A Guide to Joint Ownership

Many properties are in the joint ownership of couples who bought and live in them together. There is also an increasing trend for friends or siblings, unable to afford a property on their own, to buy together.

There are two different ways to buy a property jointly:

o A Joint Tenancy Agreement. Joint tenancy is when two or more people own a property together and wish the share of anyone who dies to pass automatically to the survivors. It is primarily used by married or committed couples.

. o A Tenancy in Common is used in almost all other circumstances. This means that if one of the tenants in common dies, his or her rights pass on to their next of kin or whoever is nominated to receive the rights to the property in their will.

If you do not say whether you are joint tenants or tenants in common when you supply your names to the Land Registry, it will assume that you are tenants in common.

If you go down this route, it is advisable to draw up a legal contract about who owns what proportion of the property - it does not have to be even thirds or halves: someone can own 50 per cent and two other people 25 per cent each. You will also need to make a decision on how refurbishment, maintenance and decoration costs are divided.

It is necessary to make a very clear-cut decision about what will happen in the following instances, and to have a legal agreement about it:

o When someone's girlfriend/boyfriend wants to move in.

o When someone wants to move out.

Many solicitors who carry out conveyancing work as a major part of their practice now have experience of this type of agreement. A Declaration of Trust and Cohabitation Agreement, which sets out who owns what percentage of the property, can include every detail about the property, for example even the ownership of the cooker.

One of the most important things is to ensure that the agreement says that the portion of the property owned by the person wanting to move out should first be offered to the other owners sharing the property.

However, a limit should be given for how long they have to pick up this option or to find someone else to buy the portion of the property being sold.

If you decide to buy with friends, you should also consider the following:

o As a group of two or more individuals buying together, you might find it harder to get the mortgage you want.

o The Mortgage Company is within its rights to pursue you for your friend's share of the mortgage if they decide to jump ship.

o If you buy out your partner or friend and have the deeds of the property changed, you will be liable for stamp duty on the entire value of the property. Stamp duty is for just that - stamping a document. Deeds will have to be stamped after names are taken off or added, meaning you can pay it twice or more if you have to keep changing the names on the deeds.

Other problems that have to be addressed by families who buy a second home together include:

o Who can use the property and when

o How bills are to be apportioned

o Whether families other than those purchasing can use the property

o Whether any of the parties involved can "let" out their weeks

o What happens when someone moves.