
Cancellation of co-ownership of building land
Code: OBMA00133
Question
Three people own a building lot. One of the co-owners has brought an action for the dissolution of the co-ownership, asking for a division of the land, which I do not want. Will he be successful?
The answer
If no agreement is reached, the court shall dissolve the co-ownership and settle it at the request of one of the co-owners. In doing so, it shall take into account the size of the shares and the appropriate use of the property. If the division of the property is not feasible, the court shall order the property to be assigned to one or more of the co-owners in return for appropriate compensation; it shall take into account the fact that the property can be put to good use and also any violent behaviour of the co-owner towards the other co-owners. If none of the co-owners wants the property, the court shall order its sale and divide the proceeds according to the shares. How the court will decide cannot be predicted in advance, but it can be stated that the division of the land is the primary way of dealing with the dissolution of co-ownership. However, the division must be possible and should not create further disputes in the future. Particularly in the case of building land, it is also important to consider whether it will also be possible to use the individual plots as building land after the division. It should also be noted that when the co-ownership is dissolved by partition, the court may also establish the necessary easement (e.g. for access). In any case, we recommend using legal representation in the dispute, a good solicitor will be able to assess what the chances of division are, or what can be done to ensure that the court ends otherwise than by dividing the land, which you do not want as a solution.