Forced Sale

What It Means

A forced sale is a contractual provision within a Co-ownership Agreement that requires the sale of a co-owned property when predefined conditions are triggered. Unlike a partition action, which is a court-imposed statutory proceeding, a forced sale operates entirely within the governance framework co-owners establish voluntarily.

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Forced sale clauses typically activate when co-owners cannot resolve a fundamental disagreement through other mechanisms — such as buyout, mediation, or arbitration — or when specific default conditions defined in the agreement occur.

Forced Sale vs. Partition Action

A forced sale and a Partition Action address the same problem — a co-ownership arrangement that needs to end — but through fundamentally different channels.

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Why It Matters for Co-owners

A well-designed forced sale provision serves as a last-resort safety valve. It ensures that when all other dispute resolution and exit mechanisms have been exhausted, co-owners have a structured path to dissolve the arrangement without resorting to litigation.

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Without a forced sale clause, a dissatisfied co-owner's only recourse may be a Partition Action — a statutory proceeding that typically costs $20,000–$100,000+ in legal fees, takes 6–18 months, and often results in a below-market sale price.

Key Points

• A contractual mechanism that triggers the sale of a co-owned property under defined conditions
• Operates within the Co-ownership Agreement, not through the court system
• Functions as a last resort after buyout, mediation, and arbitration options are exhausted
• Distinct from a Partition Action, which is a statutory court proceeding
• Dramatically reduces the risk of costly, adversarial litigation