According to Florida law, tenants in common have several rights and obligations regarding their real estate, including, but not limited to, the right to partition, the obligation to share expenses, the right to possession and accountability, and the right to a credit for expenses:
1. Right to Partition: Tenants in common have the right to seek partition of the property. This means they can file an action to divide the property or sell it and divide the proceeds among the co-owners. Read: Partition of Real Estate in Florida
2. Obligation to Share Expenses: Each tenant in common is responsible for their proportionate share of property expenses, including mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and necessary repairs:
it is the obligation of each tenant in common to pay one-half of the property expenses consisting of mortgage payments, insurance, taxes and necessary repairs.
See: Spikes v. Spikes, 396 So.2d 1192
3. Possession and Accountability: A tenant in common who has exclusive possession of the property and uses it for their own benefit without receiving rent is generally not accountable to the other co-tenants unless they hold the property adversely or as a result of ouster:
Last, the law is clear that where a cotenant has exclusive possession of property owned as tenants in common, and uses the property for his own behalf and does not receive rents or profits therefrom, the tenant in possession is not accountable to the tenant out of possession unless the tenant in possession holds the property adversely or as the result of ouster or its equivalent.
See: Bailey v. Parker, 492 So. 2d 1175
4. Right to Credit for Expenses: Upon partition, a tenant who has shouldered a disproportionate share of the property expenses is entitled to a credit from the sale proceeds for the other co-tenant’s share of those expenses:
Tenants in common bear “equal responsibility in making all payments necessary to maintain their ownership of the property.” Kelly v. Kelly, 583 So. 2d 667, 668 (Fla. 1991). Thus, each co-tenant is ultimately liable for his or her proportionate share of the “taxes, mortgage payments, insurance and maintenance and repair.” McCarthy, 922 So. 2d at 226. Accordingly, upon partition, a tenant shouldering a disproportionate responsibility for those obligations “is entitled to credit from the proceeds of the sale for the other co-tenant’s proportionate share of those expenses.” Id. (citation omitted).
See: Martinez-Noda v. Pascual, 305 So.3d 321
Note: In Florida, the concept of the right of survivorship does not apply to tenants in common unless explicitly stated in the instrument creating the estate. This means that upon the death of a tenant in common, their interest in the property passes to their heirs or as directed by their will, rather than automatically to the surviving co-tenants. See Florida Statute 689.15.
Related:
In Florida, Shared (Joint) Ownership Can Be a Big Problem
Inherited Property And Partition: When Your Sibling Won’t Agree to Sell
Selling the House After a Florida Divorce: Is Partition the Answer?
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