Also known as: four unities of joint tenancy · unity of time · unity of title · unity of interest · unity of possession
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A set of four requirements at common law for the creation and continuation of a joint tenancy. The requirements are unity of interest, unity of title, unity of time, and unity of possession among the co-owners.
Frank and Fran acquired land by separate deeds executed months apart. Because the deeds were not simultaneous, unity of time never existed. The court held that no joint tenancy was created and each owner held only a tenancy in common.
Fred and Fiona took title by the same deed but Fred received a seventy percent interest. The unequal shares destroyed unity of interest. The estate was therefore a tenancy in common rather than a joint tenancy.
Fiona Foster and Finn Fletcher held land as joint tenants. Fiona leased the property to a third party without Finn's consent. The lease transferred only Fiona's possessory rights for its term. Upon Fiona's death the right of survivorship operated and the lease ended because the underlying joint tenancy remained intact.
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Farah Fox held property in joint tenancy with her husband. She executed a deed conveying her interest to herself as tenant in common and recorded it without his knowledge. The conveyance destroyed the unity of title. The joint tenancy ended and the right of survivorship no longer applied to the severed interest.
Fatou Fall and her co-owner held land as joint tenants. Fatou executed a mortgage on her interest alone. The mortgage did not destroy the four unities because it created only a lien rather than a transfer of title. Upon Fatou's death the surviving joint tenant took the property free of the mortgage lien.
The four unities are unity of interest, unity of title, unity of time, and unity of possession. All must exist at the time the joint tenancy is created and must continue for the tenancy to remain intact.
Destruction of any unity severs the joint tenancy and converts it into a tenancy in common. The right of survivorship ends with respect to the severed interest.
In modern jurisdictions a lease by one joint tenant typically does not sever the joint tenancy. The lessee steps into the lessor's possessory rights for the lease term while the underlying joint tenancy and right of survivorship continue.
Yes. A conveyance by one joint tenant to a third party destroys the unity of title and severs the joint tenancy as to that interest, leaving the remaining owners as joint tenants or tenants in common depending on the number of owners.
…law rule that four unities are essential to an estate in joint tenancy: unity of interest, unity of time, unity of title, and unity of possession. (See Hammond v. McArthur (1947) 30 Cal.2d 512, 514 [183 P.2d 1]; McDonald v. Morley (1940) 15 Cal.2d 409, 412 [101 P.2d 690, 129 A.L.R. 810]; 2 Blackstone, Commentaries 180-182.) The…