In joint tenancy, what does “undivided interest” mean?

In the context of joint tenancy, "undivided interest" means that each co-owner has equal rights to the entire property rather than to a specific portion of it. This is a fundamental characteristic of joint tenancy, where all owners, known as joint tenants, share the property equally. Each joint tenant has an equal claim to the use and enjoyment of the whole property, irrespective of the actual physical division of that property.

This concept is crucial because it distinguishes joint tenancy from other forms of ownership, such as tenancies in common, where owners can have distinct and divisible shares of the property. In a joint tenancy, if one owner wants to sell their interest, it does not change the nature of the ownership; it would typically sever the joint tenancy and turn it into a tenancy in common. The right of survivorship, which allows the surviving joint tenants to inherit a deceased tenant's share, further emphasizes the nature of undivided interests in joint tenancy. Thus, the definition of undivided interest in this scenario inherently supports the concept of equal rights to the entire property for all co-owners.