Most co-ownership arrangements start with a conversation and a handshake. That works right up until something changes — someone wants to sell, a roof needs replacing, or two families want the same week in July.
A written co-ownership agreement is what turns good intentions into something everyone can point at. Below is a complete template you can copy, adapt and sign.
Before you start
Fill this in together, not alone. The value of the document is in the conversation it forces, not the paper it produces. Two hours around a kitchen table now saves years of ambiguity later.
Also: this template is a practical starting point, not legal advice. Property law differs by country and by ownership form. Have a lawyer review the final version before signing, especially where the agreement touches inheritance, tax or forced sale.
The co-ownership agreement template
Copy everything below into a document and fill in the bracketed parts — or download the template as a Word document and edit it directly.
1. Parties and property
This agreement is made between [full names and contact details of all owners] regarding [description and address of the property].
Ownership shares are:
| Owner | Share | Date acquired |
|---|---|---|
| [Name] | [%] | [Date] |
| [Name] | [%] | [Date] |
Shares determine each owner's portion of costs and proceeds unless stated otherwise in this agreement.
2. Purpose and use
The property is owned for [private recreational use / mixed private and rental use / other]. Commercial letting to third parties requires [unanimous / majority] approval.
3. Booking and access
- Bookings are made in [shared calendar / system], first come first served, except as noted below.
- Peak periods ([list them — e.g. weeks 26–32, Christmas, Easter]) are allocated by [rotation / draw], recorded each year in [month].
- An owner may bring guests without separate approval. Guests are the responsibility of the owner who booked.
- A booking may be cancelled up to [X] days before start without consequence. After that, [rule].
- Unused time may be swapped or given to another owner by mutual agreement.
4. Costs
Fixed costs — insurance, property tax, loan interest, connection fees, planned maintenance — are shared in proportion to ownership shares.
Variable costs — electricity, water, consumables, cleaning — are shared by [ownership share / nights used / other].
Costs are logged in [shared system]. Settlement happens [monthly / quarterly] and is due within [X] days.
5. Maintenance and improvements
- Ordinary maintenance up to [amount] may be arranged by any owner without prior approval and is shared as a fixed cost.
- Expenditure above [amount] requires [majority / unanimous] approval in advance.
- Improvements requested by a single owner and not approved by the others may be carried out at that owner's own expense, subject to [approval requirement], and do not create a claim for compensation on sale unless agreed in writing.
- Each owner is responsible for [assigned tasks], reviewed annually.
6. Decision-making
- Day-to-day decisions: any owner.
- Decisions above [amount] or affecting shared rules: [simple majority by share / unanimous].
- Sale of the property, taking new loans, or changing this agreement: unanimous.
- Owners meet at least [once] per year to review costs, maintenance and the coming year's bookings.
7. Selling a share
- An owner intending to sell shall notify the others in writing.
- The remaining owners have a right of first refusal for [30 / 60 / 90] days, exercisable in proportion to their shares.
- The price is [an independently appraised market value / the price offered by a bona fide third party / a formula].
- If no owner exercises the right, the share may be sold externally on terms no more favourable than those offered internally.
8. Death, divorce and transfer
- On the death of an owner, the share passes to [their estate / heirs], who assume the obligations of this agreement.
- The remaining owners have a right to purchase the share within [X] months at [valuation method].
- Transfer of a share to a spouse, partner or child requires [notification / approval].
9. Default
If an owner fails to pay their share of costs, the others may [pay on their behalf and recover with interest at X% / other remedy]. Continued default for more than [X] months entitles the remaining owners to [remedy].
10. Disputes
Owners shall first attempt to resolve disputes in a meeting. Failing that, [mediation / arbitration / the courts of X] shall apply. This agreement is governed by the law of [country].
11. Duration and amendment
This agreement takes effect on signature and continues until the property is sold or all owners agree to terminate it. Amendments must be in writing and signed by all owners.
Signed: [names, dates, signatures]
After signing
An agreement that lives in a drawer stops being useful within a year. The parts that matter day to day — bookings, costs, tasks, decisions — need somewhere visible to live.
That is what HavenShare is for: one calendar everyone can see, one place costs are logged and split, tasks with owners and dates, and decisions recorded when they are made. The agreement defines the rules; the app is where you follow them.