Also known as: partition sales · partition-sale · partition by sale
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judicial remedy ordering the sale of co-owned real property with division of proceeds when a fair physical division among cotenants cannot be made. Physical characteristics of the land or external legal constraints such as zoning rules that render separate parcels unusable can justify the sale instead of partition in kind.
Priya Prasad and Pedro Pacheco hold a rural parcel as tenants in common. Local zoning requires minimum lot sizes that make any physical split unusable for building. The court orders a partition sale so the entire tract can be sold at auction and the proceeds divided according to their ownership shares.
Penelope Price and Perry Pratt hold a lakeside cabin as tenants in common after their life estates merge with remainders into fee simple. Physical division is impracticable due to the parcel's shape. The court orders a partition sale so the tract can be sold at auction and the proceeds divided according to ownership shares.
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A court may order partition by sale when physical division would be unfair or impracticable because of the land's characteristics or legal constraints such as zoning that render separate parcels unusable.
Supporting sources
Yes. Joint tenants holding present possessory fee interests enjoy the same basic power to compel partition by sale as tenants in common. Shared facilities may affect the form of relief but do not eliminate the right.
Supporting sources
Yes. Long-term power purchase agreements or similar encumbrances do not bar a cotenant's right to seek partition by sale. Those facts may influence whether the court chooses sale over physical division but do not extinguish the power.
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Yes. Modern law treats a life-preserved fee tail as having the same practical incidents as a fee simple absolute for partition purposes. Cotenants may therefore seek a judicial sale.
Supporting sources
…appeal, the defendant claims essentially that the trial court’s conclusion that the parties’ interests would best be served by a partition by sale is not supported by the findings of subordinate facts, and that the court improperly considered certain factors in arriving at that conclusion. In addition, the defendant directs a claim of…