Joint ownership of real estate is common. And conflicts about it as well. Especially when the various owners are no longer aligned regarding management, development, or sale.
Joint ownership of real estate may have arisen through joint purchase, whether business or private. But much joint ownership arises through inheritances (automatically joint ownership), or after division of that inheritance where multiple parties remain owners.
The rules for joint ownership differ depending on the legal relationship. An undivided estate has different rules than an “ordinary” community after division.
If parties do not agree on management, development, or sale or division, there are various possibilities to have the subdistrict court or the court make decisions about it. Temporary situations may arise (for example, temporary exclusive use of the property, possibly against compensation to the other co-owners). And in conflicts about division, the court may weigh assigning the property to one of the parties, against payment of compensation. That compensation can then be determined by the court, often based on appraisal. Disputes can also arise about the appraisal and its basis, because as the saying goes: “value is debatable.” The court can also decide as division to sell the property through an appointed broker or otherwise. This often prevents discussions afterward about the actual value and the division.
An unwilling co-owner can be forced in summary proceedings to cooperate with sale. In the past, courts and courts of appeal judged differently about that possibility/impossibility and gave differing judgments. For that reason, Advocate General Snijders in 2023 demanded cassation “in the interest of the law” of a negative court of appeal judgment from 2018. The Supreme Court took up this challenge and ruled by judgment of March 31, 2023 that ordering cooperation with sale in summary proceedings is possible. However, the judgment in summary proceedings remains a provisional judgment and thus no definitive rulings can be made in summary proceedings about the settlement of the division. But a provisional practical factual division can be pronounced by the summary proceedings judge and that is often sufficient to bring parties to further settlement of the division.
The claims in summary proceedings must be carefully formulated and sufficiently concrete to prevent discussions about execution of the judgment. And attaching a penalty payment to cooperation is practically necessary.
The Real Estate & Government section of De Clercq has extensive experience and knowledge in such conflicts and can advise on this subject and litigate if necessary. For questions, contact Jacco van Lint or Joyleen Verhoek.
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