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By default, most properties
in the UK are owned as joint tenants rather than
tenants in common. There are substantial tax advantages
to owning it in this way as effectively the joint
owners each have a 100% share of the property,
so that upon death the survivors still own all
the property and there has therefore been no taxable
disposition. |
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It is becoming more fashionable,
however, for joint owners to own a fixed percentage
of the property so that they can Will their share
upon their death, rather than to leave it to the
survivor. To do this it is necessary to sever
the joint tenancy. This is a 2 stage process.
Firstly a notice in the required form is served
upon the other joint tenants. The notice will
state the shares that you have respectively agreed
to own in the property (or, in the absence of
such agreement, that you own it in equal shares).
Secondly a Land Registry form (form RX1) is sent
to the Land Registry requesting the entry of a
Restriction in the B section of the Register.
This prevents a sale from taking place by one
party without notice to the others. |
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If the other joint tenants
do not agree you can still sever the joint tenancy
but it will be on the basis that you each own
an equal share in the property, and the notices
will have to be prepared on this basis. |
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To order a Tenancy in Common
search you should return to the home page and
click "tenants in common" on the blue
menu. |
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This takes you to the following
screen (partly shown), which provides more information
and gives you a link to the order form. You should
now click the "Buy Now" button. |
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The order form asks for details
of who to serve the notice on and what percentages
each party is to have. |
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When we receive your instructions
we purchase a copy of the Title Register so
that we can check for the correct names, addresses,
title number, tenure, etc. Using this information
and your instructions we then prepare a Notice
of Severance of Joint Tenancy for each of the
other joint tenants. These are uploaded to your
download area, which you access by logging in.
You will need to print these off in duplicate
and sign each copy. |
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You should then hand two
signed copies to each of the joint tenants (so
that they have an original and a copy) and ask
them to sign their copies and give them back
to you. The copies are your receipts. You don't
need to do anything with the receipts but should
keep them in case service is ever in doubt. |
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We will also upload to your
download area a completed form RX 1. You should
print this, sign it and ask the other joint tenants
to sign it, and then send it to the Land Registry
office at the address we provide for you. You
should NOT send a copy of the Notice of Severance.
There is no fee to pay to the Land Registry as
there is an exemption from payment for this type
of application. |
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| A set of instructions are also placed in your
download area, for your further information. |
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That's it. The tenancy is
now severed and the property will be owned by
each of you in the shares you have agreed. |
