Joint ownership of a house with a friend

Myself and a friend have Joint ownership of a house which we rented out the past 20 years  . If I die would my 1/2  automatically go to my wife or Children.
Ive been reading and  "Joint tenants" and "Tenants in common" ,
1) Do i need to find this out first
2)Where do you find this out

Also i haven't made a will yet :s

Comments

  • Linton
    Linton Posts: 17,064
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    If you were to die as a joint tenant rather than a tenant in common the house would go entirely to the other joint tenant. As a tenant in common your % would form part of your estate.

    See https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership

    Joint tenancy seems inappropriate for your situation so I suggest that you consult a solicitor  and get a proper legal agreement drawn up covering the what-ifs and your individual rights and responsibilities.
  • bobster2
    bobster2 Posts: 478
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    You need to look at the deeds on the Land Registry site. If you are Tenants in Common then in Section B there will be a restriction like his...
    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 Registrar or the court.
  • Keep_pedalling
    Keep_pedalling Posts: 16,439
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    if the house is held as JT and it is worth more than £650k then as well as your share not passing to your family there would also be a IHT liability which would be a double whammy as that would fall on your other assets. If this is the case then you need to server the tenancy to convert to TiC as a matter of urgency.

    Even if it is already held as TiC having no will could create a financial mess as under intestacy rules you wife only insets the first £270k of your estate plus 50% of the rest. The remainder goes to your children, 

    I would recommend you check out your local solicitors to day and make an appointment to get your will drawn up (and sort out the tenancy if it is an issue) If your friend is in the same boat he should do the same, and you both need lasting powers of attorney in place as sometimes loosing your mental capacity can creat more problems than dying.
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 32,539
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    It costs £3 to download the required document from the Land Registry, using the gov.uk site.

    Do that and see a solicitor. You can sever the tenancy unilaterally but speak to your co-owner as you are both in the same potential mess. Whether it's a joint tenancy or tenants in common.
    The person who has not made a mistake, has made nothing
  • nyck
    nyck Posts: 147
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    bobster2 said:
    You need to look at the deeds on the Land Registry site. If you are Tenants in Common then in Section B there will be a restriction like his...
    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 Registrar or the court.
    Looking at item 3 it looks like we are Tenants in Common
    Im guessing item 6 is to do with the mortgage when we swapped lenders or got a new deal ??
    Really appreciate everyone's help - I guess i need to sort a will out now
    thanks


    2) 2003-03-05 The price stated to have been paid on 5 February
    2003 was £70,000.

    3) 2003-03-05 RESTRICTION: No disposition by a sole proprietor
    of the land (not being a trust corporation) under
    which capital money arises is to be registered
    except under an order of the registrar or of the
    Court.

    4) 2003-03-05 The covenants implied under Part I of the Law of
    Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994 in
    the disposition to the proprietor are modified.

    5) 2006-02-27 RESTRICTION: No disposition of the registered
    estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is
    to be registered without a written consent signed
    by the proprietor for the time being of the Charge
    dated 27 January 2006 in favour of Bank of
    Scotland PLC referred to in the Charges Register.




  • Keep_pedalling
    Keep_pedalling Posts: 16,439
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    nyck said:
    bobster2 said:
    You need to look at the deeds on the Land Registry site. If you are Tenants in Common then in Section B there will be a restriction like his...
    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 Registrar or the court.
    Looking at item 3 it looks like we are Tenants in Common
    Im guessing item 6 is to do with the mortgage when we swapped lenders or got a new deal ??
    Really appreciate everyone's help - I guess i need to sort a will out now
    thanks

    Looks like, but the restriction does not prove it 100% (see link)

    2) 2003-03-05 The price stated to have been paid on 5 February
    2003 was £70,000.

    3) 2003-03-05 RESTRICTION: No disposition by a sole proprietor
    of the land (not being a trust corporation) under
    which capital money arises is to be registered
    except under an order of the registrar or of the
    Court.

    4) 2003-03-05 The covenants implied under Part I of the Law of
    Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994 in
    the disposition to the proprietor are modified.

    5) 2006-02-27 RESTRICTION: No disposition of the registered
    estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is
    to be registered without a written consent signed
    by the proprietor for the time being of the Charge
    dated 27 January 2006 in favour of Bank of
    Scotland PLC referred to in the Charges Register.
    https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/02/what-kind-of-joint-ownership-do-i-have/
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,008
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    Who drew up the conveyance 20 years ago for you? If you bought it as friends with the intention of renting it, it is very unlikely that your conveyancer would have drafted it as JT, unless you specifically requested it.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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