A house left equally to three children is the most ordinary bequest there is, and one of the likeliest to split a family. The law does not settle who is right; it sets out who decides, and on what basis.
The house is held on a trust of land
Once a house belongs to more than one person beneficially, it is held on a trust of land, whoever’s names end up on the title. The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 then governs who can live there and whether it is sold, and it gives the court the final say where the family cannot agree.
While the estate is still being administered, the executors hold that position. The Administration of Estates Act gives personal representatives, as respects the real estate, all the functions conferred on trustees of land (Administration of Estates Act 1925, section 39, checked 1 November 2026). That includes the power to sell.
Who has the right to live there
A beneficiary can have a right of occupation, but it is not unconditional. The Act says a beneficiary entitled to an interest in possession in land subject to a trust of land is entitled to occupy it (Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, section 12, checked 1 November 2026).
That right depends on the purposes of the trust including occupation, and on the property being suitable. Where more than one beneficiary is entitled, the trustees can choose between them. The Act lets trustees exclude or restrict the entitlement of any one or more of them, but not all (section 13, checked 1 November 2026). They have to act reasonably in doing so.
Compensation from the sibling who stays
The sibling living in the house is not getting it for free by default. Where the trustees restrict another beneficiary’s right to occupy, the Act lets them impose conditions on the one who stays, including requiring payments by way of compensation to the beneficiary whose entitlement was excluded or restricted (section 13, checked 1 November 2026).
The Act can also require the occupying beneficiary to pay outgoings or expenses on the property. In practice this is the basis for agreeing that the sibling in residence pays the council tax, insurance and upkeep, and a fair sum to the others for having the house to themselves.
Asking the court to decide
When agreement fails, any of you can apply. The Act lets any trustee or any person with an interest in property subject to a trust of land apply to the court, which may make any order relating to the trustees’ functions as it thinks fit (section 14, checked 1 November 2026). That includes ordering a sale, or refusing one.
The court does not automatically side with the majority. The matters it must have regard to include the intentions of the person who created the trust, the purposes for which the property is held, the welfare of any child who occupies it, and the interests of any secured creditor (section 15, checked 1 November 2026). On most other applications, the court also considers the circumstances and wishes of adult beneficiaries entitled to an interest in the property, or of the majority by value where they disagree (section 15(3)). A will that says the house was meant to stay a family home for a named person can weigh heavily.
Buying a sibling out
Buying a sibling out avoids the cost of a court application. There is no special procedure for it: the sibling who wants the house agrees a price with the others, usually by reference to an independent valuation, and the shares are transferred with a solicitor handling the conveyancing and any mortgage.
The practical questions are the ones worth settling early. Agree whose valuation is used, whether the probate value or a fresh one, who pays the costs, and what happens to the running costs in the meantime. A written agreement, even a short one, prevents the second dispute that follows the first.
Mediation comes before court
Court should be the last step, and the rules say so. The Practice Direction on pre-action conduct says parties may negotiate to settle a dispute or use a form of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, with a third party facilitating a resolution (Practice Direction: Pre-Action Conduct, checked 1 November 2026).
The government’s guide to civil mediation lists wills and probate disputes, and land or property disputes, among the kinds of case mediation can resolve (GOV.UK, A guide to civil mediation, checked 1 November 2026). A day with a mediator costs a fraction of a contested sale application, and it leaves the family still speaking.
While the estate is still being dealt with
If probate is not finished, some disputes are really about the executors rather than the house. An executor who is also the sibling in residence has a conflict of interest, and a beneficiary can ask for the estate accounts and press for the administration to move. Our page on when an executor delays covers those steps.
For the tax on a sale, see capital gains on inherited property, and for the house itself, selling or transferring a home after a death.