Exam Notes for Land Law A

01 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LAND LAW

Foundations of land law
1. Legislation
 Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925)
 Land Registration Act 1925 (LRA 1925)
 Law of Property Act 1969 (LPA 1969)
 Land Charges Act 1972 (LCA 1972)
 Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (LP(MP)A 1989)
 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act (TOLATA 1996)
 Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002)

2. Estates & interests
 Estates
 A right which in practical terms resembles ownership (often referred to as “ownership
interests”)
 Types of estates
 Freehold estates: An estate in fee simple absolute in possession
o Fee simple: The freeholder has the right to use & enjoy the land for the
duration of his life & can transfer the land to others either during his
lifetime (as a gift / by sale) / on his death under a will
o Absolute: The freeholder’s rights are neither conditional / liable to be
brought to an end on the occurrence of some event
o In possession: The freeholder enjoys an immediate right to occupy &
enjoy the land
 Leasehold estates: A term of years absolute
o The leaseholder is entitled to use & enjoyment of the land exclusively
for a certain period of time & can transfer / sell (“assign”) the leasehold
to a 3rd party provided the lease’s term has not ended
 Interests
 A number of lesser (limited) rights that do not confer any rights of ownership  Can
be given by estate owners to anyone else (often referred to as “3rd parties interests”)

3. Personal rights & proprietary rights
 Personal rights: Rights in personam
 Personal rights which bind only on the parties that created the rights
 Proprietary rights: Rights in rem
 Property rights capable of binding successors in title  Enforceable against 3rd
parties
 Must be “definable, identifiable by 3rd parties, capable in its nature of assumption by
3rd parties, & have some degree of permanence / stability” (National Provincial Bank v
Ainsworth)

4. Equity & trust
 Equity
 Common law & the law of equity
 Equity: A desire to respond to a specific circumstance based on justice (not by
precedent)
 Where there is a conflict between the 2  Equity prevails
 Equity recognises some rights as in rem  Equitable rights (Tulk v Moxhay; Walsh v
Lonsdale)
 Trust
 Allows for ownership to be split into ownership at law & in equity: One holds the legal
title (trustee); Another holds the equitable title (beneficiary)
 The trustee owes an obligation to the beneficiary in trust

,  Types of trusts
 Express trusts
 Implied trusts (resulting & constructive)

5. Legal rights & equitable rights
 Creation of legal rights
 Must be created by deed & in some cases, must be registered
 Creation of equitable rights
 A right will be equitable if:
 It is a right which is not capable of being legal under LPA 1925 s 1
 There has been an attempt to create a legal right but there has been a failure
of formalities
 There has been an attempt to create a legal right but there has been a failure
to register the right as required
 Requirement for writing (LP(MP)A 1989 s 2; LPA 1925 s 53)  Though not as strict
as a legal right

The 1925 property legislation
6. Policy of the 1925 property legislation
 The simplification of conveyancing  Balance of 3 concerns:
 Facilitation of investigation / acquisition of ownership rights
 Facilitation of investigation of 3rd party interests
 Protection of 3rd party interests

7. Methods of the 1925 property legislation
 Reclassification of estates & interests in land
 Primary outcome: Simplified how to purchase an estate & reduced the risks
 LPA 1925 s 1(1): Reduction of legal estates
 Freehold estates; Leasehold estates
 LPA 1925 s 1(2): Reduction of legal interests
 Easements; Mortgages; Leases
 LPA 1925 s 1(3): All other interests take effect as equitable interests
 LPA 1925 s 2(1): Overreaching
 Detaches the equitable rights & converts them into monetary compensation
for the interest holder
 Provision of machineries for the investigation & protection of estates & interests in land
 Unregistered title conveyancing system
 Pre-existing system of title deeds conveyancing
o No central land register  One must look through all the historical
records to establish who owns the estate now
 Supplemented by the registration of 3rd party incumbrances under LCA 1972
 Residual interests & the “Equity’s Darling” rule
 Registered title conveyancing system (LRA 2002)
 Substantive centralised registration of the fee simple absolute in possession &
certain leases
 Interests affecting the registrable estate are “protected” by entries on the
register: Notices & restrictions
 Interests deemed unsuitable for entries on the register are governed by
provisions in LRA 2002

, 02 UNREGISTERED TITLE CONVEYANCING

8. Investigation of vendor’s title
 Must find out through various historical documents  Paper title deeds
 LPA 1969 s 23: Good “root of title” – 15 years
 LPA 1925 s 52(1): All conveyances relating to an interest in land must be made by deed
 LP(MP)A 1989 s 1: A document takes effect as a deed if it makes clear on its face
that it is intended to be a deed & it is signed & witnessed
 3 stages
 Stage 1: Pre-contractual negotiations
 Stage 2: Exchange of contracts  Estate contract (protected by registration)
 Stage 3: Completion – Formal conveyance of the land by deed

9. Enforceability / Protection of 3rd party rights
 Only proprietary rights are capable of binding a purchaser  Personal rights are not binding
 Legal interests: Universally enforceable irrespective of notice / registration
 Equitable interests: May be binding depending upon the following rules
 (1) Some interests will be subject to the overreaching mechanism
 (2) Interests that have not been overreached might be capable of protection via
registration as an incumbrance under LCA 1972
 (3) Anything not dealt with by overreaching / LCA 1972 is determined by the pre-1925
legislation rules

10. Rule (1): Overreaching
 Interests capable of being overreached
 LPA 1925 s 2(1)(ii): Interests which arise out of a conveyance under a trust
 LPA 1925, s 2(3): List of excepted interests
 Statutory requirements for overreaching the interest
 LPA 1925 s 2(1)(ii): There must be at least 2 trustees of land
 LPA 1925 s 27(2): Money arising from the transaction must be paid to the trustees &
there must be a valid receipt
 Where the requirements are not met: Overreaching cannot operate  The equitable
interests remain attached to the land
 Testing the limits of overreaching: State Bank of India v Sood – Overreaching took place
despite the non-payment of capital monies under the conveyance

11. Rule (2): Registration as an incumbrance (LCA 1972)
 Interests capable of being registered
 LCA 1972 s 2: Defined list of registrable interests
 Effect of registration
 LPA 1925 s 198(1): Shall be deemed to constitute actual notice
 Effect of non-registration
 LCA 1972 s 4: Shall be void as against a purchaser (for money / money’s
worth)
o Precludes marriage as good consideration
 LCA 1972 s 3(1): Registered against the name of the holder of the legal estate & not against
the title itself
 Problems
 Diligent Finance v Alleyne – Land charge not protected where the name
registered was incorrect due to an omission of the middle name
 Oak Co-operative BS v Blackburn – Land charge protected despite being
registered in the wrong name
 Good faith & notice are irrelevant under LCA 1972 (Midland Bank Trust v Green)
 Proprietary estoppel will not operate to correct a lack of registration under LCA 1972 (Lloyds
Bank v Carrick)
 Actual occupation is irrelevant in unregistered land (Lloyds Bank v Carrick)