What joint tenancy means
Joint tenancy is two or more people owning the whole of something together, rather than owning separate shares of it.
That sounds like a technicality until somebody dies. Under a joint tenancy the surviving owner or owners take the whole automatically, by right of survivorship. The deceased's share does not form part of their estate, is not distributed by their will, and does not go through probate.
Tenancy in common is the alternative. Each co-owner holds a distinct share, which can be unequal, and on death that share passes under the will or under the intestacy rules to the deceased's beneficiaries rather than to the other co-owners.
So the same property, bought by the same two people, produces entirely different outcomes on death depending on which form was used. That choice is made when the deed is drafted, and it is frequently made by default rather than deliberately.
How it is used
The most common Nigerian setting is a couple buying a home.
Joint tenancy suits a couple who want the survivor to take the property without delay, without probate and without argument. On a death, the survivor establishes it with the death certificate rather than waiting months for a grant.
Tenancy in common suits almost everybody else, and often suits couples too. Business partners buying premises together. Siblings inheriting and holding jointly. Friends buying an investment property. A couple in a second marriage who each want their own children to inherit their share. Anybody contributing unequal amounts who wants that reflected.
The deed should say which it is, expressly. Where it says nothing, the position depends on the circumstances and on the presumptions the law applies, including whether the contributions were equal, and reconstructing intention years later is exactly the dispute a single sentence would have prevented.
A declaration of trust recording the shares is worth adding wherever contributions were unequal.
Key features
- Co-owners hold the whole together rather than distinct shares
- Right of survivorship passes the whole to the survivors automatically
- The deceased's interest does not form part of their estate
- Tenancy in common is the alternative, with distinct and possibly unequal shares
- A tenancy in common share passes under the will or intestacy rules
- A joint tenancy can be severed, converting it into a tenancy in common
How this works in Nigeria
The estate planning consequence is the part most Nigerian buyers never consider.
A property held as joint tenants passes outside the estate. That is often exactly what a couple wants, because it avoids the delay and the probate fees, and because a surviving spouse is not left waiting months for a grant to deal with the family home.
But it also overrides the will. A husband who leaves everything to his children by an earlier marriage, while holding the house as a joint tenant with his second wife, has left the children nothing of that house. Survivorship wins. Families discover this at the probate registry.
The answer is not that one form is better. It is that the choice should be conscious and should match the will.
Severance is the mechanism for changing course. A joint tenancy can be converted into a tenancy in common, which allows each owner's share to pass under their own will. It should be documented properly rather than assumed.
And all of this sits under the Land Use Act, so the underlying holding is a right of occupancy, and transfers and severance still engage the consent and registration requirements that apply to any dealing with land.
Joint tenancy vs tenancy in common
Two forms of co-ownership, differing on what happens when an owner dies.
Joint tenancy: the owners hold the whole together. Shares are notionally equal. On death, the survivors take the whole automatically. Nothing passes under the will, nothing goes through probate, and no fees are assessed on that property.
Tenancy in common: each owner holds a distinct share, which can be unequal to reflect what each contributed. On death, that share passes under the owner's will or by intestacy. It goes through the estate, with the delay and the fees that involves.
The practical test is who you want to receive your share. If the answer is the other owner, joint tenancy. If it is your children, your family or anybody else, tenancy in common, and a will that says so.
Unequal contributions point strongly to tenancy in common, recorded in a declaration of trust setting out the shares.
Limits and risks
Survivorship overrides a will, which is a benefit when intended and a serious problem when not.
Joint tenants also cannot deal with a share independently. Selling or mortgaging generally requires all of them, which can trap an owner who wants out.
Where the deed is silent, the position must be inferred, and that is precisely the argument the parties were trying to avoid.
Unequal contributions sit awkwardly with joint tenancy, since the form assumes equality. A person who paid seventy percent and holds as a joint tenant has no documented claim to more.
And severance changes the position for the future only. It does not undo a survivorship that has already taken effect.
Worth knowing
Say in the deed whether you are holding as joint tenants or as tenants in common, and make sure it matches your will. A Nigerian family home held as a joint tenancy passes to the surviving co-owner regardless of what the will says, and that is discovered at the probate registry when nothing can be done.
Questions people ask
What is joint tenancy?
Co-ownership where the owners hold the whole property together with a right of survivorship, so that on the death of one, the whole passes automatically to the survivors outside the will and outside probate.
What is the difference between joint tenancy and tenancy in common?
Joint tenants hold the whole together with survivorship. Tenants in common each hold a distinct, possibly unequal share which passes under their own will or by intestacy rather than to the other owners.
Which should a couple choose?
It depends on who should receive the share. Joint tenancy if the survivor should take everything without probate. Tenancy in common if each wants their share to pass to their own children or beneficiaries, which matters particularly in second marriages.
Does a will override a joint tenancy?
No. Survivorship takes effect regardless of the will, so a share held as a joint tenant passes to the surviving co-owner even where the will says otherwise. This surprises families at the probate registry.
What if we contributed unequal amounts?
That points towards a tenancy in common with the shares recorded, ideally in a declaration of trust. Joint tenancy assumes equality, so an owner who paid more has no documented claim to more.
Can a joint tenancy be changed?
Yes, by severance, which converts it into a tenancy in common so each share passes under its owner's will. It should be documented properly, and it affects the position going forward only.