Humber/Ontario Real Estate Course 1 Exam Practice

If Buyer Mantella obtains half an interest in a property on Monday and then his spouse obtains the other half on the following day, they:

1. Will be joint tenants.

2. The unity of possession is fulfilled.

3. Will be tenants in common.

4. The unity of survivorship is fulfilled.

5. Will share the property equally by default.

6. Must formalize the ownership through a legal agreement.

The correct answer is: Will be tenants in common.

In this scenario, Buyer Mantella and his spouse will be classified as tenants in common. This is because they obtained their respective interests in the property at different times. Tenancy in common allows two or more people to hold fractional interests in the same property, and there is no requirement that these interests are acquired simultaneously. Each tenant in common can hold a different percentage of the property interest, and upon the death of one tenant, their share does not automatically transfer to the surviving tenant(s), but instead can be passed on according to the deceased's will or the laws of intestacy. The other options do not accurately describe this situation because they imply joint ownership features that do not apply here. For instance, if both interests were acquired simultaneously, they could potentially be joint tenants, which involves equal ownership and survivorship rights. However, since the interests were acquired on different days, that condition is unmet. The concept of unities also comes into play—such as unity of possession or survivorship—those are not fulfilled in this case either. Therefore, tenants in common is the correct classification based on the sequence of acquisition.