Disclaimer: This article is not a legal advice. It is for education.
Jointly owned property exists where there are more than one person that owns the property e.g. family land, partitioned land, mortgaged land, joint purchase, joint ownership by will, gift etc. It suffices as jointly owned when there are parties that have interests and must be settled before assignment or that must sign the assignment of the property to another owner. Any sale without the consent of the parties is void. Let’s examine different kinds of joint sales.
- Family Land: the principle here is that family land is vested in the family as a corporate entity. No individual member has separate title to sell. Solomon & Ors v Mogaji (1982) 11 SC 7 SChere a sale by the family head alone was void ab initio because he had no individual interest. A member also cannot bequeath family land by will: Ogunmefun v Ogunmefun (1931) 10 NLR p.82.
Consent Rule: Transfer without consent of family head and principal members is void. Ekpendu v Erika (1959) NSCC 64: Lease granted without family head’s consent is void buyers are advised to get family resolution and verify real family head/representatives. Any Power of attorney must be by deed, registered, and authorized at family the meeting.
2: Partitioned Land: Partition means to divide concurrent ownership into separate portions by mutual agreement or court order. It can be partition in kind which is the physical division of the said land in potions of a particular size or partition by sale which means to sell the whole property and share the proceeds according to law or tradition.
The law is that once the family land is partitioned, each member becomes absolute owner of his/her share. when partition involves more than one person in a particular partition, sale of the partitioned land/potion needs consent of all joint owners of that portion. For un-partitioned family land, consent of family head and principal family members must be obtained.
- Mortgaged property: This is when the land is used to secure a debt. In this instance the debt could be money or any other settlement.
The principle is that the mortgagor (lender) can sell the property of the mortgagee (borrower) in accordance with the mortgage and property law of the state. In Lagos State, the law is The Mortgage and property Law of Lagos State 2010 (law No. 6 0f 2010) while FCT still operates the old conveyancing Act of1881 subject to the Land Use Act 1978
For every other jointly owned property, you identify the real owners and ensure that their consent is obtained before sale. Every party must sign the deed of assignment either in person or by a Power of Attorney which must be registered and notarized. If the party issuing the POA is abroad, consent must be obtained via a power of attorney which must be endorsed by a Notary public of the jurisdiction of the party.
Propertygroom advice: In buying any jointly owned property, use a lawyer. Verify the documents and find the true owns and get written consent/resolution from them, and ensure that deed of assignment is executed properly be all parties. Due diligence prevents void sales.
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