TRANSFER BY CO-OWNER (S. 44)
Introduction
§ Co-ownership, also known as joint ownership or co-tenancy, refers to the ownership
of a property by two or more individuals.
§ Section 44 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (TPA), deals with transfers by co-
owners.
§ There are three types of co-ownership, namely, joint tenancy, tenancy-in-common
and coparcenary.
§ The co-owners have the right to use, dispose of, and possess the property.
Kinds of Co- ownership
§ Tenancy-in-common
o Tenants in common are those who occupy a property jointly with another
person but do not specify how much of the property they own.
o Every tenant in common has a separate interest in a particular
property and each may possess and use the entire property.
o In tenancy in common, co-owners can have unequal shares, and there is no
right of survivorship i.e., each co-owner's share can be transferred to heirs or
others.
§ Joint Tenancy
o Joint tenancy is a type of co-ownership in which two or more individuals own
the property in equal shares at the same time.
o In joint tenancy, co-owners have equal shares and there is a right of
survivorship i.e., upon the death of one co-owner, the property passes to
the surviving co-owners.
§ Tenancy by the Entirety
o Tenancy by the entirety is a form of joint property ownership that is available
only to married couples.
o In tenancy by the entirety, neither husband nor wife can transfer his or her
interest in the property to a third person.
Tran sfer by one Co - owner: Section 44
§ Section 44 of TPA states that if one of the co-owners transfers his share in the
property, the transferee steps into the shoes of the transferor and becomes a co-
owner with the remaining co-owners.
§ The transferee will get all the rights and liabilities of the transferor, including the
right to partition the property.
Rights of the Transferee
§ Right to Joint Possession
o Proprietary rights extend to all co-owners of a property.
o When the transferee steps into the shoes of the transferor, he acquires the
right to joint possession of the property along with the other co-owners.
