Closings glossary

Tenancy in common

Co-ownership in undivided shares with no right of survivorship. Each share can be sold, mortgaged or left by will independently of the other owners.

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What is tenancy in common?

Quick Answer

Tenancy in common is joint ownership where each owner holds a separate, transferable share that passes by will or intestacy at death rather than to the co-owners. Shares need not be equal, and any co-owner can force a sale through a partition action when the owners cannot agree.

The full definition

Co-ownership in undivided shares with no right of survivorship. Each share can be sold, mortgaged or left by will independently of the other owners.

Also called: TIC.

Which related terms should you know?

These are the terms that come up alongside tenancy in common in the same file.

Tenancy by the entirety: Joint ownership by spouses with a right of survivorship, where neither can transfer or mortgage the property without the other. It is the default for married New York grantees.
Fee simple: Ownership of land held indefinitely and freely transferable, subject only to recorded encumbrances and to government powers such as taxation, zoning and condemnation.
Title: Legal ownership of real property and the rights that come with it. A deed is evidence of a transfer of title, not title itself.
Deed: The instrument that conveys real property. Signature, acknowledgment and delivery make it effective between the parties, while recording is what protects it against later purchasers.
Chain of title: The sequence of recorded conveyances of a property, from an earlier known owner to the present one. Gaps and defective links in the chain are what a title search is designed to find.

Where does tenancy in common come up in a New York City closing?

Three siblings inherit a Queens two-family as tenants in common, and one wants out, so a partition action becomes the way the building gets sold.

What else should you read before closing?

Questions this raises

Do I need an owner's title policy if my lender already requires one?A lender's policy protects the bank, not you, and ends when the loan is paid. What an owner's policy adds on a New York purchase, and what it costs...

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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.