What to do if the sale of a property in joint ownership is refused ?

In the case of an inheritance of real estate, all heirs, or co-owners, have a share of the property. To sell it, unanimous consent is required. What happens if one of the heirs refuses to sell the property in co-ownership? Answers.

What is the principle of co-ownership?

In real estate terminology, co-ownership is a legal regime that allows multiple people to exercise ownership rights over a single indivisible property, usually acquired through inheritance. The property subject to co-ownership is called a co-owned property. The heirs are referred to as co-owners or joint owners. Each co-owner then holds a share of the co-owned property.

Co-ownership also applies to other situations beyond real estate inheritance. For example :

• Partners or civil union (PACS) partners who decide to jointly acquire a house or apartment;
• Division of property following a divorce.

Managing a co-owned property

If the co-owners wish to retain the co-owned property after the inheritance, it is customary to establish a co-ownership agreement. This agreement sets out rules for the enjoyment of the property and thus facilitates relations between the owners.

To have legal value, this agreement must be formally recorded by a notary. It facilitates the maintenance and management of the property.

All co-owners are required to cover the expenses related to the co-ownership (property tax, renovation work, condominium fees, etc.) based on their share.

Division in the case of sale in co-ownership

The sale of a house or apartment in co-ownership is highly regulated. The sale price is divided among the co-owners according to their share, which is determined based on whether the property is an inheritance or a joint purchase.

For example, in the case of a joint purchase, each share is calculated based on the financial contribution of each party, which can be 50/50, 40/60, 30/70, etc.

In the case of inheritance, the heirs' shares are distributed according to a will left by the deceased, or based on their relationship to the deceased in the absence of a will. For example, if the deceased had a spouse and children, the distribution is as follows :

• 1/4 for the spouse
• 3/4 for the children

If there is no surviving spouse, the distribution is made equally among the children. In the absence of children, the inheritance goes to the deceased’s ancestors (parents, grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunts, etc.).

Exiting co-ownership

Initially, it is important to know that a co-owner can exit co-ownership at any time without having to provide a reason. This means they can withdraw from co-ownership by selling their share, which is referred to as a buyout of the share.

To do this, they must inform the other co-owners by a bailiff’s act. The property must be appraised to determine the value of the shares. It can be appraised by a professional or by mutual agreement among all co-owners. Once the appraisal is established, the heirs must appear before a notary for the drafting of the official document: the liquidation state.

Refusal of one of the co-owners to sell the co-owned property: what recourse?

Recourse in case of refusal

In principle, to sell a house or apartment in co-ownership, unanimous consent from all co-owners is required. To avoid blockages, Article 6 of Law No. 2009-526 of May 12, 2009, on "simplification and clarification of the law" has relaxed this measure.

It is now possible to sell a co-owned property without the consent of all co-owners, as long as 2/3 of the co-owners agree to the sale.

In this case, the co-owners must go to their notary, who will notify, through a bailiff’s act, the intention to sell to all the heirs. The latter have a period of 3 months to express their decision.

In case of refusal by the minority co-owners, or in case of no response within the legal period, the notary must record the impossibility of selling the property unanimously, documenting it in a report.

The majority co-owners must then file a request with the High Court with the report. If no excessive harm is done to the rights of the other co-owners, the judge can authorize the sale (Article 815-5-1 of the Civil Code).

The property will then be sold at auction (auction sale). The amount obtained, minus legal and notarial fees, will be divided among the co-owners according to their share.

Source : edito.seloger.com