Understanding property co-ownership disputes can be challenging. To help, our TOLATA specialists have compiled a glossary of commonly used terms and concepts that you may come across if you are involved in a dispute over jointly or solely owned property.
| Beneficial interest | The right to enjoy the benefits of ownership of a property – including sharing in the sale proceeds – even if your name is not on the legal title. Beneficial interest can arise through express trust, resulting trust, or constructive trust. |
| Buy-out | A situation where one co-owner purchases the interest of another, often as an alternative to selling the property on the open market or in response to an order for sale application being made. |
| Common intention constructive trust | A trust that arises where two or more people have acted on a shared intention that each would have an interest in the property, and one party has relied to their detriment on that intention. Often used to establish beneficial interests in solely or jointly owned property. |
| Consent Order | An agreement the parties have reached voluntarily, which is submitted to the court for approval. If approved, a court order is legally binding. |
| Counsel | A barrister. A barrister is generally instructed by your solicitor to form part of your legal team and to represent you at a court hearing or provide an opinion. |
| Court directions | Directions are the procedural steps in a case that are needed for the case to be ready for trial. This typically includes deadlines for things like providing disclosure and exchanging witness statements. |
| Declaration of trust (trust deed) | A formal written document stating the ownership shares of co-owners in a property. Often signed when a property is purchased to confirm how proceeds should be divided. |
| Dispute resolution | Methods used to resolve co-ownership disputes include negotiation, mediation, or litigation. TOLATA provides statutory remedies, but alternative dispute resolution is often encouraged to preserve relationships and reduce costs. |
| Equitable accounting | A process by which the court adjusts the financial position between co-owners, taking into account contributions to mortgage payments, repairs, improvements, and occupation rent. |
| Joint tenants | Co-owners who each own the whole property together. There are no defined shares, and upon the death of one co-owner, their interest passes automatically to the survivor (right of survivorship). |
| Mediation | A process to encourage parties to reach an agreement together with the assistance of an experienced, impartial mediator. |
| Multi-generational living | A housing arrangement in which two or more generations of a family live together in the same property or on the same site, often sharing communal areas while maintaining separate living spaces. In TOLATA disputes, multi-generational living can give rise to co-ownership or beneficial interest issues when parents make financial contributions but are not included on the deeds, particularly if relationships break down or one party seeks to recover their investment or change the living arrangements. |
| Net sale proceeds | The amount of money left from the sale of a property, after the deduction of associated costs and debts. These can include a mortgage, estate agent fees and conveyancing solicitor’s fees. |
| Occupation rent | A sum payable by a co-owner in sole occupation of a property to compensate the other co-owner(s) for the loss of use of their share. This is a form of equitable accounting that can be ordered at the court’s discretion. |
| Official copies | The documents provided by the Land Registry which detail the key information in relation to a property. For example, where it is, who is said to be the owner, and whether the property has a mortgage. |
| Open offer | An offer of settlement which is not ‘without prejudice’ is an open offer. This would not be kept secret from a judge in court proceedings, so they would be able to view the communications between parties. |
| Order for sale | A court order that requires a property held in trust to be sold, often used to break deadlocks where co-owners cannot agree on sale or occupation. |
| Part 36 offer | A formal, written settlement offer made under Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules, designed to encourage parties to settle disputes without going to trial. Such offers follow strict rules about how they are made and accepted, and carry significant cost consequences if a party refuses an offer and then fails to do better at trial. |
| Resulting trust | A trust that commonly arises when one person contributes to the purchase price of a property but is not listed on the legal title |
| Settlement agreement | A binding contract that sets out the terms on which the parties have agreed to settle their dispute. For instance, detailing when the property will be sold and how the proceeds will be divided. |
| Sole legal ownership | A property held in the name of only one person. |
| Tenants in common | Co-owners who each hold a defined share in a property, which may be equal or unequal. Each person’s share can be left to someone else by will (or else inherited under intestacy rules). |
| Third-party / Intervenor | Someone who is not a legal co-owner but has contributed to the property (such as a parent in a multi-generational living arrangement) and seeks to protect their financial interest in proceedings. |
| TOLATA (Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996) | The statute governing the management and co-ownership of land held on trust. TOLATA gives co-owners rights to occupy land, sets out how disputes can be resolved, and provides the court with powers, including making orders for sale under section 14. |
| Trust of land | A legal arrangement where property is held by one or more people (the trustees) for the benefit of one or more others (the beneficiaries). |
| Undue influence | A situation where one party uses their position of trust or authority to pressure another into entering an agreement – for example, signing a declaration of trust – which may render the agreement voidable. |
| Without prejudice offer | When an offer of settlement is made in a genuine attempt to settle a dispute, it can be marked ‘without prejudice’. This means that it will be kept secret from a judge in court proceedings. This enables parties to try and negotiate without appearing to admit ‘fault’. There are exceptions to this. |
| Without prejudice save as to costs offer | When an offer of settlement is made in a genuine attempt to resolve a dispute, it can be marked ‘without prejudice save as to costs’. This means it cannot be shown to the judge while they are deciding the issues in the case, so the parties can negotiate freely without appearing to admit fault. However, the offer can be shown to the judge after the main decision has been made, when deciding who should pay the legal costs. This allows the judge to consider how reasonably each party acted when dealing with settlement. |
