This kind of title can work. The Strata Property Act does not apply to it, so the written agreement between the owners is the document that matters most. This page explains what you own, what the law fills in when the agreement is silent, and what the agreement should say.
The short version
- On a shared title you own a share of the whole property. No line on the title separates your home from the other one.
- Under section 11 of the Property Law Act, two or more owners are tenants in common unless the transfer says otherwise, and their shares are presumed equal if not stated.
- There is no strata corporation, no bylaws, no strata fee and no Civil Resolution Tribunal strata process. Your co-ownership agreement replaces all of them.
- Under the Partition of Property Act, any co-owner can ask a court to order a sale, and if owners of half or more ask for one, the court must order it unless it sees good reason not to.
- Turning a shared title into a strata later needs the city council's approval under section 242 of the Strata Property Act, and the council's decision is final.
What you own on a shared title
A shared title is one parcel of land with one title at the land title office, and more than one registered owner. Each owner holds a share of the whole parcel, such as one half. The title does not say which home is whose. That comes from the owners' agreement, and from how they use the property in practice.
Section 11 of the Property Law Act sets the starting point. When land is transferred in fee simple to two or more people, they are tenants in common unless the transfer shows a different intention, and if their shares are not stated, the shares are presumed to be equal. Tenants in common each own a share they can sell or leave in a will, separately from the other owners.
Between members of one family, owners sometimes choose joint tenancy instead, where the share of an owner who dies passes to the other owners. Our page on how title is held in a family covers that choice. Between two unrelated households sharing a duplex, tenancy in common with stated shares is the usual form.
What the law does not give you without a strata
A strata owner has a statute that answers the everyday questions: who insures the building, who repairs the roof, how money is collected and saved, how votes work, and where disputes go. A shared title has none of that. The Strata Property Act does not apply, because there is no strata plan.
There is no strata corporation to hold a reserve fund. There are no bylaws on noise, pets or parking. There is no information certificate (Form B) for a buyer to order. The Civil Resolution Tribunal's strata process is for strata disputes, so it does not apply either.
The co-owners also share one property tax assessment, because under section 67 of the Strata Property Act only strata lots are separate parcels for tax. One bill arrives for the whole property, and the owners decide how to split it.
A shared title can still be a good choice, and the agreement between the owners becomes the most important document in the purchase. In our view, buying a share of a shared title with no written agreement is the single riskiest purchase a multiplex buyer can make.
| Question | Strata duplex | Shared title, no strata |
|---|---|---|
| What is on title in your name | Your own strata lot | A share of the whole property |
| Who insures the building | The strata, at full replacement value | Whatever the owners agree |
| Who repairs the roof | The strata, from the owners' fees and reserve | Whatever the owners agree |
| Savings for repairs | At least 10% of the operating budget, by law | Only if the owners agree to save |
| Property tax | Each home assessed separately (section 67) | One assessment for the whole property |
| Disputes | Civil Resolution Tribunal | The agreement, then the courts |
| Forcing a sale | No owner can force a sale of the other home | Any owner can apply to court for a sale |
Strata Property Act, Property Law Act and Partition of Property Act, read on BC Laws 23 October 2026.
The Partition of Property Act, in plain words
The Partition of Property Act is the law that decides what happens when co-owners cannot agree. Section 2 says all joint tenants, tenants in common and others interested in land may be compelled to partition it, which means divide it, or sell it.
A duplex cannot easily be divided on the ground, so in practice the question is a sale. Section 6 says that if owners holding half or more of the property ask the court to order a sale instead of a division, the court must order a sale unless it sees good reason not to. In a duplex owned in two equal halves, either owner holds half.
Section 7 lets the court order a sale at the request of any owner if a sale would be more beneficial than a division. Section 8 gives the other owners a way out: if one owner asks for a sale, the court may not order it if the other owners undertake to buy that owner's share, and the court may order a valuation of the share.
For a buyer, the result is plain. Your co-owner can, in the end, ask a court to sell the whole property, your home included. You can buy them out if you can pay for their share. A well-written co-ownership agreement sets out how a buyout works before anyone needs one.
What a co-ownership agreement should cover
A co-ownership agreement is a contract between the owners of a shared title. It does the work a strata's bylaws and the Strata Property Act do for a strata, and it should be written by a lawyer for the specific property. Ask the seller for the existing agreement, and have your lawyer read it before you remove conditions on your offer.
- Which part of the property each owner may use: homes, yards, parking, storage.
- Who insures the building, in whose names, and how the premium is split.
- Who repairs what, how shared repairs are approved and paid, and whether the owners save for them.
- How the property tax bill and any shared utilities are split.
- What happens if one owner wants to sell: a right of first refusal, a buyout formula, and how a price is set.
- What happens if an owner stops paying their share.
- Rules on renting, pets, noise and changes to either home.
- How disputes are settled before anyone goes to court, for example by mediation.
- What happens on the death of an owner, and how the agreement binds a new owner.
Mortgages, insurance and resale
A mortgage on a shared title is a mortgage on a share of one property. Before you make an offer, ask your lender in writing whether it will lend on a share of this property, at what down payment, and whether it needs to see the co-ownership agreement. If your lender will not, the purchase cannot go ahead with that lender.
Insurance needs the same care. A home owner policy is written for one owner's property, and the building here belongs to both of you. Ask a broker how the building and both households can be covered, and have the answer in writing before you remove your conditions.
When you sell, the buyer buys your share and takes your place in the agreement with the other owner. Some buyers will not do that, which reduces the number of people who can buy from you. That is a fact to weigh when comparing a shared-title home with a strata home at a similar price.
Can a shared title become a strata later?
Owners of a shared title sometimes hope to create a strata later, so each home can have its own title. For a building that people have already lived in, section 242 of the Strata Property Act requires the strata plan to be approved by the municipal council. The council may approve it, approve it with conditions or refuse it, and section 242(4) says its decision is final and cannot be appealed.
The council must not approve it unless the building substantially complies with the city's bylaws and the building rules in force, and it must consider matters such as the supply of rental homes in the area. In other words, a strata later is possible and never certain. Buy a shared-title home for what it is today.
Questions buyers ask
More in Strata or Freehold
Also worth reading
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from the body that issues it. Rules and rates change, so each entry says when we checked it.
- Property Law Act, RSBC 1996, c. 377, section 11 (tenancy in common). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Partition of Property Act, RSBC 1996, c. 347, sections 2, 6, 7 and 8. BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Part 5: Property (sections 66 to 82). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Strata Property Act, Part 14: Land titles (sections 239 to 266, including 242 and 246). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Insurance for strata corporations (bare land strata and strata-titled duplexes). Government of British Columbia. Published 23 July 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Search for a Title. Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA). Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
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