Dear Atty. Peachy,

My mother passed away four years ago, and my siblings and I inherited a parcel of land. To date, the property has not been formally partitioned because we have been unable to agree on how it should be divided among us. Recently, I learned that one of my sisters entered into a long-term lease agreement with a businessman who is now occupying and using a substantial portion of the property. My sister maintains that, as a co-owner, she is entitled to lease the land without consulting the other heirs. She has also been receiving and retaining all of the rental income for herself. The rest of the family neither consented to nor had prior knowledge of the lease. In fact, we only became aware of the arrangement after the tenant had already taken possession of the property.

Under these circumstances, can one co-heir validly lease inherited property without the consent of the other heirs? If so, is that co-heir entitled to retain all of the rental income, or should the rent be shared among the co-heirs?

Noah

Dear Noah,

When inherited property has not yet been divided among the heirs, the heirs generally become co-owners of the property. This means each heir owns a share of the whole property, not a specific part of it. Because of this, one co-owner cannot treat the entire property as if it belongs only to them. While a co-owner may use and help manage the property, they must also respect the rights of the other co-owners. If one co-owner rents out a large portion of the property without informing or obtaining the consent of the other co-owners, legal issues may arise, especially if the arrangement affects the rights of the others. The same applies to rental income. Rent collected from co-owned property generally belongs to all the co-owners according to their respective shares, not solely to the person who collected it.

Your sister's status as a co-heir does not automatically give her the right to keep all the rental income for herself. When one co-owner manages property on behalf of several owners, that person is expected to be transparent and accountable regarding any money received. If the heirs cannot resolve the matter among themselves, they may seek a formal accounting of the rental income and, if necessary, ask the court to partition the property so that each heir's rights and shares are clearly determined.

In short, co-heir cannot treat inherited property as exclusively their own. If the property generates rental income, the other heirs generally have the right to demand an accounting and claim their share of the proceeds.

Atty. Peachy Selda-Gregorio