What Is a Tenancy in Common in California?

A tenancy in common is California's default form of co-ownership. Each tenant in common holds an undivided fractional interest in the whole property. The shares can be unequal, each owner can sell, mortgage, or leave their share to heirs, and every co-owner has the right to possess the entire property regardless of share size.

The defining feature is what a tenancy in common does not have: a right of survivorship. When a tenant in common dies, their share passes through their will, trust, or intestate succession, not to the surviving co-owners. That is the key difference from joint tenancy. TIC arrangements are common among investors, unmarried couples, siblings who inherit together, and, in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, as a formal ownership structure for shared buildings governed by a TIC agreement.

Disputes among tenants in common usually involve unequal contributions, one owner occupying the property while others pay the bills, or a co-owner who wants out. The exit ramp, when agreement fails, is a partition action.