Tenancy in common meaning

To bring a business tenancy to an end on the contractual expiry date or at any point thereafter, a tenant may rely on a notice given under section 27 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). This Checklist sets out the circumstances and procedure for serving such a notice. For wider guidance on ending LTA 1954 tenancies, refer to Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination. It outlines timing and the method of service in clear terms. Is the tenancy for a fixed term? A section 27 notice is available only where the tenancy is for a fixed term. It is not available for periodic tenancies. Nevertheless, a tenant may end a periodic tenancy by giving a common law notice to quit (see Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination under the heading Termination of LTA 1954 tenancies). Have any other notices been served? Once a tenant has served a section 26 request, they cannot then serve a section 27 notice...

See Q&A A and B served each other with a mutual notice to sever their joint tenancy, yet only an uncertified copy survives. Shortly afterwards both executed wills indicating they regarded the joint tenancy as severed. A died soon after. A Form A restriction had not been placed on the register before A’s death. Can A’s executors now apply to enter a Form A restriction? In England and Wales, where property is co-owned, the registered proprietors (or the legal owners of unregistered land) hold the legal estate as joint tenants and hold it on trust for the beneficial owners—often themselves, though not invariably. The beneficial interest may itself be held either as joint tenants or as tenants in common...

Original news Taylor v Taylor [2017] EWHC 1080 (Ch) In June 2012, a father, Mark, and his son, Boyd, acquired a transfer of a modest hotel with a campsite, together by way of conveyance. It was undisputed between both sides that this made them joint tenants at law at the time. The conveyance concerned part only of a wider tract of land within a larger holding. In May 2013, Mark served a notice to sever the joint tenancy which, on its very face, converted the beneficial joint tenancy (assuming that was its nature) into a tenancy in common in equal proportions. Nonetheless, Mark asserted a four-fifths share of the beneficial interest, citing his larger contribution to the purchase price. By contrast, Boyd maintained he was due one-half of the beneficial interest, on the basis of a promise to that effect and his reliance: he entered the deal, permitted funds he was entitled to be applied, and worked (with his wife) at the hotel and campsite. What are the practical...

In this issue Leasing property Statutory compliance Residential property Property development Transferring property Easements, rights and covenants Property in Wales Property taxes Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New Q&As Leasing property Landlord’s reliance on ground (g) to resist a new business tenancy did not infringe the ECHR In MVL Properties (2017) Ltd v The Leadmill Ltd [2025] EWHC 349 (Ch), the High Court held that a landlord’s opposition to granting a renewed lease under ground (g) of section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights. The court firmly dismissed the tenant’s case that the landlord’s plan to run ‘essentially the same business’ would amount to taking the tenant’s goodwill, which had become associated with the premises, contrary to the tenant’s possessions right protected by Article 1 of Protocol 1, as a breach of the human...

Property Disputes (PD) This beginner’s guide sets out a primer on Property Disputes (PD). It is designed for trainee solicitors and practitioners encountering PD for the first time. The guide highlights the principal issues that commonly arise in PD and signposts other Lexis+® UK sources and materials offering fuller detail on the subjects covered. Newcomers to PD will also benefit from the Overviews within each PD subtopic. These provide a summary of every subtopic, with links to pertinent content inside that subtopic to aid navigation. For instance, see: Property insolvency—overview. The PD module further includes a Property Disputes introductory materials topic, containing links to training materials and “How to guides”, “Quick guides”, plus checklists and flowcharts. The PD module centres on property disputes in England and Wales, while a distinct subtopic focusses on Scottish property disputes (see: Property disputes in Scotland—overview). If a point is not addressed in this guide, use the PD practice area Topics tab or the Topics dropdown menu to explore additional content. This guide also...

Application to set aside a statutory demand served on an individual This Practice Note summarises the appropriate court or tribunal for issuing proceedings across common property dispute applications, such as setting aside statutory demands; opposed and unopposed Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 lease renewals; interim rent; assured and assured shorthold tenancy possession; light obstruction notice procedure; forfeiture; lease extensions and collective enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and Leasehold Reform Act 1967; boundary disputes; appeals from party wall awards; trespasser (squatter) possession and/or injunctions; enforcement of possession orders; Electronic Communications Code matters; modification of restrictive covenants; service charge dispensation; terminal dilapidations; proceedings for unreasonable withholding of consent; and rent review arbitration appeals... Type of PD application — Court/Tribunal — Authority — Further detail Application to set aside a statutory demand served on an individual — County Court, or in certain circumstances the High Court. County Court: The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, rr 10.4(4), 10.11,...

Common law tenancies Common law tenancies are lettings that sit outside any statutory security of tenure regimes. Examples include: for residential property, the Rent Act 1977, Housing Act 1985 or Housing Act 1988 (see Practice Note: A summary of types of private residential tenancies and Social sector tenancies—overview) for commercial property, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) (see Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination) for agricultural property, the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (see: Agricultural holdings—overview) Under a common law tenancy, the parties’ rights and obligations flow from the terms they have agreed, whether expressly stated or implied. After a common law tenancy expires, and particularly where the LTA 1954 has been contracted out, caution is needed if a tenant is permitted to remain in occupation whilst negotiations proceed for the grant of a new...

DATE [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of, or incorporated in, England and Wales with company registration number [ number ], whose registered office is at ] [ address ] (the Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] of [ address ] (the Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] of [ address ] (the Guarantor) ] FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, refer to Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of first joint tenant ] of [ address ] [ name of second joint tenant ] of [ address ] (collectively referred to as Joint Tenants) background (A) Pursuant to [ [ a conveyance OR transfer ] OR an assent ] dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ [ names of seller(s)/transferor(s) ] OR [ name(s) of personal representative(s) ] ]...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of first joint tenant ] of [ address ] [ name of second joint tenant ] of [ address ] (collectively known as the Trustees) background (A) The Property set out in the Schedule (Property) is held by the Trustees on trust for themselves as tenants in common in equal...

Section 1(1)(a) of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) Under this provision in the Act, only an individual can be the tenant of an assured tenancy. Consequently, a company letting cannot qualify as an assured shorthold tenancy (AST). The HA 1988 also specifies categories of tenancy that are excluded from being ASTs, including business tenancies under the Act. As a result, the arrangement will then fall either as a common law tenancy—outside the HA 1988 and subject to ordinary contractual principles—or, where the relevant requirements are satisfied, as a business tenancy...

Legal co-owners are equitable tenants in common—conversion to equitable joint tenancy Legal co-owners holding property for themselves as equitable tenants in common may, where they agree, opt to hold as equitable joint tenants by executing a fresh declaration of trust. Please consult Practice Note: Residential property—transfers of equity and dealings with equitable interests in residential conveyancing, paying particular attention to the main section Specific scenarios for guidance on that topic within that resource. You might also find these resources helpful: Trusts of land for property lawyers—Overview Trusts of land—overview ...

A nil-rate band discretionary trust A nil-rate band discretionary trust is a common method for reducing inheritance tax. It typically concerns property held by two people (most often a husband and wife as co-owners). They must own the home as beneficial tenants in common, meaning that any existing beneficial joint tenancy has to be broken. Each then executes a Will so that their share of the property, up to the inheritance tax nil-rate band, is directed not to the spouse but into a discretionary trust. The usual discretionary beneficiaries are the surviving spouse and the children. Instead of the survivor taking outright the other’s share of the property (whether by survivorship where it was a beneficial joint tenancy or by a legacy), the trust retains that share and, on the death of the survivor, the portion within the trust does not fall into the estate for inheritance tax purposes...