Forcing a Sale When a Joint Property Owner Refuses to Sell
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed December 14, 2025
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
Joint owners, one wont sell, the other wants to….
Attorney Answer
A co-owner who refuses to sell does not get the final say — Utah law lets any joint tenant or tenant in common bring a partition action asking the court to divide the property or, where dividing it would seriously harm the owners, to order it sold.
When co-owners cannot agree what to do with shared real property, any of them may bring an action to partition it for the benefit of each owner. The court's default is to divide the property itself according to the parties' respective rights, appointing three referees to carry that out. Only where the court determines the property cannot be partitioned without great prejudice to the owners will it order a sale instead, with the proceeds distributed according to the ownership interests.
For most residential property, physically dividing the land is not practical, which is why partition cases involving a house commonly end in a court-ordered sale rather than a literal split. That outcome is not automatic, though — it depends on the property and on the court's assessment of whether an in-kind division would work.
Reimbursement for money one owner has put into the property — mortgage payments, taxes, repairs, improvements — is a separate question from the partition statutes themselves. Do not assume it is resolved automatically as part of the partition; it has to be raised and supported on its own.
What you can do 1. Confirm exactly how title is held — joint tenancy or tenancy in common — and each owner's percentage interest. 2. Make a written buyout offer or attempt a formal negotiation before filing, since litigation costs come out of what is ultimately divided. 3. Gather records of everything you have paid toward the property, in case contribution or reimbursement becomes an issue. 4. If negotiation fails, talk to a Utah real property attorney about filing a partition action. 5. Plan for the process to take time, since referee appointment and, if ordered, a sale process add steps beyond the initial filing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can a co-owner be forced to sell Utah real property they do not want to sell?
Effectively yes, through a partition action. Any joint tenant or tenant in common may ask a court to partition the property, and where it cannot be divided without great prejudice to the owners, the court may order it sold over another co-owner's objection.
Does a Utah court prefer to divide property in kind or order it sold in a partition case?
The statutory default is division in kind according to the parties' respective rights, carried out by three court-appointed referees. Sale is the alternative, available where the court determines the property cannot be partitioned without great prejudice to the owners — which is a common finding for a single residential parcel but is not automatic.
Who bears the cost of a partition action in Utah?
Costs such as referee fees and litigation expenses are typically allocated by the court or come out of the process itself, and outcomes vary by case. That expense is one reason many co-owners try to negotiate a buyout or a voluntary sale before filing.
