Tenancy in common is co-ownership without survivorship. Two or more people each hold an undivided interest in the same property, and those interests need not be equal — one owner might hold seventy percent and another thirty. Each has the right to use the whole property, but each owns a distinct, transferable share.
The defining feature shows up at death. A tenant in common's share does not pass to the other owners. It goes into that person's estate and is distributed under their will, their trust, or intestacy rules. The surviving co-owners keep exactly what they had and acquire a new co-owner they may not have chosen.
That is precisely the point for many arrangements. Siblings inheriting a family property, unmarried partners contributing unequal amounts, or investors pooling money in a rental generally want their share to reach their own family rather than their co-owners. Tenancy in common preserves that outcome by default.
The friction is coordination. Any tenant in common can typically transfer or encumber their own share without the others' agreement, and can usually force a sale through a partition action if the group cannot agree. A written co-ownership agreement addressing buyouts and transfer restrictions prevents a great deal of that. Titling rules and presumptions vary by state.
Frequently asked
- What is the difference between tenancy in common and joint tenancy?
- What happens at death. In joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a deceased owner's interest passes automatically to the surviving joint owners and never enters their estate. In tenancy in common, the share enters the estate and passes to that owner's heirs or beneficiaries. Joint tenancy also normally requires equal shares, while tenancy in common permits unequal ones — an important difference when co-owners contributed different amounts.
- Can I leave my share to whoever I want?
- Yes, and that is the core advantage. Your fractional interest passes under your will or trust like any other asset. What your beneficiary inherits, though, is a share of jointly owned property alongside strangers, not a clean asset. They may find themselves an unwilling co-owner with people they do not know and no easy exit short of a partition action, so consider whether your beneficiary actually wants the share or would prefer a buyout arrangement.
- Does my share go through probate?
- Typically yes, unless you have taken a step to avoid it. A tenancy in common interest held in your own name passes under your will and through the probate court. Placing your share in a revocable trust is the usual workaround, and some states permit a transfer-on-death deed that would cover it. Availability of the deed option varies significantly, so check your own state.