Licenses
We encounter, grant and enjoy licences on an almost daily basis.
Every time you go to the shop, a postman drops off your post or when (when you’re actually allowed to) you invite a
friend round.
In each of these instances, no change of ownership takes place.
In these instances, rights are more limited and temporary.
So what actually is a licence?
It is a means of enjoying a right or a privilege over land which belongs to another.
A right OVER the land, rather than IN the land.
It is merely a personal right and not proprietary.
(Heads up - Lord Denning had muddled up the waters on this, however this has now been rectified.)
Licenses: Personal Rights
In most instances, a licence is only enforceable between the original parties into the agreement.
Once the land changes ownership, any licences over the land will cease to exist.
Equally, the licensee cannot pass their right onto a third party.
VERY useful to us!
We may exercise permission to be on someone else’s land, without any transfer of ownership.
Offers flexibility and generally speaking, avoids all the formalities
Why licences do not grant you a proprietary interest:
Lord Wilberforce in National Provincial Bank v Ainsworth [1965]:
‘Before a right or interest can be admitted into the category of property, or of a right affecting property, it must be
definable, identifiable by third parties, capable in its nature of assumption by third parties, and have some degree of
permanence or stability.’
Licences lack these qualities, and therefore are only capable of creating personal rights.
Instead, a licence ‘properly passeth no interest, nor alters or transfers property in any thing, but only makes an action
lawful which without it had been unlawful.’ Thomas v Sorrell (1673) Aka – you will not be liable for trespass.
Types of Licenses
1. A bare licence
2. A licence ‘coupled with’ an interest (a grant)
3. Contractual licences
4. Estoppel licences
We encounter, grant and enjoy licences on an almost daily basis.
Every time you go to the shop, a postman drops off your post or when (when you’re actually allowed to) you invite a
friend round.
In each of these instances, no change of ownership takes place.
In these instances, rights are more limited and temporary.
So what actually is a licence?
It is a means of enjoying a right or a privilege over land which belongs to another.
A right OVER the land, rather than IN the land.
It is merely a personal right and not proprietary.
(Heads up - Lord Denning had muddled up the waters on this, however this has now been rectified.)
Licenses: Personal Rights
In most instances, a licence is only enforceable between the original parties into the agreement.
Once the land changes ownership, any licences over the land will cease to exist.
Equally, the licensee cannot pass their right onto a third party.
VERY useful to us!
We may exercise permission to be on someone else’s land, without any transfer of ownership.
Offers flexibility and generally speaking, avoids all the formalities
Why licences do not grant you a proprietary interest:
Lord Wilberforce in National Provincial Bank v Ainsworth [1965]:
‘Before a right or interest can be admitted into the category of property, or of a right affecting property, it must be
definable, identifiable by third parties, capable in its nature of assumption by third parties, and have some degree of
permanence or stability.’
Licences lack these qualities, and therefore are only capable of creating personal rights.
Instead, a licence ‘properly passeth no interest, nor alters or transfers property in any thing, but only makes an action
lawful which without it had been unlawful.’ Thomas v Sorrell (1673) Aka – you will not be liable for trespass.
Types of Licenses
1. A bare licence
2. A licence ‘coupled with’ an interest (a grant)
3. Contractual licences
4. Estoppel licences
