LAND NOTES
Unit 1: Third party rights and interests and fixtures chattel
What is Land? - Possession of land ‘extends upwards to infinity and downwards to the
centre of the earth’ – case law curtailed the first part of this rule
(Bernstein of Leigh (Baron) v Skyviews & General Ltd [1977]
- Bernstein of Leigh (Baron) v Skyviews & General Ltd- the landowner’s
claim to airspace should be restricted to such height as is necessary for
him to enjoy in an ordinary way the land that he owns and the structures
that are placed upon it
- Chattel- movable property
Two tests to identify a fixture (Scarman LJ in Berkley v Poulett [1977]:
- Method and degree of annexation
- The object and purpose of the annexation (more important test)
Two main exceptions to rule that you cannot remove fixtures:
- Person selling land can provide provision in contract for sale that gives
right to remove fixtures
- Person who affixed the object is a tenant- tenant can remove ‘tenant
fixtures’ (trade, agricultural or ornamental fixtures)
- D’Eyncourt v Gregory [1866]- freestanding items considered to be
fixtures as they were part of the architectural design
- Leigh v Taylor- tapestries never lost their character as chattels
- Elitestone Ltd v Morris and another [1997]- A house that is constructed
to be removable as a unit or in sections may as well remain a chattel
- Botham v TSB Bank plc (1997)- fitted carpets and curtains are not
fixtures. Light fittings and gas pipes connected to the building by gas pipe
only are chattels, fitted kitchen units are fixtures but goods manufactured
to standard sizes and fitted into standard sized holes are held to be
chattels
Concepts of - The Doctrine of Tenure- concerns the way land is haled- from whom and
ownership on what terms (tenants paying rent, leases)
- The Concept of Estate- an estate is a period of time, capable of division.
Can create a lesser estate or shorter period of time
- Law of Property Act 1925- only two estates in land which are recognised
by law today
Estates in Land
- Section 1(1)(a) of the Law Property Act 1925- recognises that an estate
in fee simple absolute in possession is capable of existing at law (the
‘freehold estate’)
- Section 1(1)(b) of the LPA 1925- identifies a term of years absolute as the
other type of estate that is capable of existing at law (the ‘leasehold
estate’)- inferior to freehold estate as it is of limited duration
- To qualify as a leasehold- the tenant must have exclusive possession of
the property for a fixed and certain duration
- S 205 (1)(xxvii) of the LPA 1925- defines the expression ‘term of years’ as
including a term for less than a year, or for a year or years, and a fraction
of a year or from year to year’
Legal ownership and equitable ownership
- Equitable rules prevail over common rules
, - Two types of ownership- legal (common law) and equitable (equity)
Third Party - Interest acquired by non-owners- ‘third party interest’ (legal or equitable)
Rights and - Legal interest I s1(2) of the LPA 1925- easement and a charge by way of
Interests over legal mortgage
Land - An easement, right or privilege in or over land for an interest equivalent
to an estate in fee simple absolute in possession or a term of years
absolute
- An easement is a right that is attached to one piece of land and imposes
a corresponding burden on an another piece of land
- A charge by way of legal mortgage- a mortgage is an interest in land
given as security for a loan
Easements
- Any interest not within s 1(2) is only capable or taking effect as an
equitable interest (s 1(3))
Equitable Interests
- If an estate or interest in land does not fall within the lists in s (1) or (2) of
the LPA 1925- can only take effect in equity (LPA 1925, s 1(3)
- Two types- rights of beneficiary under a trust and equitable interests in
land where no trust is involved
Equitable interest where no trust is involved
- Restrictive covenant- promises made by one party (‘the covenantor’) in
favour of the other party (‘the covenantee’) that the covenantor will not
use his land in a particular way , often created on part of sale
- Estate contract- a contract to create or convey a legal estate in the land-
buyer under the contract has an equitable interest in the land
- Certain formalities must be met to create an estate contract
- There’s a distinction between the formalities required to create an
equitable interest and creation of an estate contract
Statute
- S 30 of the Family Law Act 1996- gives non-owning spouse third party
rights if they are legally married and the home is or has been intended to
be the matrimonial home, extends to same-sex couples, the right is
independent and in addition to any other equitable interest they may
have
Licences
- License- gives them permission to do something that they are not
otherwise authorised to do
- A license does not create any proprietary interest in land (Vaughan CJ in
Thomas v Sorrell (1673)
- Bare licence- a licence granted for no consideration, can be revoked
- Contractual license- supported by consideration, damages for breach or
injunction through equity
Formalities for - A deed is required to create legal estates and interests in land (s 52),
the Creation otherwise the transaction will be void
of Estates and Exceptions
Interests - The parol lease exception (s 52(2)(d); s 54(2))- when the transaction
involves the grant of a lease for a term not exceeding three years, the
lease can be granted without a deed and orally
- Conditions- lease must take effect immediately and must be granted at
the best rent which can be reasonably obtained without taking a fine
- There should be no fine or premium
, - To be valid a deed must be clear it is a deed and signed, witnessed and
delivered (apply to deeds made on or after 31 July 1990), delivery does
not have to be physical
- Disposition of an estate or interest in land- sale, gift, other disposal of an
existing estate or interest
- If the title is unregistered, the deed transferring ownership is called a
‘conveyance’. Registered- ‘a transfer’
- Registered- legal title does not pass until his name is entered as the new
proprietor of the land
Equitable interests under trusts
- Express trusts over land must satisfy s 53(1)(b) of the LPA 1925-
declaration of trust must be evidence in writing and must be signed
- Implied trusts- comes into existence without the need for formalities (s
53(2) of the 1925 Act)
Estate contracts
- Formalities for land contracts entered into on or after 27 September 1989
are governed by s 2 of the LPA (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989
- S 2(5)(b)- contract for a sale of land made at a public auction does not
need to be in writing
- S 2(5)(a)- an agreement to grant a short lease falling within s 54(2) of the
LPA 1925 does not need to be in writing
Other equitable interest
- Minimum formality requirement where no trust is involved (other than
estate contracts) is the interest be created by signed writing (LPA 1925 s
53(1)(a))
- Easement granted for an uncertain period- not capable of being legal
under s1(2)(a) of the LPA 1925, can only be equitable, formalities
required to create an equitable easement- in writing, signed by person
creating it (LPA 1925, s 53(1)(a)
- Restrictive covenant- can only be equitable, usually contained in deed as
part of that sale transaction, formalities- signed writing (LPA 1925, S
53(1)(a), a deed is not required to create a valid equitable interest but a
valid deed will automatically comply with the requirement of signed
writing- a restrictive covenant contained in a deed is a valid equitable
intertest
Disposition of equitable interests
- Any sale, gift or other disposition of an equitable interest must be in
writing and signed by the parties to the document (LPA 1925, s 53(1))c)
Introduction - Two stages in a conveyancing transaction- lead up to exchange of
to the contracts and completion, takes place a few weeks after
Conveyancing - After exchange of contracts, the seller still has the legal title to the land
of Land but must not sell it to anyone else
- Between contract and completion, the buyer has an equitable interest in
the property (estate contract)
- Conveyance/transfer- to transfer the title to a legal estate or interest in
land, the parties must execute a deed (LPA 1925, s 52)
- On completion the legal title to the property is transferred to the
purchaser using a conveyance or transfer
- Day on which the conveyance or deed is completed is the day when the
balance of the purchase money is paid over and the parties actually
, move
- New owner must be registered at Land Registry
Unit 2 enforceability of third party interests:
Overview of the - Became codified by the Law of Property Act 1925 and the registered
unregistered system was introduced by the Land Registration Act 1925
system
Unregistered Two stages to the conveyancing transaction
Conveyancing - Stage one leads up to the exchange of contracts- buyer buys equitable
interest in land
- Stage 2 is completion- parties execute a deed to transfer legal
ownership of the land
- If title is unregistered- buyer becomes legal owner of the land at the
date of the conveyance
- Conveyance of an unregistered title triggers an obligation to register the
title
- Unregistered title- produce docs to show that they and their
predecessors in title have been entitled to possession of the land for a
given number of years
- Conveyance- deed used to transfer ownership of land from sellers to
buyers
- Show bundle of deeds- tell who has right to possession of the land and
things they have done with it
Proof of Ownership of Title
- LPA 1925- seller only needs to produce title deeds proving ownership
over the land for the last 15 years leading to the conveyance to the
seller
- Conveyances can be used to find out about third party rights
Disadvantages of the Unregistered System
- Forged title deeds
- May not include docs that record transactions buyers may need to
know about
- No two unregistered titles look the same
- Buyers have to read old conveyances to establish ownership- time-
consuming and repetitive
- Expensive as most will hire a solicitor to do this
- Problems if the bundles of conveyances are lost, destroyed or stolen
Enforceability - Proprietary interest- bind someone who owns the land but was not a
of Third PartY party to creating the proprietary interest
Rights in the - Generally need to consider the statutory rules in the Land Charges Act
Unregistered 1972, however does not apply to every third party interest
system - If the interest falls outside the Land Charges Act 1972, must apply the
rules which operated before the Land Charges Act 1925 came into force
Unit 1: Third party rights and interests and fixtures chattel
What is Land? - Possession of land ‘extends upwards to infinity and downwards to the
centre of the earth’ – case law curtailed the first part of this rule
(Bernstein of Leigh (Baron) v Skyviews & General Ltd [1977]
- Bernstein of Leigh (Baron) v Skyviews & General Ltd- the landowner’s
claim to airspace should be restricted to such height as is necessary for
him to enjoy in an ordinary way the land that he owns and the structures
that are placed upon it
- Chattel- movable property
Two tests to identify a fixture (Scarman LJ in Berkley v Poulett [1977]:
- Method and degree of annexation
- The object and purpose of the annexation (more important test)
Two main exceptions to rule that you cannot remove fixtures:
- Person selling land can provide provision in contract for sale that gives
right to remove fixtures
- Person who affixed the object is a tenant- tenant can remove ‘tenant
fixtures’ (trade, agricultural or ornamental fixtures)
- D’Eyncourt v Gregory [1866]- freestanding items considered to be
fixtures as they were part of the architectural design
- Leigh v Taylor- tapestries never lost their character as chattels
- Elitestone Ltd v Morris and another [1997]- A house that is constructed
to be removable as a unit or in sections may as well remain a chattel
- Botham v TSB Bank plc (1997)- fitted carpets and curtains are not
fixtures. Light fittings and gas pipes connected to the building by gas pipe
only are chattels, fitted kitchen units are fixtures but goods manufactured
to standard sizes and fitted into standard sized holes are held to be
chattels
Concepts of - The Doctrine of Tenure- concerns the way land is haled- from whom and
ownership on what terms (tenants paying rent, leases)
- The Concept of Estate- an estate is a period of time, capable of division.
Can create a lesser estate or shorter period of time
- Law of Property Act 1925- only two estates in land which are recognised
by law today
Estates in Land
- Section 1(1)(a) of the Law Property Act 1925- recognises that an estate
in fee simple absolute in possession is capable of existing at law (the
‘freehold estate’)
- Section 1(1)(b) of the LPA 1925- identifies a term of years absolute as the
other type of estate that is capable of existing at law (the ‘leasehold
estate’)- inferior to freehold estate as it is of limited duration
- To qualify as a leasehold- the tenant must have exclusive possession of
the property for a fixed and certain duration
- S 205 (1)(xxvii) of the LPA 1925- defines the expression ‘term of years’ as
including a term for less than a year, or for a year or years, and a fraction
of a year or from year to year’
Legal ownership and equitable ownership
- Equitable rules prevail over common rules
, - Two types of ownership- legal (common law) and equitable (equity)
Third Party - Interest acquired by non-owners- ‘third party interest’ (legal or equitable)
Rights and - Legal interest I s1(2) of the LPA 1925- easement and a charge by way of
Interests over legal mortgage
Land - An easement, right or privilege in or over land for an interest equivalent
to an estate in fee simple absolute in possession or a term of years
absolute
- An easement is a right that is attached to one piece of land and imposes
a corresponding burden on an another piece of land
- A charge by way of legal mortgage- a mortgage is an interest in land
given as security for a loan
Easements
- Any interest not within s 1(2) is only capable or taking effect as an
equitable interest (s 1(3))
Equitable Interests
- If an estate or interest in land does not fall within the lists in s (1) or (2) of
the LPA 1925- can only take effect in equity (LPA 1925, s 1(3)
- Two types- rights of beneficiary under a trust and equitable interests in
land where no trust is involved
Equitable interest where no trust is involved
- Restrictive covenant- promises made by one party (‘the covenantor’) in
favour of the other party (‘the covenantee’) that the covenantor will not
use his land in a particular way , often created on part of sale
- Estate contract- a contract to create or convey a legal estate in the land-
buyer under the contract has an equitable interest in the land
- Certain formalities must be met to create an estate contract
- There’s a distinction between the formalities required to create an
equitable interest and creation of an estate contract
Statute
- S 30 of the Family Law Act 1996- gives non-owning spouse third party
rights if they are legally married and the home is or has been intended to
be the matrimonial home, extends to same-sex couples, the right is
independent and in addition to any other equitable interest they may
have
Licences
- License- gives them permission to do something that they are not
otherwise authorised to do
- A license does not create any proprietary interest in land (Vaughan CJ in
Thomas v Sorrell (1673)
- Bare licence- a licence granted for no consideration, can be revoked
- Contractual license- supported by consideration, damages for breach or
injunction through equity
Formalities for - A deed is required to create legal estates and interests in land (s 52),
the Creation otherwise the transaction will be void
of Estates and Exceptions
Interests - The parol lease exception (s 52(2)(d); s 54(2))- when the transaction
involves the grant of a lease for a term not exceeding three years, the
lease can be granted without a deed and orally
- Conditions- lease must take effect immediately and must be granted at
the best rent which can be reasonably obtained without taking a fine
- There should be no fine or premium
, - To be valid a deed must be clear it is a deed and signed, witnessed and
delivered (apply to deeds made on or after 31 July 1990), delivery does
not have to be physical
- Disposition of an estate or interest in land- sale, gift, other disposal of an
existing estate or interest
- If the title is unregistered, the deed transferring ownership is called a
‘conveyance’. Registered- ‘a transfer’
- Registered- legal title does not pass until his name is entered as the new
proprietor of the land
Equitable interests under trusts
- Express trusts over land must satisfy s 53(1)(b) of the LPA 1925-
declaration of trust must be evidence in writing and must be signed
- Implied trusts- comes into existence without the need for formalities (s
53(2) of the 1925 Act)
Estate contracts
- Formalities for land contracts entered into on or after 27 September 1989
are governed by s 2 of the LPA (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989
- S 2(5)(b)- contract for a sale of land made at a public auction does not
need to be in writing
- S 2(5)(a)- an agreement to grant a short lease falling within s 54(2) of the
LPA 1925 does not need to be in writing
Other equitable interest
- Minimum formality requirement where no trust is involved (other than
estate contracts) is the interest be created by signed writing (LPA 1925 s
53(1)(a))
- Easement granted for an uncertain period- not capable of being legal
under s1(2)(a) of the LPA 1925, can only be equitable, formalities
required to create an equitable easement- in writing, signed by person
creating it (LPA 1925, s 53(1)(a)
- Restrictive covenant- can only be equitable, usually contained in deed as
part of that sale transaction, formalities- signed writing (LPA 1925, S
53(1)(a), a deed is not required to create a valid equitable interest but a
valid deed will automatically comply with the requirement of signed
writing- a restrictive covenant contained in a deed is a valid equitable
intertest
Disposition of equitable interests
- Any sale, gift or other disposition of an equitable interest must be in
writing and signed by the parties to the document (LPA 1925, s 53(1))c)
Introduction - Two stages in a conveyancing transaction- lead up to exchange of
to the contracts and completion, takes place a few weeks after
Conveyancing - After exchange of contracts, the seller still has the legal title to the land
of Land but must not sell it to anyone else
- Between contract and completion, the buyer has an equitable interest in
the property (estate contract)
- Conveyance/transfer- to transfer the title to a legal estate or interest in
land, the parties must execute a deed (LPA 1925, s 52)
- On completion the legal title to the property is transferred to the
purchaser using a conveyance or transfer
- Day on which the conveyance or deed is completed is the day when the
balance of the purchase money is paid over and the parties actually
, move
- New owner must be registered at Land Registry
Unit 2 enforceability of third party interests:
Overview of the - Became codified by the Law of Property Act 1925 and the registered
unregistered system was introduced by the Land Registration Act 1925
system
Unregistered Two stages to the conveyancing transaction
Conveyancing - Stage one leads up to the exchange of contracts- buyer buys equitable
interest in land
- Stage 2 is completion- parties execute a deed to transfer legal
ownership of the land
- If title is unregistered- buyer becomes legal owner of the land at the
date of the conveyance
- Conveyance of an unregistered title triggers an obligation to register the
title
- Unregistered title- produce docs to show that they and their
predecessors in title have been entitled to possession of the land for a
given number of years
- Conveyance- deed used to transfer ownership of land from sellers to
buyers
- Show bundle of deeds- tell who has right to possession of the land and
things they have done with it
Proof of Ownership of Title
- LPA 1925- seller only needs to produce title deeds proving ownership
over the land for the last 15 years leading to the conveyance to the
seller
- Conveyances can be used to find out about third party rights
Disadvantages of the Unregistered System
- Forged title deeds
- May not include docs that record transactions buyers may need to
know about
- No two unregistered titles look the same
- Buyers have to read old conveyances to establish ownership- time-
consuming and repetitive
- Expensive as most will hire a solicitor to do this
- Problems if the bundles of conveyances are lost, destroyed or stolen
Enforceability - Proprietary interest- bind someone who owns the land but was not a
of Third PartY party to creating the proprietary interest
Rights in the - Generally need to consider the statutory rules in the Land Charges Act
Unregistered 1972, however does not apply to every third party interest
system - If the interest falls outside the Land Charges Act 1972, must apply the
rules which operated before the Land Charges Act 1925 came into force
