Land Law
1. Health warning – security of tenure for commercial tenants – contracting out – notice
14 days before the lease is completed. S25 Landlord and S26 Tenant to end/renew
lease, 6-12 months
2. A contract for the sale of land has to be in writing
3. A seller may not remove a fixture upon sale of the land unless the parties have agreed
otherwise (usually in a fittings and contents form)
4. The term 'land' includes trees and plants, which pass with the land on sale from a seller
to a buyer
5. Incorporeal hereditaments are intangibles such as rights, easements, or rents
6. There are two legal estates in England and Wales: a fee simple absolute in possession
(also known as a freehold) and a term of years absolute (also known as a leasehold).
The fundamental distinguishing feature of a freehold is that it is for an indefinite
duration. In contrast, a leasehold is for a limited, specified duration
7. A profit à prendre is an interest in land enabling someone to take something from the
land of another (for example, timber or fish). A profit à prendre in gross is a profit that
can be bought and sold independently, and it is not attached to the ownership of any
piece of land (that is, it is exercised for the personal benefit of the owner and can be
substantively registered at HMLR). A profit à prendre appurtenant is a profit in which
the right is attached to a particular piece of land in the same way as an easement
8. On first registration, His Majesty's Land Registry ('HMLR') is likely to grant possessory
title where the unregistered title deeds to the property have been lost and cannot be
produced. Possessory title is the class of title which may be awarded by HMLR if the
application for title is based on factual possession of the land rather than documentary
evidence
9. Under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, in leases made since 1 January
1996, tenants are automatically released from their covenants upon assignment.
However, as a condition of giving consent to an assignment, a landlord can require the
outgoing tenant to enter into a written obligation called an authorised guarantee
agreement, in which the outgoing tenant will act as a guarantor for her immediate
successor in title
10.The essential characteristics of an easement are that (1) there must be both a
dominant and a servient tenement; (2) the easement must confer a benefit on the
dominant tenement (a mere personal right will not suffice); (3) the dominant and the
servient tenement must be in separate ownership; and (4) the right must be of a type
recognised as capable of being an easement
11.An easement by prescription can be established by 20 years' use and must be under
claim of right. Such an easement can override and bind purchasers of the property if
it’s made by deed or a notice appears on the Charges register or Land charge
12.An easement of necessity will be implied in the case of a piece of land that is
landlocked (that is, it has no access to a road except over land retained by the seller).
In such cases, it is necessary to imply a right of way over the seller's retained land so
that the dominant owner can gain access to the dominant tenement
13.Where there is an attempt to create a legal interest but the formalities relating to the
creation of a deed are not met, an equitable interest may still arise – but buyer must
have actual notice of equitable interests
14.A landowner does not own wild animals on his land, but he does have the right to hunt
them
1. Health warning – security of tenure for commercial tenants – contracting out – notice
14 days before the lease is completed. S25 Landlord and S26 Tenant to end/renew
lease, 6-12 months
2. A contract for the sale of land has to be in writing
3. A seller may not remove a fixture upon sale of the land unless the parties have agreed
otherwise (usually in a fittings and contents form)
4. The term 'land' includes trees and plants, which pass with the land on sale from a seller
to a buyer
5. Incorporeal hereditaments are intangibles such as rights, easements, or rents
6. There are two legal estates in England and Wales: a fee simple absolute in possession
(also known as a freehold) and a term of years absolute (also known as a leasehold).
The fundamental distinguishing feature of a freehold is that it is for an indefinite
duration. In contrast, a leasehold is for a limited, specified duration
7. A profit à prendre is an interest in land enabling someone to take something from the
land of another (for example, timber or fish). A profit à prendre in gross is a profit that
can be bought and sold independently, and it is not attached to the ownership of any
piece of land (that is, it is exercised for the personal benefit of the owner and can be
substantively registered at HMLR). A profit à prendre appurtenant is a profit in which
the right is attached to a particular piece of land in the same way as an easement
8. On first registration, His Majesty's Land Registry ('HMLR') is likely to grant possessory
title where the unregistered title deeds to the property have been lost and cannot be
produced. Possessory title is the class of title which may be awarded by HMLR if the
application for title is based on factual possession of the land rather than documentary
evidence
9. Under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, in leases made since 1 January
1996, tenants are automatically released from their covenants upon assignment.
However, as a condition of giving consent to an assignment, a landlord can require the
outgoing tenant to enter into a written obligation called an authorised guarantee
agreement, in which the outgoing tenant will act as a guarantor for her immediate
successor in title
10.The essential characteristics of an easement are that (1) there must be both a
dominant and a servient tenement; (2) the easement must confer a benefit on the
dominant tenement (a mere personal right will not suffice); (3) the dominant and the
servient tenement must be in separate ownership; and (4) the right must be of a type
recognised as capable of being an easement
11.An easement by prescription can be established by 20 years' use and must be under
claim of right. Such an easement can override and bind purchasers of the property if
it’s made by deed or a notice appears on the Charges register or Land charge
12.An easement of necessity will be implied in the case of a piece of land that is
landlocked (that is, it has no access to a road except over land retained by the seller).
In such cases, it is necessary to imply a right of way over the seller's retained land so
that the dominant owner can gain access to the dominant tenement
13.Where there is an attempt to create a legal interest but the formalities relating to the
creation of a deed are not met, an equitable interest may still arise – but buyer must
have actual notice of equitable interests
14.A landowner does not own wild animals on his land, but he does have the right to hunt
them
