Joint Tenancy or Tenants in Common: Tax Breaks, Probate and Buyouts for BC Families

In British Columbia, tenancy in common, with each person's share written on the title, fits most families buying one home together, and joint tenancy suits couples who want the home to go straight to each other. That is our view. The choice also changes four things families ask us about: the first-time buyer tax breaks, what happens to the home when an owner dies, how one owner gets out, and how hard it is to switch.

This guide is for parents and adult children, siblings and couples buying a duplex, triplex or fourplex home together. For plain definitions and a side-by-side table, see how title is held when a family buys together. The rules below come from BC law, the BC government, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA), as we read them in October 2026.

What each choice looks like on your title

Joint tenants have the words "joint tenants" on the title after their names, as section 177 of the Land Title Act requires.

If the words are missing, you are tenants in common. Section 11 of the Property Law Act says that when land is transferred to two or more people, they are tenants in common unless the transfer shows a different intention. The LTSA says a title shows "joint tenants", "tenants in common" or nothing, and nothing means tenants in common.

You make the choice on the transfer form, called a Form A, which People's Law School says shows how co-owners want to hold the land. Read that line before you sign.

Unequal shares: only one choice allows them

Tenants in common can hold any split: 50/50, 70/30, or 40/30/30 across three owners. If the transfer does not state the shares, section 11(3) of the Property Law Act presumes they are equal. A parent who paid 70% and wants 70% of the home needs a transfer that says 70/30.

Joint tenants always hold equal interests. The LTSA describes joint tenancy as co-ownership where "each owner has an equal interest and equal rights to possess the land."

In our view, the shares should match what each person put in, with a written co-ownership agreement explaining why. Our post on co-buying with family in BC lists what that agreement should cover.

What happens to the home when an owner dies

With joint tenancy, the surviving owner takes the whole home, whatever the will says. With tenancy in common, the deceased owner's share goes to their estate and passes under their will.

Joint tenants: the survivor files one form

The survivor asks the LTSA to remove the deceased owner's name. The LTSA calls this transmitting ownership to a surviving joint tenant, and an individual can file it online. Section 269 of the Land Title Act asks for either a grant of probate (the court paper confirming a will) or a death certificate. The application claims property transfer tax exemption code 08, so the survivor pays no transfer tax on it.

Because the home passes outside the will, it stays out of the estate. People's Law School names this as one advantage of joint tenancy: no probate fees are paid on the home.

There is a limit. In Pecore v. Pecore (2007), the Supreme Court of Canada said that when a parent puts property into joint names with an adult child for nothing in return, the law presumes the child holds it in trust for the parent, unless the child shows a gift was meant. People's Law School says courts have ordered such assets returned to the estate. If a parent pays for a share held jointly with one child, record the parent's intention with a lawyer at purchase.

Tenants in common: the share goes through the estate

The deceased owner's share passes under their will. If there is no will, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act decides who inherits. The executor usually applies for probate, the court process that confirms the will and lets the executor act.

The Probate Fee Act sets the fee:

• No fee if the estate is worth $25,000 or less.
• $6 for every $1,000 of value from $25,000 to $50,000.
• $14 for every $1,000 of value above $50,000.

On an estate valued at $500,000 for probate, that is $150 plus $6,300, or $6,450, before court filing fees and legal costs. The share then goes to whoever the will names.

One more rule matters for couples who travel together. Under section 10 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, if nobody can show that one joint tenant outlived the other by 5 days, each person's estate receives half the home.

When one owner wants out

The simplest exit is the one you wrote down before you bought: a co-ownership agreement that sets a buyout price method, a notice period and who chooses the appraiser. Without one, any owner can ask a court to decide.

Section 2 of the Partition of Property Act says joint tenants and tenants in common can be compelled to divide or sell the land. A court can order a sale and split the money. Under section 6, if owners holding half or more ask for a sale, the court must order one unless it sees good reason not to. Under section 8, the other owners can stop a sale by offering to buy the share of the person who asked for it, at a value the court can order.

Under either kind of title, a duplex home cannot be split into two homes, so the court route ends in a sale or a buyout. In our view, agree on the buyout method before anyone needs it, because a court sale costs everyone money and time.

Title and the mortgage

Each owner can only pledge their own interest in a home. To put one mortgage on the whole home, every owner on title signs the mortgage form, and the lender decides whether each signer is a borrower or a guarantor. Ask your lender how it wants each family member set up before your lawyer drafts the transfer. Our page on one mortgage with many names walks through those choices.

What you owe the bank follows the mortgage you signed, whatever the title says. People's Law School explains that people who sign a loan together are each responsible for the full amount, and the lender can ask either of them for a missed payment. When a joint tenant dies, the survivor takes the home with the mortgage still on it.

If one owner stops paying, section 13 of the Property Law Act lets an owner who covered more than their share of the mortgage, taxes, insurance or strata payments ask the BC Supreme Court for relief. An agreement that says what happens first is faster.

First-time buyer tax breaks when only one of you qualifies

This is where unequal shares can save money. Three programs matter, and each treats a mixed group of buyers in its own way.

BC first time home buyers' program (property transfer tax)

The BC government says that if one or more purchasers do not qualify, only the share held by the first-time buyers gets the exemption. Its own example: if you hold 60% and the other buyer holds 40%, and only you qualify, only your 60% is exempt.

Joint tenants count as equal shares here. In the government's worked example, two joint tenants buy an $835,000 home and only one qualifies. The tax before the exemption is $14,700. The exemption is $8,000 times 50%, or $4,000, so they pay $10,700.

The full exemption applies to homes with a fair market value of $835,000 or less, effective April 1, 2024, and a partial one below $860,000. At $860,000 or more, this program gives nothing.

BC newly built home exemption

For a new home, this exemption is often the bigger one. The BC government gives a full exemption on a newly built home worth $1,100,000 or less, with a partial exemption below $1,150,000. Its conditions are about the home and how it is used, so a buyer who has owned a home before can still qualify. The home must be used only as your principal residence, and its amounts page applies the same share rule when not every buyer qualifies.

An example, using the government's rates of 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% from $200,000 to $2,000,000: a parent and an adult child buy a new $1,000,000 half duplex, and only the child will live there. The tax before any exemption is $18,000.

• Held 50/50: the child's half is exempt, so the exemption is $9,000 and they pay $9,000.
• Held 30/70, with the child holding 70%: the exemption is $12,600 and they pay $5,400.
• If the parent also moves in as their principal residence: both shares can qualify.

That arithmetic is ours, following the government's method. Ask your lawyer or notary, who claims the exemption on the tax return, to run your numbers.

Federal first-time home buyers' GST rebate

For a new home bought from a builder, the first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate can return up to $50,000 of GST. The full rebate applies to homes valued at $1 million or less. Between $1 million and $1.5 million it shrinks, and at $1.5 million or more there is none. The purchase agreement must be signed on or after March 20, 2025, and before 2031.

With more than one buyer, the CRA's Guide RC4028 says at least one purchaser must be a first-time home buyer who is buying the home as their primary residence and is the first person to live in it. Only one owner can apply, and the first-time buyer must be the person named as the claimant. Under the CRA's who can apply rules, living in a home you or your spouse owned, in the year you take ownership or the four calendar years before, disqualifies you.

Ask a tax professional how your shares affect the amount before you settle the split. Our post on family down payment strategies covers gifts and co-signing.

Changing from one to the other later

To end a joint tenancy, one owner can act alone. Section 18 of the Property Law Act lets a joint tenant transfer their interest to themselves, and says that transfer ends the joint tenancy the same way a sale to a stranger would. Lawyers call this severing the joint tenancy. The owners become tenants in common in equal shares. The other owner's signature is not needed, so some families promise in their co-ownership agreement to tell each other first.

Moving from tenants in common to joint tenants needs every owner, transferring to themselves jointly under section 18(4).

Either way, the change is a new Form A registered at the land title office. The LTSA says a Form A must be witnessed by a lawyer, notary public or another person the Evidence Act allows. On tax, the BC government's exemption code 16 covers a switch in either direction when the owners before and after are the same and each owner's interest stays the same. A switch that also changes the shares, such as 50/50 to 70/30, falls outside code 16, so ask your lawyer what tax applies.

How we would think about it for each kind of family

These are our views. Your lawyer will know your family's details.

• Spouses or long-term partners: joint tenancy often fits, because most couples want the home to go to each other. On separation, section 81 of the Family Law Act gives each spouse a half interest in family property, whatever the title says, unless an agreement or order says otherwise.
• A parent and one adult child: tenants in common, in most cases, so the parent's share can go to all their children under the will.
• Siblings: tenants in common, with a co-ownership agreement and a buyout clause. Each sibling's share should go to their own family.
• Three or four owners on one title: be careful. Two or three separate strata homes in the same multiplex, each on its own title, keep a family close with fewer shared decisions. Our guides to multigenerational multiplex living and two generations under one roof show what to look for.

What this comes down to

• Most family buyers should hold as tenants in common, with each share written on the transfer.
• Joint tenancy passes the whole home to the survivor outside the will, which suits couples best.
• When only one buyer qualifies, BC's transfer tax exemptions cover only that buyer's share, so a larger share means a larger exemption.
• The newly built home exemption covers new homes up to $1,100,000; the first-time buyer exemption stops at $835,000.
• One owner can end a joint tenancy alone, and a co-ownership agreement with a buyout method should be signed before you complete.

Frequently asked questions

Is joint tenancy or tenants in common better for a parent and adult child in BC?

For most parents and adult children, tenants in common. Each share goes under its owner's will, so a parent's share can reach all their children. Shares can match what each person paid. Joint tenancy gives everything to the survivor, which can leave other children with nothing from the home.

What happens to a joint tenancy when one owner dies in BC?

The surviving joint tenant takes the whole home. They ask the LTSA to remove the deceased owner's name, using a death certificate or a grant of probate, as section 269 of the Land Title Act allows. The application claims property transfer tax exemption code 08, so no transfer tax is due.

Can my will leave my share if we are joint tenants?

No. People's Law School explains that a home held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving owner outside your will. For your will to control your share, hold as tenants in common, or end the joint tenancy while alive by transferring your interest to yourself under section 18 of the Property Law Act.

Can joint tenants own unequal shares?

No. The LTSA describes joint tenancy as each owner having an equal interest. If a parent paid 70% and a child paid 30% and you want title to show that, hold as tenants in common and write 70/30 on the transfer. If no shares are written, section 11(3) of the Property Law Act presumes they are equal.

Do we pay probate fees on a home held in joint tenancy?

Usually no, because the home passes straight to the survivor, outside the estate. People's Law School lists this as one advantage of joint tenancy. The exception is a gift the courts treat as held in trust for the estate, such as a parent's share placed jointly with an adult child who paid nothing.

Can I still get the first-time buyer transfer tax exemption if my co-owner owned a home before?

Yes, for your share. The BC government says only the first-time buyers' share is exempt. Hold 60% and you get 60% of the exemption. Joint tenants count as 50% each. The home must be worth $835,000 or less for the full exemption, effective April 1, 2024, with a partial exemption below $860,000.

Can we get the GST rebate on a new home if only one of us is a first-time buyer?

Possibly. CRA's Guide RC4028 says at least one purchaser must be a first-time home buyer who buys the home as their primary residence and is the first to live there. That person must be the one claimant. The rebate is up to $50,000. Ask a tax professional how your shares affect the amount.

How do I change joint tenancy to tenants in common in BC?

One owner can do it alone. Under section 18 of the Property Law Act, a joint tenant transfers their interest to themselves on a Form A, witnessed by a lawyer or notary and registered at the land title office. If shares stay equal and the owners stay the same, exemption code 16 means no transfer tax on the change.

What if one co-owner wants to sell and the others do not?

Any co-owner can ask the BC Supreme Court for a sale under the Partition of Property Act. If owners with half or more ask, the court must order a sale unless it sees good reason not to. The other owners can stop the sale by offering to buy that person's share at a value the court sets.

Does everyone on title have to sign the mortgage?

To put one mortgage on the whole home, every owner on title signs, because each owner can only pledge their own interest. The lender decides whether each person signs as a borrower or a guarantor. Each borrower is responsible for the full loan, as People's Law School explains, whatever your shares are.

How do I check how my title is held?

Order a copy of your title from the LTSA for a fee. After the owners' names it will say "joint tenants", "tenants in common" or nothing, and the LTSA says nothing means tenants in common. Your lawyer or notary can also give you the certified copy of title from your purchase.

General information only. The property transfer tax examples, exemption thresholds, GST rebate amounts, probate fee rates and legal rules on this page come from the BC government, the Canada Revenue Agency, the LTSA, People's Law School and BC statutes as we read them in October 2026. The $1,000,000 half duplex is a made-up example. This is not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a guarantee of any outcome. Tax thresholds, rebate rules and court decisions change. Always ask an independent real estate lawyer or notary how to hold title before you sign the transfer, and a tax professional before you rely on any exemption or rebate.

Buying with family and want two homes in one building, or one home with room for everyone? Browse new multiplex homes for sale, or talk to our team about the homes that fit your family before you write an offer.