Joint tenancy or tenants in common: which should go on title?

Joint tenants hold title as one unit. No one owns "half"; each owns the whole, together. If one dies, their interest disappears and the surviving owner or owners are automatically left holding the property, called the right of survivorship. Tenants in common each hold a distinct, separately owned share, commonly equal but it doesn't have to be. When a tenant in common dies, their share goes to whoever inherits under their will or under Ontario's rules if they don't have one, not automatically to the other co-owner.

Yes. Two people can hold 50/50, or 70/30, or any split reflecting what each put toward the purchase. That split gets stated on the transfer and matters if the property is later sold or one owner buys out the other. Joint tenants, by contrast, always hold equal, undivided interests. You can't be a 70% joint tenant.

Most married and common-law spouses buying a home together choose joint tenancy, so the survivor automatically keeps the home without probate. Friends, siblings, or investors buying an income property together often choose tenants in common instead, especially when they've put in unequal money and want their own share to pass to their own family, not automatically to their co-owner.

Adding or removing a name is legally a transfer, even if no money changes hands, like adding a spouse after marriage or removing an ex-spouse after separation. Ontario land transfer tax applies to most transfers based on the value of the interest changing hands, but transfers between spouses, as defined under the Family Law Act, are generally exempt from land transfer tax when there's no consideration beyond natural love and affection, or the only consideration is assuming an existing mortgage. Transfers between non-spouses, like a parent adding an adult child, are not exempt and land transfer tax applies to the value transferred. If there's a mortgage, your lender's consent is almost always required first.

For the property itself, generally yes. Because the survivor already owns the whole property automatically on death, that asset doesn't pass through the deceased owner's will and isn't counted in the estate for Ontario's Estate Administration Tax, sometimes called probate fees, currently about 1.5% on estate value over $50,000 (as of 2026). Tenants-in-common shares do form part of the estate and go through probate like any other asset. Adding a non-spouse, like an adult child, as a joint owner to avoid probate carries its own risks: possible tax consequences, exposure to that person's creditors or divorce, and loss of control if the relationship changes. Talk to a lawyer before doing this as a shortcut.