What happens to joint tenancy if one of the conditions is terminated?

In a joint tenancy, co-owners hold equal shares of a property with specific rights of survivorship, which means that if one owner passes away, their share automatically transfers to the remaining co-owners. However, one of the essential conditions of joint tenancy is the unities of time, title, interest, and possession. If any one of these conditions is not met or is otherwise terminated, the joint tenancy can be severed.

When the joint tenancy is severed, it transitions the property into a tenancy in common. In a tenancy in common, each owner has a distinct share of the property that does not include the right of survivorship; if one owner dies, their share does not automatically go to the other owners but can be passed to their heirs instead. This fundamental shift effectively means that the joint tenancy ceases to exist and a different form of ownership takes over—thus, the correct choice reflects the change from joint tenancy to tenancy in common when one of the conditions is terminated.