At common law, upon the death of a joint tenant, the tenancy is vested in the survivor, or jointly in the survivors if there is more than one.
Luxmoore LJ said: ‘In the present case there is no evidence of what the bargain between the plaintiff and Sir Ernest Sanger was, and, in the absence of any evidence which would establish a tenancy in common in equity between them, it seems plain that the joint tenancy which is created in law is also a joint tenancy in equity. Sir Ernest Sanger has died, and the plaintiff has succeeded, not only to the legal interest in this lease, but also to the full beneficial interest. As I have said, had the covenant stood alone and had the legal position only to be considered, and if neither of the parties had any beneficial interest in the lease, there could be no question on a covenant in this form but that whichever of them was called on to fulfill it would be entitled to contribution from the other. The substantial point in this case, however, on which the plaintiff is bound to fail, is that he has acquired, by reason of the death of Sir Ernest Sanger, the full beneficial interest in the lease. In those circumstances, it could hardly be suggested that he, having the full benefit of the lease, could be equitably entitled to call on the executors of his co-covenantor, whose estate has no beneficial interest in it, to pay half the rent. It seems to me that in equity the claim to contribution in these circumstances must, of necessity, fail.’
Judges:
Luxmoore LJ, Lord Greene MR and MacKinnon J
Citations:
[1944] KB 602, [1944] 2 All ER 6
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council v Hickin SC 25-Jul-2012
The claimant’s parents were secure joint tenants. After her father left, the mother later died. The respondent served a notice on the father terminating the tenancy since as the survivor and not resident, he was not entitled to continue the tenancy. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 07 October 2022; Ref: scu.464814