introduction
to land law
In society, the ownership of land has a special place owing to land’s permanence in an otherwise
uncertain world and its high economic and social value throughout the history of mankind.
• Land is a uniquely fixed resource
• It can neither be consumed nor produced, moved nor physically lost.
• Land is everywhere – we rely on land to live, work and sustain ourselves
• A piece of land is often the most valuable asset an individual will buy.
English law draws a distinction between:
• the rules that apply to land (real property)
• the rules that apply to every other type of property eg cars, books, televisions, copyright, shares
(personal property)
History of land ownership
• Land law as we know it has evolved from the Norman Conquest in 1066, which introduced the rule
that all land in England and Wales belongs to the Crown as sovereign. This rule is still valid today.
• This means that, when we use everyday language and say that we ‘own’ a piece of land today,
we are technically incorrect.
• What we own is a right in the land, one of the most powerful being the right to possess and
use the land.
• The focus of land law is therefore the rights that exist over land, rather than the physical
land itself.
Legislation
• Land law was radically overhauled by a statute called the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA).
• This is the reason that the majority of land law has its roots in statute rather than case law.
• The LPA 1925 is the real foundation of modern land law.
• The Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA), governs the system of land registration –
a national record of land ownership in England and Wales.
• The national record of land ownership is managed by HM Land Registry – a gov department.
, Proprietary rights
in land
Rights in land
• Land law is the study of rights in the land rather than the physical land itself.
• A right which relates to the land can either be proprietary or personal in nature.
The distinction between proprietary and personal rights is important because:
• the remedy available to someone who is deprived of their right; and
• the enforceability of it against third parties.
A third party in the context of land law is a new owner of the land burdened by the right.
Proprietary Rights
• A proprietary right in land can be enforced by an action in rem.
• Means use or possession of the land can be recovered.
• The holder of the right does not have to settle for damages if they are deprived of their right.
• Also capable of being enforced against a third party.
Personal Rights
• Can only be enforced by a personal action for damages if the right is breached.
• Use (or occupation) of the right cannot be recovered.
• Personal rights will bind only the original parties to the right, there can be no recourse
against a third party.
Whether a disputed right is capable of being recovered and enforced against a new owner
of the burdened land will depend upon determining this point.
How do you tell whether a right exercised over land
is a proprietary one or not?
• There is a fixed list of the rights which are capable of being proprietary.
• This list is not written definitively but there are a number of statutory sections and case law
judgments which together inform us of the rights that have proprietary status.
• Some rights over the land will never be proprietary in nature; they will only operate as
a personal permission.
Example: a postal worker crossing your land to deliver post will never have a proprietary right in
your land, nor are they a trespasser. The postal worker has a licence (a personal right) to cross
your land for the purpose of delivering the post.
,Rights that have proprietary status:
The rights that are on the ‘fixed list’ of right that have proprietary status are:
• The freehold estate
• The leasehold estate
• An easement
• A mortgage
• A restrictive covenant
• An estate contract
• A beneficial interest in a trust of land
The holder of a proprietary right in the land will have a right to occupy or use or restrict what can
be done on the land is some way.
Is a right proprietary or personal?
Just because a particular use of land has been recognised as having proprietary status it does
not mean that the actual right under consideration will have proprietary status.
Land law is all about looking at the nature, creation and protection of rights in land to determine
if they are proprietary or personal.
Example: a right to park a car in a neighbour’s garage may be an easement, which is a right
that has proprietary status.
• However, the ability to park a car in a neighbour’s garage is not always going to be an easement.
• The same use could be either proprietary or personal, depending upon the circumstances in
which it has arisen.
• Even if the use in question has been recognised as proprietary whether it is in fact proprietary
will depend upon other factors.
Nature of a right
For a right to have proprietary status it must also satisfy certain substantive characteristics.
These substantive characteristics differ depending upon the right in question.
Example: A right to park in a neighbour’s garage could be an easement, but if the neighbour is
locked out of the garage and unable to use it, then it will not be an easement as this is not tolerated
within the definition of an easement.
The creation of a right
Substantive characteristics alone may be enough to work out whether the right in question is
proprietary although usually we will have to look further and examine the issue of formalities.
• Most proprietary rights in land are subject to strict requirements as to the formalities (rules for
how they must be acquired (eg by deed) for their acquisition/creation.
• Compliance with formalities may ultimately determine whether the right is proprietary or not.
, How do you find out if a piece of land is subject
to a proprietary right?
An obvious characteristic of proprietary rights is their invisibility – you cannot see a mortgage or an
easement or a lease when you look at a piece of land.
• In order to minimise the risk to a purchaser, whilst protecting the rights of those holding a
proprietary right in the land, systems have been developed so proprietary rights in land
must be made apparent by registration if they are to bind a purchaser of subsequent
rights in the same land.
Determining the status of a right in land:
• Fixed list: is it on the list of recognised proprietary rights in land?
• Nature of a right: does it satisfy any substantive characteristics for the particular
proprietary right?
• Creation of a right: Has it been created/acquired in accordance with the formalities
for the particular right (if any)?
• Protection of a right: if a right is proprietary, you then need to ask if it is enforceable against
a third party (ie a new owner of the burdened land.)
A proprietary right: example
• A person has a right of way over their neighbour’s back yard.
• This right of way could be an easement, which is a recognised proprietary right in the land –
it is on the fixed list of rights recognised as having proprietary status.
• Whether the right of way will be an easement depends on whether the right in question
satisfies the substantive requirements of an easement.
• It will have had to be created using the correct formalities in order to have proprietary status.
• If the right of way is an easement, then the person will be able to recover use of the right of way
if their neighbour blocked the right of way so to prevent the person from using it, they would not
have to settle for damages as compensation for loss of a right.
In addition, if the right of way is an easement, the person would be able to enforce the right of way
against any new owner of their neighbour’s back yard providing the easement is registered at the
Land Registry.
A personal right: example
• A person owns a house by the sea.
• From this house, the owner runs a guesthouse and people pay to stay in one of the bedrooms.
• The owner is granting their guests a licence to stay, and they enter into a contract with them.
• The right is not a recognised proprietary right; it is a personal right against the owner.
• If the owner stopped a guest from staying at the guesthouse, then the guest would only be able
to seek damages for breach of contract but not the right to stay at the guesthouse.
• If the owner sold the house to a third party, then the guests would not be able to enforce the
contract against the third party. The guests would have to seek damages for breach of contract.
to land law
In society, the ownership of land has a special place owing to land’s permanence in an otherwise
uncertain world and its high economic and social value throughout the history of mankind.
• Land is a uniquely fixed resource
• It can neither be consumed nor produced, moved nor physically lost.
• Land is everywhere – we rely on land to live, work and sustain ourselves
• A piece of land is often the most valuable asset an individual will buy.
English law draws a distinction between:
• the rules that apply to land (real property)
• the rules that apply to every other type of property eg cars, books, televisions, copyright, shares
(personal property)
History of land ownership
• Land law as we know it has evolved from the Norman Conquest in 1066, which introduced the rule
that all land in England and Wales belongs to the Crown as sovereign. This rule is still valid today.
• This means that, when we use everyday language and say that we ‘own’ a piece of land today,
we are technically incorrect.
• What we own is a right in the land, one of the most powerful being the right to possess and
use the land.
• The focus of land law is therefore the rights that exist over land, rather than the physical
land itself.
Legislation
• Land law was radically overhauled by a statute called the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA).
• This is the reason that the majority of land law has its roots in statute rather than case law.
• The LPA 1925 is the real foundation of modern land law.
• The Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA), governs the system of land registration –
a national record of land ownership in England and Wales.
• The national record of land ownership is managed by HM Land Registry – a gov department.
, Proprietary rights
in land
Rights in land
• Land law is the study of rights in the land rather than the physical land itself.
• A right which relates to the land can either be proprietary or personal in nature.
The distinction between proprietary and personal rights is important because:
• the remedy available to someone who is deprived of their right; and
• the enforceability of it against third parties.
A third party in the context of land law is a new owner of the land burdened by the right.
Proprietary Rights
• A proprietary right in land can be enforced by an action in rem.
• Means use or possession of the land can be recovered.
• The holder of the right does not have to settle for damages if they are deprived of their right.
• Also capable of being enforced against a third party.
Personal Rights
• Can only be enforced by a personal action for damages if the right is breached.
• Use (or occupation) of the right cannot be recovered.
• Personal rights will bind only the original parties to the right, there can be no recourse
against a third party.
Whether a disputed right is capable of being recovered and enforced against a new owner
of the burdened land will depend upon determining this point.
How do you tell whether a right exercised over land
is a proprietary one or not?
• There is a fixed list of the rights which are capable of being proprietary.
• This list is not written definitively but there are a number of statutory sections and case law
judgments which together inform us of the rights that have proprietary status.
• Some rights over the land will never be proprietary in nature; they will only operate as
a personal permission.
Example: a postal worker crossing your land to deliver post will never have a proprietary right in
your land, nor are they a trespasser. The postal worker has a licence (a personal right) to cross
your land for the purpose of delivering the post.
,Rights that have proprietary status:
The rights that are on the ‘fixed list’ of right that have proprietary status are:
• The freehold estate
• The leasehold estate
• An easement
• A mortgage
• A restrictive covenant
• An estate contract
• A beneficial interest in a trust of land
The holder of a proprietary right in the land will have a right to occupy or use or restrict what can
be done on the land is some way.
Is a right proprietary or personal?
Just because a particular use of land has been recognised as having proprietary status it does
not mean that the actual right under consideration will have proprietary status.
Land law is all about looking at the nature, creation and protection of rights in land to determine
if they are proprietary or personal.
Example: a right to park a car in a neighbour’s garage may be an easement, which is a right
that has proprietary status.
• However, the ability to park a car in a neighbour’s garage is not always going to be an easement.
• The same use could be either proprietary or personal, depending upon the circumstances in
which it has arisen.
• Even if the use in question has been recognised as proprietary whether it is in fact proprietary
will depend upon other factors.
Nature of a right
For a right to have proprietary status it must also satisfy certain substantive characteristics.
These substantive characteristics differ depending upon the right in question.
Example: A right to park in a neighbour’s garage could be an easement, but if the neighbour is
locked out of the garage and unable to use it, then it will not be an easement as this is not tolerated
within the definition of an easement.
The creation of a right
Substantive characteristics alone may be enough to work out whether the right in question is
proprietary although usually we will have to look further and examine the issue of formalities.
• Most proprietary rights in land are subject to strict requirements as to the formalities (rules for
how they must be acquired (eg by deed) for their acquisition/creation.
• Compliance with formalities may ultimately determine whether the right is proprietary or not.
, How do you find out if a piece of land is subject
to a proprietary right?
An obvious characteristic of proprietary rights is their invisibility – you cannot see a mortgage or an
easement or a lease when you look at a piece of land.
• In order to minimise the risk to a purchaser, whilst protecting the rights of those holding a
proprietary right in the land, systems have been developed so proprietary rights in land
must be made apparent by registration if they are to bind a purchaser of subsequent
rights in the same land.
Determining the status of a right in land:
• Fixed list: is it on the list of recognised proprietary rights in land?
• Nature of a right: does it satisfy any substantive characteristics for the particular
proprietary right?
• Creation of a right: Has it been created/acquired in accordance with the formalities
for the particular right (if any)?
• Protection of a right: if a right is proprietary, you then need to ask if it is enforceable against
a third party (ie a new owner of the burdened land.)
A proprietary right: example
• A person has a right of way over their neighbour’s back yard.
• This right of way could be an easement, which is a recognised proprietary right in the land –
it is on the fixed list of rights recognised as having proprietary status.
• Whether the right of way will be an easement depends on whether the right in question
satisfies the substantive requirements of an easement.
• It will have had to be created using the correct formalities in order to have proprietary status.
• If the right of way is an easement, then the person will be able to recover use of the right of way
if their neighbour blocked the right of way so to prevent the person from using it, they would not
have to settle for damages as compensation for loss of a right.
In addition, if the right of way is an easement, the person would be able to enforce the right of way
against any new owner of their neighbour’s back yard providing the easement is registered at the
Land Registry.
A personal right: example
• A person owns a house by the sea.
• From this house, the owner runs a guesthouse and people pay to stay in one of the bedrooms.
• The owner is granting their guests a licence to stay, and they enter into a contract with them.
• The right is not a recognised proprietary right; it is a personal right against the owner.
• If the owner stopped a guest from staying at the guesthouse, then the guest would only be able
to seek damages for breach of contract but not the right to stay at the guesthouse.
• If the owner sold the house to a third party, then the guests would not be able to enforce the
contract against the third party. The guests would have to seek damages for breach of contract.
