When co-owners of real property cannot agree on what to do with it — sell, keep, rent, improve — Pennsylvania law provides a mechanism to force a resolution: the partition action.
A partition action is a lawsuit filed in the Court of Common Pleas asking the court to divide or sell co-owned property. Any co-owner can file for partition at any time — you don't need the other owners' consent, and you don't need to show that anyone did anything wrong. The right to partition is near-absolute.
Partition in Kind: Physical division of the property into separate parcels. The court appoints a master or commissioners to determine whether physical division is feasible and equitable. In practice, this is rare for residential properties — you can't split a house in half. More common for large tracts of land.
Partition by Sale: The court orders the property sold and distributes the proceeds among the co-owners according to their ownership interests. This is the most common outcome. The sale can be:
Accounting: Before dividing proceeds, the court conducts an accounting. A co-owner who paid the mortgage, taxes, insurance, or made improvements is entitled to credit. A co-owner who collected rents must account for them. This accounting can be the most contentious part of the case.
Ouster: If one co-owner has been excluded from the property by another, the excluded owner may have a claim for the fair rental value of the property during the period of exclusion.
Liens and encumbrances: The partition court addresses all liens on the property. Proceeds are distributed after satisfying mortgages, tax liens, and judgment liens.
Attorney's fees: The costs of the partition action, including attorney's fees, appraiser fees, and master's fees, are typically charged against the property (i.e., paid from sale proceeds). This means the filing party doesn't bear the entire cost.
If you're a co-owner who wants to sell, filing a partition action often prompts the other owners to negotiate — they now face the prospect of a court-ordered sale on unfavorable terms. Many partition cases settle before trial, with one owner buying out the other at an agreed or appraised price. The lawsuit itself is often the catalyst for resolution.
If you're a co-owner who wants to keep the property, understand that you cannot prevent a partition sale — but you can position yourself to buy the other owner's interest. Get a realistic appraisal and be prepared to make an offer early in the process.
Partition law in Pennsylvania is well-developed and the controlling cases matter — both for what you can recover and how the process unfolds.
Beall v. Hare, 174 A.2d 847 (Pa. 1961) — The classic statement of partition's purpose: allowing joint owners to divest their interests for fair consideration. If you're explaining to a co-owner why you have the right to force a sale, this is the starting point.
Kapcsos v. Benshoff, 194 A.3d 139 (Pa. Super. 2018) (en banc) — Partition is a two-step process. Part 1: the court enters an order directing partition (sale or physical division) and records it. Part 2: the court addresses equitable credits, offsets, and the mechanics of dividing proceeds. If your case is in Bucks County, the court follows this framework.
Sciotto v. Sciotto, 288 A.2d 822 (Pa. 1972) — Fair rental value credit: a co-owner can recover the fair rental value of the property, but only if they were excluded from possession. If both parties had access and one simply chose not to use the property, there's no rental credit. This case draws the critical line between ouster and voluntary non-use.
Bednar v. Bednar, 688 A.2d 1200 (Pa. Super. 1997) — Partition is equitable. Contribution principles and statute of limitations issues in co-tenant credit disputes are governed by equity, not strict legal deadlines. Frequently cited where one co-owner seeks reimbursement for expenses paid years earlier.
Lohr's Estate, 200 A. 135 (Pa. 1938) — Contribution requires that the payment be legally compelled, not voluntary. If you paid the mortgage because you wanted to — not because you were obligated to — the credit analysis changes. Frequently cited in partition credit disputes.
Appeal of Kelsey, 5 A. 447 (Pa. 1886) — Partition is an equitable proceeding with equity-standard appellate review. The trial court has broad discretion, and appellate courts review for abuse of discretion, not de novo.
The Laches Defense
Co-owners who wait years to assert partition or credit claims may face a laches defense. Stilp v. Hafer, 718 A.2d 290 (Pa. 1998) and Sprague v. Casey, 550 A.2d 184 (Pa. 1988) set the standard: the claimant must show lack of due diligence plus resulting prejudice to the defendant. Fulton v. Fulton, 106 A.3d 127 (Pa. Super. 2014) puts it bluntly: "those who sleep on their rights awaken to the consequence that they have disappeared." If you have a partition or co-tenant credit claim, don't sit on it.
Related Sections
For litigation procedure and discovery in partition cases, see our Litigation section — "The Pleadings: How a Lawsuit Starts" and "Discovery: Depositions, Experts & Disputes." For inherited property disputes involving estate administration, see our Orphans' Court section.
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