There are many situations in which in which an asset may be divided amongst a number of different owners in order to split the costs of ownership of an asset because a benefit from the asset cannot be fully realized by an owner individually. We have a number of documents available which can assist with the fractional or shared ownership arrangements you may wish to enter into.
In business, fractional ownership is a percentage share of an expensive asset. Shares are sold to individual owners. A fractional owner enjoys priorities and privileges, such as reduced rates, priority access on holidays and income sharing. Typically, a company manages the asset on behalf of the owners, who pay monthly/annual fees for the management plus variable (e.g. per-hour, per-day) use fees. For rapidly-depreciating assets, the management company may sell the asset and distribute the proceeds back to the owners, who can then claim a capital loss and optionally purchase a fraction of a new asset.
Whether fractional ownership provides a financial advantage over renting is an on-going debate, and some countries and regions have tax laws that provide additional benefits for owners, such as capital-loss allowances, while others might penalize ownership over renting. Equity sharing, also known as shared ownership or in the US as housing equity partnership (HEP), allows a person to purchase a share in their home even if they cannot afford a mortgage on the whole of the current value. It is generally used in affordable housing, providing a “third way” of land tenure between home ownership and renting.
There are various detailed methods to implement equity sharing, and it is implemented in over a hundred community land trusts in the United States. The remaining equity share may be held by the housebuilder or by a landlord such as a housing association. In some models the resident pays rent on that share.