How does joint tenancy with right of survivorship work in New Hampshire?

In New Hampshire, a deed or devise of real estate to two or more people creates an estate in common, not a joint tenancy, unless it says the grantees hold as joint tenants or to them and the survivor of them, or other words clearly express an intent to create a joint tenancy. Adding the words "as joint tenants with rights of survivorship" or "as tenants by the entirety" after the grantees’ names in the granting clause is a clear expression of intent to create a joint tenancy. The statute treats tenancy by the entirety wording as creating a joint tenancy and sets no separate rule for married couples. The words in the deed decide which kind of ownership was created, so read the deed itself. This is RSA 477:18.

WhatNew Hampshire
A deed to two or more peopleTenancy in common unless the deed says otherwise
What it meansTenancy in common unless the deed declares survivorship

Source

RSA 477:18

Read the statute in the New Hampshire Revised Statutes (General Court of New Hampshire): gencourt.state.nh.us.

Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

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An owner on Seayora keeps each property’s owners of record, its entity and its documents in one place, so who holds title and how is on file beside the leases and the books.

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