When there is no declaration of how land is to be held beneficially, there is a presumption, in the domestic context, that a conveyance into joint names is intended to be a joint tenancy in law and equity unless there is evidence of contrary intention. Where there is a business relationship, the presumption is reversed.
The Court of Appeal has considered whether there was a right of survivorship in respect of a farm in Williams v Williams and others [2024] EWCA Civ 42.
The case concerned the ownership of Cefn Coed Farm near Neath in South Wales which had been farmed together with adjoining land at Crythan by the appellant’s father Lloyd Williams since 1975. In April 1985, Lloyd, his wife Catherine and son Dorian entered into partnership – L Williams & Son – to take over the farming business with profits/losses to be divided/borne equally.
Later in 1985, the freehold of Crythan was acquired in the joint names of Lloyd and Catherine and in 1986 the freehold of Cefn Coed was acquired in the joint names of Lloyd, Catherine and Dorian. There was no declaration as to whether the land was to be held as joint tenants or tenants in common.
Catherine died in 2013. Her estate passed to Lloyd, who died in 2018. In March 2014, Lloyd served notice of severance in respect of any joint tenancy of Cefn Coed and made a new will bequeathing his shares in the farm to his children Susan and Gerwyn.
Dorian claimed unsuccessfully that both properties were partnership assets or that he was entitled to them in proprietary estoppel. The High Court judge dismissed the claims, declaring that Cefn Coed had been acquired by Lloyd, Catherine and Dorian as beneficial tenants in common in equal shares. Dorian appealed.
The Court of Appeal was satisfied that while Cefn Coed had not been acquired as a partnership asset, it had been acquired for business purposes which could not be equated to the relationship between co-habiting couples in an intimate relationship. Unlike such couples, the partnership deed obliged the parties to account to each other meticulously.
Equity will usually assume that co-owners acquiring property for business purposes do not intend survivorship Megarry & Wade, The Law of Real Property (9th edn, 2019) 12-29. Nothing in Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 or Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53 – the leading authorities in the domestic context – undermines this principle; both make clear that commercial cases are different. The judge was right to apply the principle. Dorian’s appeal was dismissed.
Louise Clark is a property law consultant and mediator
