Written by Marc White
If a registered letter of notice to sever a joint tenancy is returned undelivered, notice will fail and property will pass by the usual doctrine of survivorship if one of the owners die immediately thereafter.
In Fantini v Scrutton (2020 EWHC 1552 Ch) the Court ruled that although it will often prefer a tenancy in common to a joint tenancy it will be unable to do this, if evidently, notice has not been served in accordance with s.36(2) LPA.
Do take care to look out for returned registered letters and beware of the impact one would potentially have on any attempt to sever a joint tenancy.
Contact Marc White & Co. should you wish to discuss any of the issues raised in this article.