Tenancy in Common

Definition

• The ownership of a property by two or more individuals where each owns an undivided interest in the entire property and each has equal rights to use the property. If one tenant in common passes away, his or her interest may be sold, mortgaged, or given to an individual named in the will.

Synonyms
co-tenancy, multiple ownership, owners in common, concurrent estate

Alternate Spellings
Tenancy in Common

Related Terms and Acronyms

• Common Areas — Definition,
  • Areas of a building or land and the amenities owned (or managed) by a planned unit development, or condominium project's homeowners' association, or a cooperative project's cooperative corporation that are used by all of the unit owners who share in the common expenses of their operation and maintenance. Common areas include swimming pools, tennis courts, and other recreational facilities, as well as common hallways of buildings, parkades, means of ingress and egress, etc.
• Common Interest Development (CID) — Acronym,
  • A housing area in which owners belong to a homeowners association that owns and maintains common areas.
• Joint Tenancy — Definition,
  • When two people (typically spouses) both own an undivided interest in a property. If one joint tenant passes away, the other receives the title to the entire property.
• Jointly-owned Property — Definition,
  • A property held in the name of more than one person.
• Survivorship — Definition,
  • The right of a person to secure ownership by reason of his/her outliving someone with whom s/he shared undivided interest in the land.