SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT as an executive agency, the National Land Agency (NLA) has brought together the work of four major government entities, the Land Titles, Land Valuation, Surveys and Mapping and Estate Management divisions.
This amalgamation has revolu-tionised and in many ways improved the agency's service delivery but the NLA is still seeking to serve its customers better. As a part of this drive, THE STAR, along with the NLA and the Jamaica Information Service is providing information related to land matters in this column.
Last week, we carried the first part in an article about purchasing property as either joint tenants or tenants in common. That article tackled purchasing as joint tenants, while this week we look at purchasing property as tenants in common.
"Where the purchaser wants to specifically provide for a beneficiary, he or she may also opt for the 'tenants in common' arrangement, as he or she can divide his or her share in a will," Ms. Walker informed.
Tenancy in common allows persons to have a 'discrete' interest in a property whether in equal or unequal shares. For example, if there are four persons on the title, one could own half of the property, while the other three persons could own the other half among themselves. The propor-tions of ownership are however, noted on the title.
In the "tenants in common" arrangement, the interest of the decedent (deceased person) passes to his or her executor or administrator and not auto-matically to the surviving tenant(s).
SOLE OWNER
Also, because the shares are owned individually, and each proprietor is the sole owner of his section, he or she can dispense of it in any manner that he sees fit - whether it is to sell, will to a beneficiary, mortgage or lease the property.
Another major difference between joint tenancy and tenancy in common is highlighted upon death of one of the landowners.
"For tenants in common, you do not make an application to note the death. What must be done is a transmission application to transfer the property of the deceased to his personal representative. The deceased person's executor or administrator then deals with his or her estate," explains Miss Walker.
This procedure is followed whether the deceased has a will or died intestate (without leaving a will).
The next step is to take the transmission application, revenue affidavit, and proof that the document was probated in court, to the stamp commissioner, who will determine how much death duties would be payable on the remaining portion of the estate.
Once the death duties are paid, the applicant will be provided with a Form 8 or Stamp Commis-sioner's Certificate, which is proof that the relevant duties have been paid or that an exemption has been granted. This Form 8, as well as the certificate of title and transmission application must be lodged for processing at the Land Titles Division of the NLA located at 93 Hanover Street, Kingston, where a registration fee is also paid.
The Titles Division will then process the application and within approximately 10 days, the notation to the title will be completed and the title will be returned to the applicant.
For further information or queries, contact; Adrienne Mullings, public relations officer, National Land Agency, telephone: 978-2181-7 or e-mail:
adrienne.mullings@nla.gov.jm
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