Final answer:
The main difference between joint tenancy and tenancy by the entirety is that tenancy by the entirety is only available to married couples and provides additional protections, including requiring the consent of both spouses for transfers, unlike joint tenancy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The key difference between joint tenancy and tenancy by the entirety lies in the marital status of the owners and the rights each ownership type provides regarding the disposal of the property.
Joint tenancy is a form of ownership in which two or more people hold equal ownership interests in a property, with an important feature known as the right of survivorship. This means that when one owner dies, their interest automatically passes to the surviving owner(s) without the need for probate.
On the other hand, tenancy by the entirety is a type of joint ownership that is only available to married couples.
One of the distinctive characteristics of tenancy by the entirety is that it usually includes a right of survivorship similar to joint tenancy, but it also offers additional protection against creditors and requires both spouses to agree to any transfer or encumbrance of the property.
This makes it more difficult for one spouse to sell or transfer an interest in the property without the consent of the other spouse.