The short version: if a property is held in joint tenancy, a deceased owner's share passes automatically and immediately to the surviving owner — no probate required, and the will has no say in it. If it's held as tenants in common, the deceased's share goes through their estate like any other asset, which generally means probate.
Joint tenancy: the right of survivorship
The defining feature of joint tenancy is the right of survivorship. All registered owners are each considered to own the whole property, and when one dies, their interest simply vanishes and the surviving owner(s) continue owning it — the title passes directly, without going through the deceased's estate, without probate, and regardless of what the deceased's will says. In practice, the surviving owner typically just needs to register the death with the Land Title and Survey Authority to formally update the title.
This is extremely common between spouses, and it's one of the main reasons spousal real estate often avoids probate entirely even when the rest of an estate needs it.
Tenants in common: no automatic transfer
Tenants in common allows two or more people to hold defined, separate shares of a property — 50/50, 70/30, or any other split. There's no right of survivorship. When one owner dies, their specific share becomes part of their estate, to be distributed according to their will (or BC's intestacy rules if there's no will) — which generally means that share needs to go through probate before it can be sold or transferred.
This structure is common between siblings, friends, or business partners co-owning an investment property, where each person wants their own share to go to their own chosen beneficiaries rather than automatically to the other co-owner.
Mark Jontz confirms this early in every estate sale involving co-owned property. Which structure applies completely changes the process — a joint tenancy sale can often move much faster since there's no probate wait on that share, while tenants in common means working through the full probate timeline for the deceased's portion. Getting this wrong early can cost real time later.
How to actually find out which one applies
The property's title itself specifies the ownership structure, recorded with the Land Title and Survey Authority — this should be confirmed directly from the title, not assumed based on how the owners talked about the property informally. A lawyer or notary pulling the title can confirm this quickly, and it's one of the first things worth checking when someone has passed away and co-owned real estate is involved.
What this means when multiple people inherit a share
When siblings or other relatives inherit a tenants-in-common share together — including through intestacy — their shared interest in that inherited portion is itself generally held as tenants in common between them, meaning each person's slice can be individually accounted for, including through a sale. If they don't agree on what to do, see our guide on what happens when beneficiaries disagree.
This page provides general information about property co-ownership in BC and is not legal advice. Please confirm the actual ownership structure of a specific property with a lawyer or notary.