cotenant

A cotenant, or co-tenant, is a person who holds title to real property jointly with one or more others. Co-owners may hold the property as tenancy in common or as a joint tenancy; a cotenant owns an undivided interest in the whole property, and the size of that interest may be equal or unequal. In tenancy in common, there is no right of survivorship and a cotenant may transfer or devise their interest; in a joint tenancy, the owners hold equal interests with a right of survivorship, and a transfer by one cotenant can sever the joint tenancy as to that share.

Each cotenant has the right to possess and use the entire property, subject to the equal rights of the other cotenants. Cotenants are generally responsible for sharing property expenses such as taxes, mortgage principal and interest, insurance, and maintenance costs in proportion to their interests; a cotenant who pays more than their share may seek contribution from others. A cotenant is prohibited from committing waste or excluding other cotenants from possession. If a cotenant rents the property to a third party, rents are typically shared according to ownership interests after deducting expenses, though local law may vary. Improvements that add value may be subject to reimbursement only in partition or sale contexts.

Partition and transfer: Any cotenant may seek partition through a court or by agreement to end co-ownership. If partition is not feasible in kind, the court may order a sale and divide the proceeds according to each cotenant’s interest. A sale by one joint tenant generally severs the joint tenancy as to that share, creating a tenancy in common with the buyer and the remaining cotenants.