the local authority considers the whole property as an asset. Severing the joint tenancy means your share can be placed in trust — protecting it from being used to fund care costs.
Inheritance Tax
Each person has an IHT nil-rate band of £325,000. Tenants in common allows you to pass your share directly to children on first death, potentially using both nil-rate bands more efficiently.
How to Sever a Joint Tenancy
Either owner can sever the joint tenancy unilaterally — no consent from the other owner is required. You serve a Notice of Severance and register a restriction at HMLR. This converts the ownership to tenants in common in equal shares.
Once severed, you should update your Will immediately to specify who inherits your share.
Protect Your Share With a Will
If you own as tenants in common, a Will is essential — without one, your share passes under intestacy rules, not your wishes.
Make a Will — From £69 →Does it matter if we're not married?
Yes — especially if you're unmarried and tenants in common. Your partner has no automatic right to your share under intestacy. Without a Will, your share passes to your children — or if you have none, to your parents. A Will is essential for unmarried co-owners.
Can shares be unequal?
Yes. Tenants in common can own in any proportion — 50/50, 60/40, or anything else. This is recorded in a Declaration of Trust.