If you bought a home with someone else, you hold it in one of two ways, and the difference decides who gets the house when one of you dies. The choice between joint tenants vs tenants in common is made in a single box on the transfer form, usually while you are juggling a mortgage offer and a completion date, so plenty of owners never knew they chose.
Joint tenants own the whole property together and the survivor automatically takes it, whatever the will says. Tenants in common own defined shares, which can be unequal, and each owner can leave their share to anyone in their will. Neither is better in general. The right one depends on who you bought with and what you want to happen next.
How joint tenancy works
Under a joint tenancy, you and the other owner(s) do not own a half each. Legally, you each own the whole property together. The key feature is the right of survivorship: when one owner dies, their interest passes to the surviving owner(s) automatically, outside the will and outside probate for the property.
That makes joint tenancy popular with married couples and civil partners, because the survivor is left owning the home without delay. It is also simple. There is no need to agree or record shares.
The catch is that you cannot leave your part of the home to anyone else. If you have children from a previous relationship and want them to inherit, a will alone will not do it while you hold as joint tenants.
How tenants in common works
Tenants in common each own a distinct share. Those shares can be equal, such as 50/50, or unequal, such as 70/30 where one of you put in a bigger deposit. There is no survivorship. When one owner dies, their share goes to whoever their will names, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will.
This suits people who want to protect a specific share. Typical cases include:
Friends or siblings buying together.
Parents helping a child onto the ladder with an unequal contribution.
A second marriage where each partner wants their own children to inherit their share.
Unmarried couples who put in different amounts.
The trade-off is that you must make a will. Without one, your share may not go where you expect, and the surviving owner could find themselves co-owning with a relative of the person who died.
The side-by-side comparison
Joint tenants
Tenants in common
Shares
One whole, no split
Defined shares, equal or unequal
On death
Passes automatically to the survivor
Passes by will or intestacy
Can you leave your part in a will?
No
Yes
Typical owners
Married couples, civil partners
Friends, siblings, unequal contributions, blended families
Paperwork
Simple
Declaration of trust recommended
How to find out which one you are
Your ownership type is recorded at HM Land Registry. Look at your title register, which you can download for a small fee on gov.uk.
If you are tenants in common, the register will contain a “Form A restriction” or similar wording about the disposal of the property. If you are joint tenants, that restriction is absent. Your transfer deed from when you bought also shows the choice, and the box on the form ticks “joint tenants” or “tenants in common”.
If you have lost the paperwork, it is worth getting the register first, because it is the quickest answer and it costs less than a solicitor’s hour.
Can you change from one to the other?
Yes, and this is where a lot of people get caught out.
Joint tenants to tenants in common
Any joint tenant can unilaterally “sever” the joint tenancy by serving written notice on the other owner(s). You do not need their agreement, and you do not need to tell them first in some situations, although a solicitor will normally advise a formal notice. After severance, you each hold equal shares as tenants in common unless you agree otherwise. You would then register a restriction at HM Land Registry and should make a will.
People commonly do this after a separation, when a relationship ends, or when they remarry and want to protect children from an earlier marriage.
Tenants in common to joint tenants
This needs everyone to agree, because it removes the ability to leave a share to someone else. The change is made by a transfer deed and a Land Registry application.
What a declaration of trust adds
If you hold as tenants in common in unequal shares, the title register only records that you are tenants in common. It does not record the percentages. A declaration of trust is a short legal document that does, and it can also say what happens if one of you wants to sell or pay in more later.
If you put in a bigger deposit and have no declaration of trust, you could find in a dispute that the court starts from the assumption of equal shares. For unmarried partners and friends in particular, this is the document most often missing.
My view: unmarried couples should almost never default to joint tenants without thinking
If you are not married or in a civil partnership and you put in different amounts, hold as tenants in common with a written declaration of trust, and make a will. Joint tenancy looks neat and romantic, but it quietly overrides unequal deposits the moment one of you dies, and a separation can leave the person who contributed less with half the equity. The couple who agree this over coffee on day one save themselves a courtroom later.
Married couples with no children from earlier relationships are different. For them, joint tenancy is usually the sensible default.
Separation, sale and mortgages
Ownership type affects more than death.
Selling. All owners must agree to sell, or one can apply to the court for an order for sale. Shares decide how the proceeds are divided.
Separation. Married couples and civil partners have wider financial remedies on divorce, so the ownership type matters less. Unmarried co-owners are bound far more tightly by what the title and declaration of trust say.
Mortgages. The lender will lend to either type, and owners are normally jointly and severally liable for the debt, so the lender can pursue either of you for the whole amount.
Inheritance tax. The ownership type does not remove inheritance tax. Spouse and civil partner exemptions are what matter.
What to do in the next 30 minutes
Download the title register for your home from gov.uk and check the ownership wording.
Find your original transfer deed and look at which box was ticked.
Check whether you have a will, and whether it matches the type of ownership you hold.
If you are tenants in common in unequal shares, ask whether you have a signed declaration of trust.
Put copies of your deeds and any trust documents in a single place you can find them.
Your free Home+ document vault keeps your title register, deeds and any declaration of trust together, so the paperwork is there when you or your family need it.
FAQ
What is the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common? Joint tenants own the whole property together and the survivor takes it automatically. Tenants in common own separate shares that they can leave to anyone in their will.
Can I leave my half of the house to my children if we are joint tenants? Not as things stand. A will cannot override survivorship. You would first need to sever the joint tenancy, after which you hold as tenants in common and can leave your share in your will.
Do I need my partner’s consent to change to tenants in common? No. One joint tenant can sever the tenancy by written notice. Changing the other way, to joint tenants, needs everyone’s agreement.
How do I find out how I own my property? Download the title register from HM Land Registry and look for a restriction about disposal, then check the transfer deed from when you bought.
What is a declaration of trust? It is a legal document that records each owner’s share of the property and what should happen if circumstances change. It is especially useful when owners put in unequal amounts.
Does it matter if I am married? It matters less on separation because divorce courts have wider powers, but it still decides what happens on death and whether your will can leave your share to someone else.
