Co-ownership and Florida homestead
When two or more people own the same property at the same time, they hold it in concurrent ownership. Each owner has an undivided interest: no one owns a particular room or corner, and each has the right to use the whole property. The form of ownership decides what happens when an owner wants to sell or dies.
Tenancy in common
In a tenancy in common, each owner holds a separate, undivided share. Shares can be unequal (one owner may hold two-thirds and the other one-third), and owners can acquire their shares at different times. Each owner may sell, mortgage or leave their share by will without the others' consent. There is no right of survivorship: when an owner dies, the share passes to that owner's heirs or the people named in the will.
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
A joint tenancy carries a right of survivorship. When one joint tenant dies, that owner's interest passes to the surviving joint tenants, outside of probate. The last survivor owns the whole property.
A joint tenancy traditionally requires the four unities:
| Unity | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Time | All owners acquire their interests at the same time |
| Title | All owners take title through the same deed or document |
| Interest | All owners hold equal shares |
| Possession | All owners have the right to possess the whole property |
If a joint tenant conveys their share to someone else, a unity is broken. The new owner becomes a tenant in common with the others.
Florida's rule on survivorship
Fla. Stat. 689.15 says the doctrine of survivorship between joint tenants does not prevail in Florida, except for estates by the entirety. A conveyance to two or more people creates a tenancy in common unless the deed expressly provides for the right of survivorship.
So in Florida, a deed "to Ann and Bob" makes them tenants in common. To create a joint tenancy, the deed must spell out the survivorship right, for example "as joint tenants with right of survivorship."
Tenancy by the entireties
A tenancy by the entireties is available only to a married couple. The spouses own the property as a single unit, with a right of survivorship: when one spouse dies, the survivor owns the whole property. Neither spouse can convey or mortgage the property on their own. Fla. Stat. 689.15 adds that if the marriage is dissolved, the former spouses become tenants in common.
Florida also lets married couples create a community property trust under Fla. Stat. 736.1503. That is an estate-planning tool with its own formal requirements and is beyond the scope of the sales associate exam.
Florida homestead
The Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 4, protects a homestead owned by a natural person from forced sale by creditors. The protection has exceptions, including taxes and assessments on the property, debts for its purchase, improvement or repair, and labor performed on the property.
Size limits (s. 4(a)(1)):
| Location | Protected area |
|---|---|
| Outside a municipality | Up to 160 acres of contiguous land and improvements |
| Inside a municipality | Up to one-half acre of contiguous land, limited to the residence of the owner or the owner's family |
If land outside a city is later brought into one, the 160-acre protection cannot be reduced without the owner's consent.
Who benefits (s. 4(b)): the exemptions pass to the owner's surviving spouse or heirs.
Limits on transfer (s. 4(c)):
- The homestead cannot be devised (left by will) if the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child. The one exception: if there is no minor child, the owner may devise it to the spouse.
- A married owner may sell, mortgage or give away the homestead only if the spouse joins in the transfer.
These rules are why a listing agent asks a married seller whether the property is a homestead: the spouse may need to sign even if only one name is on the deed. Homestead tax exemptions are a separate topic covered in the taxes unit.