Laws, Regulations & Annotations

C

220.0000 CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP

Annotation 220.0703

220.0703 Tenancy in Common. Cotenancy is the term used to designate ownership by several persons of undivided interests in real property. Cotenants own property by one joint title and in one right, and thus have one common freehold. The assessor is required to assess all real property to the persons owning it on the lien date. The assessor is not required to separately assess each undivided interest of a tenant in common in real property, and a tenant in common does not have the right to compel separate assessment of the undivided interest. While fractional ownership interests must be tracked by county assessors for base year value purposes, the separate assessment of fractional interests is not required. If the property escaped assessment as the result of an unrecorded change in ownership between the cotenants, the escape assessments are secured by the property unless the property is purchased by a bona fide purchaser for value prior to the date of the assessment of the property under Revenue and Taxation Code section 531.2(b). A cotenant who has an ownership interest in a property both before and after the purchase of a fractional interest in that property does not qualify as a bona fide purchaser for value. C 7/15/2013.