It is not so much about the disadvantages of joint tenancy itself; it is more about whether a joint tenancy is the right arrangement for you. Joint tenancy comes with something called the right of survivorship. This means the property will automatically pass to the surviving owner(s) when an owner dies. However, this may not be what you or your co-owner want to happen. Since the right of survivorship takes precedence over a will, severance is absolutely necessary if you want to leave your share of the property to someone else such as a child from a previous relationship. Furthermore, if a couple breaks up, the property will remain jointly owned even though one of the owners may no longer live there. This can be problematic, and it may prevent a sale of the property until all the owners agree.