Co-Ownership Flashcards
Joint Tenancy
What are the two characteristics of a JT?
This is the most perfect form of co-ownership. The characteristics of a joint tenancy are:
(a) The Right of Survivorship (jus accrescendi) (b) The Four Unities
Joint Tenancy - The Right of Survivorship
What is The Right of Survivorship?
Each joint tenant owns the whole property jointly and nothing separately: they are not considered as having shares in the property, rather they own the entire estate together.
When one JT dies, his interest in the land ceases + the surviving JTs hold the property among themselves.
If only one owner remaining, then the co-ownership ends and the survivor holds the estate alone.
So right of survivorship takes precedence over a gift of interest by a JT in a will or under rules of intestacy
Joint Tenancy - The Four Unities
Explain the four unities?
(1) Possession: Each co-owner is entitled to possession of the whole premises. A co-owner who evicts another co-owner from the premises is thus liable in trespass.
• Acts that destroy the enjoyment of the property in common can amount to ouster
• S.31 LCLRA states a co-owner can apply to court for accounting adjustments to be made bw the co-owners and the court grants the ousted owner fair rental value for the time they were ousted
(2) Interest: Every JT must have an identical interest in the land. If one co-owner has a freehold interest and another a leasehold, then they don’t hold as JTs. Must have same estates too (life/fee simple)
(3) Title: JTs must have acquired their interests from the same document / set of docs e.g. same will/deed
(4) Time: Rights of each JT must have vested at same time (not required if JT created by will / by use)
Joint Tenancy - Creation
How is a JT created?
Common law presumes a JT exists every time there’s more than one property owner (McDonnell v Jebb)
Can be rebutted in which case a TIC will be said to exist. If co-owners want to ensure the equity in the property will also be held in a JT, advisable they expressly state this by creation of an express trust.
Tenancy in Common
What are the general features of a TIC?
Doesn’t need the four unities, just unity of possession: all co-owners may use all of the land. Until partition, all TICs are entitled to possession of all the property.
Shares are usually, but not necessarily, commensurate to the contributions to the purchase price.
No Right of Survivorship: TICs are entitled to a notional share e.g. ½ which they can dispose of, but the shares are only notional while the property remains undivided. Thus no right of survivorship.
Absence of right of survivorship controversial: can increase co-owners exponentially.
Tenancy in Common - Creation
Explain the creation of a TIC?
A TIC exists where there’s something to indicate the parties intended the presumption of JT won’t operate. To create a TIC, you would ensure either
(i) Four Unities were not present or
(ii) Insert certain words into the disposition, known as “words of severance”, that indicate ownership is to be severed into shares of control e.g. ‘in equal shares’, ‘amongst’, ‘to be distributed amongst them in joint + equal proportions’, etc. have all held to be sufficient.
However, even where words of severance are used they may be overridden by a clear intention to create a JT or if no words of severance are used, a TIC can be created due to an overriding intention of disposition.
Equity: A JT in law is sometimes regarded as a TIC in Equity
How does this function?
A TIC may be said to exist in equity where legal rights are held in JT. In such cases, legal ownership remains undisturbed but the co-owners (JTs in law) hold the prop on trust for the co-owners as TICs in equity.
Equity: A JT in law is sometimes regarded as a TIC in Equity
(a) Unequal Contributions to the Purchase Price
Equity may find the operation of right to survivorship unfair if parties contribute unequally to purchase price. Here, equity treats the parties as TICs in equity and recognises them as holding shares of equitable control, commensurate with the proportions of their contribution.
Equity: A JT in law is sometimes regarded as a TIC in Equity - Commercial Arrangements
Reilly v Walsh [1849]
Equity generally considers commercial co-owners as TICs, even without a formal commercial relationship.
Importantly, equity is concerned to ensure that the relationship bw the parties is described properly as one of a commercial character and wouldn’t be more accurately described as a ‘family relationship’ w a business slant
- Two bros bought commercial property together. One got mentally ill so other took over almost exclusively
- When insane one died, he purported to leave his share of the property to R by his will. R claimed that, as it was a commercial enterprise, the equitable ownership was held in a tenancy in common
- Held bc of the familial relationship between the bros + fact the dead bro played no material role in the business, it was not a relationship of commercial nature as to require intervention of equity
- Rather, the bros were JTs in equity as well as law so the gift in the will had no effect. Bro got 100% (RoS)
Equity: A JT in law is sometimes regarded as a TIC in Equity
(c) Co-Mortgagees
If 2 separate banks granted mortgages over the same property + bc of an oversight they were construed as joint tenants in law, equity intervenes + deems them tenants in common in equity: Pett v Stywaid [1632]
Equity: A JT in law is sometimes regarded as a TIC in Equity
(d) Perceived Intentions of the Parties
Equity is empowered to intervene if the justice of the case requires it. Parties’ intentions usually given effect
Twigg v Twigg [1933]
- Testator directed trustees to hold money on trust for his nephews + nieces w recommendation (not stipulation) that they spend the money on their kid’s education. JT arrangement would’ve been unfair to those with no kids, held they were intended to benefit in equal shares (TIC found).
Rights of Co-Owners - Right to Possess
General rule?
Following on from the unity of possession, no co-owner can exclude another + to do so is trespass. Flowing from this right it must be noted that one co-owner isn’t entitled to exclude another’s reasonable guests/invitees
Rights of Co-Owners - Right to Possess
Bull v Bull [1955]
- Mum + son jointly bought prop but son paid more of original purchase price + took on full legal title to house. Lived there on agreement mum would only occupy 2 rooms. Then fell out: asked M to leave
- Held son was holding the property jointly for mum + him as equitable TICs so couldn’t eject her.
- Significance: any co-owner who attempts to exclude another will be liable in trespass.
Rights of Co-Owners - Right to Possess
Lahiffe v Hecker [1994]
- 4 kids left all their dad’s property as JTs. The property was subsequently severed by them giving rise to a tenancy in common. One daughter held a right of residence in a residential home on the property.
- She began to dictate when her siblings could enter the land + use the property.
- Held her actions breached the rights of the other TICs: Co-owners have right of possession too and could occupy and use it and have a reasonable number of invitees use + enjoy the land too.
Rights of Co-Owners - Right to Possess
Dennis v McDonald [1982]
- P + D lived together in a house held in their joint names. The woman left the home as a result of the man’s violence, and he kept up the mortgage payments.
- The court ordered D to pay as an occupation rent half of such sum as would have been payable on principle of valuation laid down in respect of regulated tenancies;
Rights of Co-Owners - Right to Share in Income
Jones v Jones [1977]
If the property is leased the co-owners are entitled to a share in the income.
- D’s dad bought house for D to live. Moved in on understanding it’d be home 4 life + paid dad ¼ of price.
- Dad died + house vested in P (D’s step-mom) who sued for possession when D refused to pay rent.
- Held D had a 1/4 equitable interest + refused. P then sued for order the house be sold, or payment of rent.
- Held (1) P as tenant in comm can’t claim rent from D (2) P estopped by dad’s conduct from turning D out.
