We close for the holidays on Monday 23rd December. The team will be back on-board Monday 6 January.
If you have an urgent legal matter during our closedown period, please call Janice on 027 434 2789 or Steph on 021 595 980.

house icon

‘Joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’ when buying?

Published:
From:
The Residential property team

This is a question often overlooked when buying your home. It is, however, a common situation when two people are buying a property together. Let’s take an example to show how these both work.

If you’re buying a house together, many will assume that you’re in a relationship and, therefore, would want the property purchased jointly, using the ‘what’s yours is mine’ approach. If this is the case, a ‘joint tenancy’ is appropriate. The effect of owning property in this way is simply that if one of you dies, the property passes to the other by what is known as the ‘right of survivorship’.

However, if you both want to protect your own investment in the property for whatever reason (you may be friends and not in a relationship, for example) and don’t want it to instantly pass to the other person on your death, you will need to obtain some advice on owning the property as ‘tenants in common’. This means that your share would be recorded as a proportional ownership on the title and your share in the property would pass to the beneficiaries of your estate as outlined in your Will.

In each case, you should discuss with us which form of ownership is most appropriate for your situation.

Please remember: this information is designed as a general guide only and should not replace specific legal advice on a particular issue.

© NZ LAW Limited, 2017. Aspiring Law is proud to be a member of NZ LAW Limited, an association of 55 law practices working together to proactively share ideas and expertise for the benefit of our clients.

Residential property Buying residential property

Aspiring articles

  • Barista making coffee

    Hiring casual employees

    Despite the short-term nature of these roles, if you hire staff on a casual basis you still have significant legal responsibilities. This is highlighted in a recent case before the Employment Relations Authority.
    Employment & HR
  • Couple on bicycles

    Contracting out agreements for relationships late in life

    Contracting out agreements can be entered into at any time during a relationship and are particularly useful for couples entering into a de facto relationship, or marrying later in life, as both parties are more likely to come to the relationship with more complex financial affairs.
    Relationship & Family
  • Gingerbread houses

    Neighbourhood subdivisions

    As urban land becomes more expensive, landowners and developers are constantly looking for ways to get the most out of their patch of dirt.
    Residential property
  • Upset older man

    The plight of stepchildren

    When a parent dies and leaves their child or children out of their will, those children are entitled to bring a claim against their parent’s estate under the Family Protection Act 1955 (FPA). While a financially stable adult child may not have a claim to a large  proportion of their parent’s estate, they will usually still have a claim for ‘recognition.’ The same is not true for children claiming against the estate of a stepparent.
    Trusts and Life planning