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Vacation home co-ownership agreement

Sharing a cabin, cottage or lake house with family? Put the ground rules in writing. Make the choices below and this builds a plain-language agreement you can copy, print or share - covering scheduling, expenses, decisions and what happens if someone wants out.

This builds a starting template, not legal advice. Laws vary by state and country - have a lawyer review it before anyone signs, especially for how you hold title (an LLC, a trust, or tenants-in-common) and for tax and inheritance.

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Co-Ownership Agreement - The Lake House

Template only - this is not legal advice. Adapt it with a qualified attorney before signing; property, tax, and inheritance laws vary by location, and choices such as an LLC or trust need professional guidance.

  1. 1. Parties and property

    This Co-Ownership Agreement is made on [effective date] between The Andersons, The Brookes, and The Chens ("the Owners"), concerning the shared vacation property known as The Lake House, located at [property address] ("the Property").

  2. 2. Ownership shares

    The Owners hold the Property in the following shares: - The Andersons: 34% - The Brookes: 33% - The Chens: 33%

  3. 3. Use and scheduling

    Use of the Property is divided into periods (for example, weeks). Each year the Owners choose their periods in a rotating draft order: whoever chooses first this year chooses last the next, so first pick rotates evenly through the group. When there are more periods than Owners, selection continues in additional rounds that reverse order each round. The Owners agree the list of periods before each season and record who holds each period. No Owner may occupy the Property during another Owner's confirmed period without that Owner's consent.

  4. 4. Expenses and contributions

    The Owners share the recurring costs of the Property - such as taxes, insurance, utilities, and routine maintenance - in proportion to their ownership shares. The Owners maintain a reserve fund for repairs and larger expenses, contributing $3,000 / year on a schedule they agree. The fund is held in a joint account and used only for Property expenses. An Owner who does not pay their share within 30 days loses the right to use the Property until the balance is paid; the other Owners may pay it and recover the amount.

  5. 5. Decisions

    Decisions about the Property are made by a majority of ownership shares. Routine matters - minor repairs and scheduling within this Agreement - may be handled by any Owner acting reasonably.

  6. 6. Selling a share

    An Owner who wishes to sell their share must first offer it to the other Owners in writing (a right of first refusal). The other Owners have 30 days to buy the share, in proportion to their existing shares or as they agree. The price of a share is the share's fair market value, determined by a licensed appraiser the Owners choose together. If the other Owners do not buy the share within the period, the selling Owner may sell to a third party on terms no more favorable than those offered to the Owners. No Owner may transfer their share in a way that forces a sale of the whole Property, except as the law requires.

  7. 7. Resolving disputes

    The Owners will first try to resolve any dispute through good-faith discussion. If that fails, they will use mediation, and if mediation does not resolve it, binding arbitration, before going to court.

  8. 8. General

    This Agreement takes effect on [effective date] and continues until the Owners agree to end it or the Property is sold. It may be amended only in writing signed by all Owners, and is governed by the laws of [state / country]. Each Owner confirms they have read and agree to these terms.

Signatures

The Andersons Signature: ______________________ Date: ____________ The Brookes Signature: ______________________ Date: ____________ The Chens Signature: ______________________ Date: ____________

Once it is signed, the calendar is the hard part.

My Shared House puts the schedule you just agreed into a living calendar: everyone requests dates, you approve them, and the family sees one plan they can trust. Free, invite-only.

Why put it in writing

Most disagreements between co-owners are not about the property itself - they are about the day-to-day: who gets the Fourth of July, who paid for the new roof, who left the boat out. A short written agreement, made while everyone is still getting along, keeps those questions from turning into feuds.

Use this as the operating agreement that sits alongside how you hold title. For the scheduling section, the free rotation planner builds the fair year-by-year draft, and the guide to sharing a family vacation home covers the money and upkeep questions in more depth.

Questions families ask

What should a vacation home co-ownership agreement cover?
At minimum: who the owners are and their shares, how time is scheduled, how expenses and a reserve fund are shared, how decisions are made, what happens when someone wants to sell their share, and how disputes are resolved. This builder walks through each of those.
Is this a legally binding contract?
It is a plain-language starting template, not legal advice. It is a strong starting point to bring to a lawyer, who can adapt it to your state or country and to how you hold title - for example as an LLC, a trust, or tenants-in-common.
How do we decide who gets which weeks?
The fairest common method is a rotating draft, where the first pick rotates each year. You can set that here, and build the actual year-by-year schedule with the free rotation planner.
Do we need this if we already own the cabin together?
Yes - most conflict between co-owners is about the day-to-day: scheduling, money and upkeep. Writing down how you will handle those, before there is a disagreement, is what keeps families on good terms.