Malayan Credit Card Ltd v Jack Chia-MPH Ltd [1985] AC 549

Privy Council

Basic Facts: D and C shared business premises with unequal space allocations under a joint tenancy. Dispute arose when C sought equal partition.

Issue for the Court: When are you joint tenants at law?

Held: Appeal allowed; the lease was held in tenancy in common in equity and in unequal shares. The Court upheld the principle that, in the absence of an express agreement in equity, the presumption is that joint tenants at law are to be treated as tenants in common in equity of the beneficial interest.

• Lord Brightman noted that joint tenancy at law implies joint tenancy in equity unless specified otherwise. Differences in contributions or other factors might lead to tenancy in common if equity infers it.