> Source: https://swiftwill.co.uk/joint-tenants-vs-tenants-in-common/ — SwiftWill, first published 24 September 2026, updated 24 September 2026. This Markdown mirror is generated at build time from the page's HTML. General information for England and Wales, not legal advice.

# Joint tenants vs tenants in common

By [SwiftWill](https://swiftwill.co.uk/about/) · Updated 24 September 2026 · England and Wales

Quick answer

Joint tenants own a property together as a whole, so when one owner dies the survivor automatically owns all of it and a will cannot change that. Tenants in common each own a share that passes under their own will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will. You can check the title register for £7, and one owner can change a joint tenancy into a tenancy in common by serving a written notice of severance.

When two or more people own a home in England or Wales, the legal title is always held jointly. What differs is how the _beneficial_ interest is held, meaning who benefits from the property and who gets the money if it is sold. HM Land Registry's guidance on [owning land and property with someone else](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/owning-land-and-property-with-someone-else) explains that the register records the legal owners but not the beneficial shares. The two ways of holding the beneficial interest are joint tenancy and tenancy in common, and the choice decides whether your will has any say over the home.

## How do joint tenants and tenants in common differ?

The main difference is what happens on a death: a joint tenant's interest passes automatically to the other owners, while a tenant in common's share passes under their will. GOV.UK's [joint property ownership guide](https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership) sets out the rules below.

Joint tenants and tenants in common compared (England and Wales)
| Question | Joint tenants | Tenants in common |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What each owner holds | Equal rights to the whole property, with no separate share | A defined share, which does not have to be equal |
| On one owner's death | Passes automatically to the surviving owners (survivorship) | The share passes under the owner's will, or intestacy |
| Can your will leave your interest? | No | Yes |
| What the title register usually shows | No Form A restriction | A Form A restriction (also entered by default if the choice was unclear) |
| Changing it | One owner can sever by written notice, without agreement | Becoming joint tenants needs every owner's agreement |
| HM Land Registry fee to record a change | None | None |

Survivorship is powerful: it happens outside the will and outside probate. GOV.UK's [probate guidance](https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate) says property owned as joint tenants automatically passes to the surviving owners. It also means that whatever your will says about "my half of the house" has no effect while the joint tenancy lasts.

## How do you check which type of ownership you have?

Start with the title register, but do not treat it as the final answer, because HM Land Registry does not record the beneficial interest and its staff cannot confirm your type of ownership.

1.  Buy an online copy of the title register through [GOV.UK's register search](https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/search-the-register). It costs £7 (an official copy is £11).
2.  In the proprietorship register, look for this wording, which is the Form A restriction: "No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court."
3.  If it is there, you are probably tenants in common. If it is absent, you are probably joint tenants. HM Land Registry's own blog, [What kind of joint ownership do I have?](https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/02/what-kind-of-joint-ownership-do-i-have/), explains that the restriction is also entered by default when the transfer does not make the choice clear, so its presence is not proof.
4.  Check the documents that record the choice: panel 10 of the transfer (form TR1), Form JO for owners registered on or after 15 October 2012, and any declaration of trust. HM Land Registry holds some of these, and copies cost £11 each using form OC2.
5.  Ask the solicitor or conveyancer who acted on the purchase. GOV.UK recommends this if you are unsure.

Ownership can also change without you noticing. GOV.UK warns that a joint owner's bankruptcy can change the type of ownership, and HM Land Registry's [Practice Guide 24](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-trusts-of-land-pg24/practice-guide-24-private-trusts-of-land) confirms that a bankruptcy order severs a beneficial joint tenancy.

## How do you sever a joint tenancy?

You sever a joint tenancy by giving the other owners written notice, or by agreeing it with them, and then asking HM Land Registry to enter a Form A restriction. The legal basis is [section 36(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/section/36), which lets a joint tenant who wants to sever give the other joint tenants notice in writing. GOV.UK's [step-by-step guidance](https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/change-from-joint-tenants-to-tenants-in-common) describes two routes.

### If all the owners agree

1.  Fill in [Form SEV](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-a-restriction-application-to-enter-sev) (application to enter a Form A restriction on severance of joint tenancy by agreement or notice). If every registered owner applies and signs, no further evidence is needed, though the joint tenancy must already have been severed.
2.  Send it to HM Land Registry's Citizen Centre. There is no fee.

### If the other owner does not agree, or you act alone

1.  Write a notice of severance and serve it on every other owner. Under [section 196](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/section/196), a notice is validly served if it is left at their last known home or business address in the UK, or sent by registered post or recorded delivery and not returned undelivered.
2.  Complete Form SEV, choosing the option that the notice has been served, and enclose the original or a certified copy of the notice with either the other owner's signed acknowledgement or your certificate of how it was served.
3.  If you cannot provide any of the evidence Form SEV lists, GOV.UK says to use form RX1 instead.
4.  Send the application to HM Land Registry. There is no fee.

Form SEV carries a warning that section 77 of the Land Registration Act 2002 imposes a duty not to apply for a restriction without reasonable cause. Severance is permanent unless every owner later agrees to reverse it, so take advice first, especially if the notice is part of a separation or you want unequal shares recorded. A declaration of trust, drafted by a conveyancer, is the usual way to record who owns what.

## What is a Form B restriction and when is it used?

A Form B restriction is used when the document creating a trust of land limits what the trustees can do, for example by requiring someone's consent before a sale. Practice Guide 24 explains that it is not meant simply to give notice that a trust exists, and a declaration that only records each owner's share does not justify one. A couple who sever a joint tenancy normally need only the Form A restriction.

## How does each type of ownership affect your will?

Your will only controls a jointly owned home if you are tenants in common. Everything else you own still depends on the will, whichever way the home is held.

-   **Joint tenants:** the home goes to the survivor whatever either will says. Your will still matters for savings, possessions and anything in your sole name, and it decides what happens if you both die together. Under [section 184 of the Law of Property Act 1925](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/section/184), where it is uncertain who died first, the younger person is treated as surviving the older.
-   **Tenants in common:** your share forms part of your estate and passes under your will, which can leave it to your partner, your children or into a trust. Without a will, the [intestacy rules](https://swiftwill.co.uk/intestacy-rules/) decide who receives it.
-   **Changing ownership to suit a will:** severing so that your share can go to children, or into a life interest trust for your partner, is a common reason to become tenants in common. See [trusts in wills](https://swiftwill.co.uk/trusts-in-wills/) for how those trusts work, and [leaving your house to your children](https://swiftwill.co.uk/can-i-leave-my-house-to-my-children/) for the wider choices.

Survivorship does not put a jointly held home beyond every claim. Under [section 9 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63/section/9), a court hearing a claim can treat the deceased's severable share of joint property as part of the estate. For inheritance tax, HMRC's guide to [valuing an estate](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died) still counts the deceased's share of jointly owned property, whichever way it was held.

## What should unmarried couples know?

Unmarried partners have no automatic inheritance rights under intestacy, so how you own the home and what each will says matter more than they do for a married couple.

-   As joint tenants, the survivor keeps the home automatically, but everything else in your sole name goes to your relatives under intestacy unless you have a will.
-   As tenants in common without wills, your share goes to your relatives, and your partner may end up co-owning the home with them. A partner who lived with you as a couple, in the same household, for the whole of the two years before your death can apply to court under the [Inheritance Act 1975](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63/section/1), but that is a claim, not an entitlement.
-   Unequal contributions to the deposit or mortgage are usually recorded in a declaration of trust. That is conveyancing work, not will-writing.

GOV.UK's [guide to writing a will](https://www.gov.uk/make-will/writing-your-will) lists sharing a property with someone who is not your husband, wife or civil partner as a reason to get legal advice. SwiftWill's suitability check follows that: if you share property with someone you are not married to or in a civil partnership with, it recommends a solicitor rather than an online will. Our guides to [wills for unmarried couples](https://swiftwill.co.uk/will-for-unmarried-couples/) and [owning a house together without being married](https://swiftwill.co.uk/scenarios/we-own-a-house-together-but-arent-married/) go further.

## When do you need a solicitor or conveyancer?

Use a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to sever a joint tenancy as part of a separation, to record unequal shares, to deal with unregistered land, or when the home is meant to go into a trust under your will. If you are married or in a civil partnership, own the home as tenants in common or joint tenants, and simply want your share and everything else to go to your spouse and then your children, a straightforward will may be enough. Our page on [whether you need a solicitor for a will](https://swiftwill.co.uk/do-i-need-a-solicitor-for-a-will/) maps that boundary, and [mirror wills](https://swiftwill.co.uk/mirror-wills/) explains the option for couples whose wishes match.

## Sources

-   [GOV.UK: Joint property ownership](https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership) (types of ownership, checking, severance, no fee)
-   [HM Land Registry: Owning land and property with someone else](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/owning-land-and-property-with-someone-else)
-   [HM Land Registry blog: What kind of joint ownership do I have?](https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/02/what-kind-of-joint-ownership-do-i-have/)
-   [HM Land Registry Practice Guide 24: private trusts of land](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-trusts-of-land-pg24/practice-guide-24-private-trusts-of-land) (Form A and Form B restrictions, bankruptcy)
-   [HM Land Registry Form SEV](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-a-restriction-application-to-enter-sev)
-   [GOV.UK: Search the register](https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/search-the-register) (£7 online copy, £11 official copy)
-   [Law of Property Act 1925, sections 36](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/section/36), [184](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/section/184) and [196](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/section/196)
-   [Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, sections 1 and 9](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/63/section/9)
-   [GOV.UK: Making a will, when you need legal advice](https://www.gov.uk/make-will/writing-your-will)

Sources checked 24 September 2026.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common?**

Joint tenants own the whole property together, and when one dies the other automatically becomes the sole owner. Tenants in common each own a share, which can be unequal, and each share passes under the owner's will or the intestacy rules. The label describes ownership, not renting.

**Can I leave my half of the house in my will if we are joint tenants?**

No. GOV.UK states that a joint tenant cannot pass on their ownership in a will, because the survivor takes the whole property on the first death. If you want your share to go to someone else, the joint tenancy has to be severed while you are alive, which makes you tenants in common.

**How do I find out whether we are joint tenants or tenants in common?**

Download the title register from HM Land Registry for £7 and look for a Form A restriction, then check the transfer, any declaration of trust or Form JO. A Form A restriction usually points to tenants in common, but HM Land Registry also enters it by default when the transfer does not say, so it is not proof. The conveyancer who acted on the purchase can usually confirm.

**Can one owner sever a joint tenancy without the other's agreement?**

Yes. Section 36(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 lets one joint tenant give the others written notice of severance, and GOV.UK confirms the other owners do not have to agree. You then apply to HM Land Registry on Form SEV for a Form A restriction, which currently has no fee.

**Does severing a joint tenancy change the mortgage?**

No. Severance changes how the owners hold the beneficial interest between themselves. It does not change who is liable to the lender under the mortgage, so speak to the lender separately about any change to the loan.

**What happens if joint tenants die at the same time?**

Where it is uncertain who died first, section 184 of the Law of Property Act 1925 presumes the older person died first, so the younger is treated as the survivor. The whole property would then pass under the younger person's will or intestacy. This is one reason each owner needs a will that covers the second death.

**Can we switch back from tenants in common to joint tenants?**

Yes, but only if all the owners agree. GOV.UK says you need a new or updated trust deed signed by all owners and an application to cancel the Form A restriction, with evidence such as a statement of truth. There is no HM Land Registry fee.

Published by SwiftWill. First published 24 September 2026; updated 24 September 2026. General information for England and Wales, not legal advice. Sources are linked in the guide; publication is not an individual legal review. Spotted an error? See our [corrections log](https://swiftwill.co.uk/corrections/).