Co-Ownership Dispute Attorneys in Saratoga, CA
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Co-ownership disputes arise when people who jointly hold title to real property disagree about its use, costs, or sale.
When two or more people hold title to real property as tenants in common or joint tenants, disagreements can arise over how the property is used, who pays for maintenance and taxes, and whether, or when, it should be sold. These disputes are common among family members who inherit property together, business partners who purchase investment real estate, or unmarried couples who buy a home jointly without a clear written agreement governing their respective rights.
Co-owners in conflict often raise related issues as well, from nuisance claims over how the property is used to purchase and sale disputes when one of them wants out.
Can I keep the house?
Possibly. Whether you can stay in the property while a co-owner wants out depends on how title is held, whether there is a written agreement governing the co-ownership, and the specifics of your situation. Options can include negotiating a buyout of the other owner's interest or, for certain inherited property, the statutory buyout process discussed below. There is no guaranteed outcome, and the sooner you get advice, the more options tend to be available.
Can I force a sale and get out?
In most cases, yes, at least as a starting point. A co-owner who wants to exit generally has the right to seek partition, which can lead to a court-ordered sale even over another owner's objection, unless that right has been validly waived in writing or a recognized exception applies. How quickly, and on what terms, depends on the facts of the case.
A tenant in common or joint tenant generally has the right to seek partition of co-owned real property, unless that right has been validly waived or another recognized exception applies.
Courts can order the property physically divided or, more commonly for a single residence, sold with proceeds divided according to ownership interests, contributions, and any credits owed for expenses like mortgage payments, property taxes, or improvements, subject to equitable adjustments and the circumstances of the case.
Partition actions can force the sale of a property even when one co-owner wants to keep it.
The stakes are often personal as well as financial, and delaying action can mean:
- Paying more than your fair share of expenses.
- Losing leverage in a buyout negotiation.
- Watching a shared asset deteriorate while owners are at odds.
Early legal guidance often shapes the outcome as much as the litigation itself.
If you inherited property with siblings, California changed the rules for these cases in 2023.
Under the Partition of Real Property Act, which applies to partition actions filed on or after January 1, 2023, involving property held in tenancy in common with no written agreement among the co-owners, a forced sale is no longer the automatic outcome. The court determines the value of the property, and a co-owner who does not want a sale generally has an opportunity to buy out the interests of the co-owners who do, on a statutory timeline. If no one exercises that right, the court is directed to divide the property in kind unless doing so would cause great prejudice to the co-owners as a group, and only then to order a sale. In plain terms, if you want to keep the house and your siblings want the money, there is now a process built for exactly that, and it is worth understanding before anyone files anything. California law also restricts a court from making a reluctant co-owner pay the other side's partition costs, including appraisal fees, unless doing so would be fair given the purpose of the law, so resisting a partition is not automatically the expensive option it might seem.
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Co-Ownership Dispute FAQs
In most cases, yes. A tenant in common or joint tenant generally has the right to seek partition of co-owned real property, meaning they can ask a court to divide the property or order it sold, even over the objections of the other owners, unless that right has been validly waived or another recognized exception applies.
A partition action is a lawsuit asking the court to divide co-owned real property among the owners, either physically or, more commonly for a single home, by ordering a sale and dividing the proceeds. The court can also appoint a referee to manage the sale and resolve disputes over credits and offsets between owners.
Courts generally allocate the proceeds of a sale according to each owner's percentage interest, then adjust for contributions, crediting an owner who paid more than their share of the mortgage, taxes, insurance, or necessary repairs, and offsetting amounts owed for exclusive use of the property or unpaid rent, subject to equitable adjustments and the circumstances of the case.
Yes. Many co-ownership disputes resolve through a negotiated buyout, where one owner purchases the other's interest at fair market value. A partition action can also be resolved through a buyout at any point before the property is sold, often at lower cost than seeing the case through trial.
A co-owner generally has an equal right to possess and use the entire property, but if one owner is excluded, the excluded owner may be entitled to a credit for the fair rental value of their share during the period of exclusion, which can be resolved as part of a partition or accounting action.
Timelines vary based on the property, the parties' cooperation, and whether the case is contested, but partition actions often take six months to a year or more to resolve, particularly when the parties dispute the value of the property or the credits and offsets owed between them.
You are not required to have one, but co-ownership disputes involve real property valuations, complex accounting between owners, and specific statutory procedures for partition. An experienced real estate litigation attorney can help you evaluate a buyout, pursue partition, and protect your investment throughout the process.
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Results depend on the specific facts and law of each matter. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other case.