Which act can lead to an ouster in a joint tenancy?

In a joint tenancy, all tenants have equal rights to the possession of the entire property and an undivided interest in it. Ouster occurs when one joint tenant acts in a way that wrongfully excludes another joint tenant from the use or enjoyment of the property. This can create a legal basis for the excluded tenant to seek an ouster.

When one joint tenant wrongfully excludes another, it disrupts the principle of equal rights among joint tenants. For example, if one tenant locks the other out or refuses to allow them access to the property, this constitutes a wrongful act that could be grounds for the excluded tenant to file for partition or seek a court order to regain access or potentially have the tenant who excluded them ousted from the property.

In contrast, other acts such as renting to a third party, making repairs without consent, or agreeing to exclusive possession do not inherently lead to ouster. Renting to a third party may create a leasehold interest, not necessarily affecting the rights of the co-owners unless it leads to an exclusion. Making repairs without consent, while potentially contentious, does not disrupt the possessory rights of the other tenant. Agreeing to exclusive possession could be a mutual arrangement and not an act of exclusion unless one party is