Land Law
Acquisition of Land
Adverse Possession
Critical Theory of Adverse Possession
Leases
Mortgages
Easements
Freehold covenants
Co-ownership
Land registration
Introduction
Key concepts of land law:
- Who can use the land?
o And how they can use it
- Peaceful and efficient use of land
Freehold Land (Fee simple absolute in possession) = the right to that land forever
Leasehold Land (Term of years absolute) = exclusive possession, with a definite end point
- Can cover short periods (a day) and longer periods (999 years)
Acquiring land-
Conveyancing (traditional method)
Adverse possession (acquiring land through long use)
Mortgages-
The Bank give you the money to buy the house, YOU give the bank the mortgage of special
rights over your land
Easements-
Gives you the right to use someone else’s land in a particular way e.g. shared drive
Easements evolve- new type of land uses result in new types of easements
Covenants-
Promise to do or not to do something (conditions tied to the use of the land)
- Convenantee has the benefit
- Convenantor has the burden
*easements and covenants are subservient*
Sharing ownership of land-
- How should the property be used?
- When should the land be sold?
, - How do you know the different sizes of the shares?
Registered and unregistered land-
All land in the UK was once unregistered (therefore to sell it you had to produce the
‘root of title’)
Gradually, due to the Land Registry Act 2002 all land is now becoming registered (90%
complete)
Statutes-
Law of Property Act 1925
o Section 1
Land Registration Act 2002
Trusts of Land & Appointment of Trustees Act 1996
What is ‘property’?
Property is often referred to as an object which someone owns (e.g. car, watch) but it is
more accurate to see property as someone’s relationship to a particular item.
- Land is permanent and indestructible and therefore it is quite possible for more
than one person to have a relationship with the land
‘For serious students of property, the beginning of the truth is the recognition that property
is not a thing but a power relationship – a relationship of social and legal legitimacy existing
between a person and a valued resource…’ - Gray & Gray, Elements of Land Law (5 th ed.),
p.86
Proprietary Rights Vs Personal Rights-
Proprietary rights have the potential to bind third parties
‘Somewhere across the spectrum of ‘propertiness’ in land there comes a point at which
certain rights gather sufficient gravamen to qualify, for conveyancing purposes, as
proprietary rights in land’ - Gray & Gray, Land Law (6 th ed.) p.41
National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth Ch 655(CA) [1965] AC 1175 HL (Mr Ainsworth was
a second hand car dealer and sole registered proprietor of the matrimonial home. He left
the matrimonial home and moved in with his mother. His wife obtained a judicial separation.
As part of the separation agreement, his wife was to live in the house rent free and he would
pay reduced maintenance to take account of this. He later transferred the house to his
company, Hastings Car Mart, and charged it to secure the debts of the company. He
defaulted on the repayments and National Provincial bank sought to possession of the
property. Mrs Ainsworth sought to defeat the claim based on an overriding interest of her
right to reside in the property coupled with her actual occupation. Mrs Ainsworth did not
have a proprietary interest in the land which was capable of amounting to an overriding
interest. Her right to remain in the house was a mere personal right as against her husband.
It did not confer on her any equitable estate or interest in the house).
o ‘definable’
o ‘identifiable by third parties’
o ‘capable of assumption by third parties’
o ‘degree of permanence / stability’
,Property Rights and Human Rights-
Mandatory possession
- What role is there for Human Rights where the courts are making a decision
about repossession?
Peaceful enjoyment of possession
Manchester CC v Pinnock [2011]
- The council tenant had wished to appeal following a possession order made
after her tenancy had been demoted, invoking their rights under Article 8.
- ‘if our law is to be compatible with article 8, where a court is asked to make an
order for possession of a person’s home at the suit of a local authority, the court
must have the power to assess the proportionality of making the order, and, in
making that assessment, to resolve any relevant dispute of fact.’
McDonald v McDonald [2016]
- Parents borrowed money to buy a house to lease to their ill daughter but
defaulted on their mortgage. A receiver ended the lease on the property. The
daughter questioned this under Article 8 on the grounds of proportionality.
- Horizontal application of the legislation
What is the meaning of the word ‘Land’?
- ‘Land of any tenure, and mines and minerals, whether or not held apart from
the surface, buildings or part of buildings, (whether the division is horizontal,
vertical or made in some other way) and other corporeal hereditaments; also a
manor, and advowson, and a rent and other incorporeal hereditaments, and an
easement, right, privilege, or benefit on, over, or derived from land.’
- Tenure = conditions on which land is held
- Corporeal hereditaments = permanent tangible object that can be seen and
handled and is so confined to the land.
- incorporeal hereditaments = an intangible right, which is not visible but is
derived from real or personal property.
Extent of ownership-
Corbett V Hill [1870]
- The person who owns the land owns right to the sky and right to the middle of
the earth
Bocardo V Star Energy (Bocardo’s claim for damages arose from the fact that an oil company
had, without Bocardo’s knowledge or consent, drilled a well from their own land through
Bocardo’s land to access an oil deposit under Bocardo’s estate at Oxted in Surrey).
Anchor Brewhouse V Berkeley House (A crane which passes its boom over private land
without permission creates an actionable nuisance)
- ‘… the better view is to hold that the owner of the surface is the owner of the
strata beneath it, including the minerals that are to be found there, unless there
has been an alienation of it by conveyance, at common law or statute.’
- per Lord Hope
, Bernstein V Skyviews (The rights of landowners in the airspace above their land is restricted
to such a height necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of his land and the structures
upon it – above that height he has not greater rights then the general public).
Section 62 Law of Property Act 1925
- In the absence of any contrary intention, any conveyance of land includes all
buildings attached to the land plus other erections, fixtures etc
Fixtures & Fittings/Chattels-
Things which are fittings and chattels can be removed
Test to decide whether something’s a fitting or not:
1) Degree of annexation test (Extent to which an object is attached to the land)
2) Purpose of annexation test
Raise a presumption with the first test and then rebut with the second)
At pre-contractual stage, both parties fill out a fixtures and fittings form
Quicquid plantatur solo, solo cedit = "whatever is affixed to the soil belongs to the soil"
Where a chattel is physically attached to the land this will prima facie indicate that it is a
fixture:
- Holland v Hodgson (1872) (The owner of a mill purchased some looms for use in
his mill. They were attached to the stone floor by nails driven into wooden
beams. They could quite easily be removed. The owner then mortgaged the mill
and failed to keep up the payments and the mill was repossessed. The question
for the court was whether the looms were fixtures forming part of the land or
whether they remained chattels. The looms had become fixtures and thus
formed part of the land mortgaged).
- Blackburn J introduced the degree and object of annexation test:
- “ an article which is affixed to the land even slightly is to be considered as part of
the land, unless the circumstances are such as to shew that it was intended to all
along continue a chattel, the onus lying on those who contend that it is a
chattel.”
Dibble V Moore (Business dealing with greenhouses operated on a piece of land. The
greenhouses rested on their own weight on a mobile crane. The land changed hands but the
business continued to operate. It was held that the greenhouses were movable chattels and
therefore belonged to the business operators).
Berkley V Poulett ( Lord Poulett sold his estate at auction on 2 nd August 1968 to Effold Ltd.
Effold Ltd had agreed to sell part of the estate, consisting of Hinton House, to Mr Berkley
should they succeed in purchasing the house at auction. Mr Berkley wished to turn the
house into a tourist attraction and wanted to keep as many of the original features of the
property. The completion of the sale was delayed and did not take place until Nov 1968.
During this period, Lord Poulett had sold several items which Mr Berkley claimed were
fixtures and thus title had passed to him under the contract of sale. The disputed items
consisted of several valuable paintings which were set into oak panelling, a large marble
statue of a greek athlete which weighed half a tonne and rested on its own weight on a
stone plinth on the west lawn and a large sundial also resting on its own weight outside the
Acquisition of Land
Adverse Possession
Critical Theory of Adverse Possession
Leases
Mortgages
Easements
Freehold covenants
Co-ownership
Land registration
Introduction
Key concepts of land law:
- Who can use the land?
o And how they can use it
- Peaceful and efficient use of land
Freehold Land (Fee simple absolute in possession) = the right to that land forever
Leasehold Land (Term of years absolute) = exclusive possession, with a definite end point
- Can cover short periods (a day) and longer periods (999 years)
Acquiring land-
Conveyancing (traditional method)
Adverse possession (acquiring land through long use)
Mortgages-
The Bank give you the money to buy the house, YOU give the bank the mortgage of special
rights over your land
Easements-
Gives you the right to use someone else’s land in a particular way e.g. shared drive
Easements evolve- new type of land uses result in new types of easements
Covenants-
Promise to do or not to do something (conditions tied to the use of the land)
- Convenantee has the benefit
- Convenantor has the burden
*easements and covenants are subservient*
Sharing ownership of land-
- How should the property be used?
- When should the land be sold?
, - How do you know the different sizes of the shares?
Registered and unregistered land-
All land in the UK was once unregistered (therefore to sell it you had to produce the
‘root of title’)
Gradually, due to the Land Registry Act 2002 all land is now becoming registered (90%
complete)
Statutes-
Law of Property Act 1925
o Section 1
Land Registration Act 2002
Trusts of Land & Appointment of Trustees Act 1996
What is ‘property’?
Property is often referred to as an object which someone owns (e.g. car, watch) but it is
more accurate to see property as someone’s relationship to a particular item.
- Land is permanent and indestructible and therefore it is quite possible for more
than one person to have a relationship with the land
‘For serious students of property, the beginning of the truth is the recognition that property
is not a thing but a power relationship – a relationship of social and legal legitimacy existing
between a person and a valued resource…’ - Gray & Gray, Elements of Land Law (5 th ed.),
p.86
Proprietary Rights Vs Personal Rights-
Proprietary rights have the potential to bind third parties
‘Somewhere across the spectrum of ‘propertiness’ in land there comes a point at which
certain rights gather sufficient gravamen to qualify, for conveyancing purposes, as
proprietary rights in land’ - Gray & Gray, Land Law (6 th ed.) p.41
National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth Ch 655(CA) [1965] AC 1175 HL (Mr Ainsworth was
a second hand car dealer and sole registered proprietor of the matrimonial home. He left
the matrimonial home and moved in with his mother. His wife obtained a judicial separation.
As part of the separation agreement, his wife was to live in the house rent free and he would
pay reduced maintenance to take account of this. He later transferred the house to his
company, Hastings Car Mart, and charged it to secure the debts of the company. He
defaulted on the repayments and National Provincial bank sought to possession of the
property. Mrs Ainsworth sought to defeat the claim based on an overriding interest of her
right to reside in the property coupled with her actual occupation. Mrs Ainsworth did not
have a proprietary interest in the land which was capable of amounting to an overriding
interest. Her right to remain in the house was a mere personal right as against her husband.
It did not confer on her any equitable estate or interest in the house).
o ‘definable’
o ‘identifiable by third parties’
o ‘capable of assumption by third parties’
o ‘degree of permanence / stability’
,Property Rights and Human Rights-
Mandatory possession
- What role is there for Human Rights where the courts are making a decision
about repossession?
Peaceful enjoyment of possession
Manchester CC v Pinnock [2011]
- The council tenant had wished to appeal following a possession order made
after her tenancy had been demoted, invoking their rights under Article 8.
- ‘if our law is to be compatible with article 8, where a court is asked to make an
order for possession of a person’s home at the suit of a local authority, the court
must have the power to assess the proportionality of making the order, and, in
making that assessment, to resolve any relevant dispute of fact.’
McDonald v McDonald [2016]
- Parents borrowed money to buy a house to lease to their ill daughter but
defaulted on their mortgage. A receiver ended the lease on the property. The
daughter questioned this under Article 8 on the grounds of proportionality.
- Horizontal application of the legislation
What is the meaning of the word ‘Land’?
- ‘Land of any tenure, and mines and minerals, whether or not held apart from
the surface, buildings or part of buildings, (whether the division is horizontal,
vertical or made in some other way) and other corporeal hereditaments; also a
manor, and advowson, and a rent and other incorporeal hereditaments, and an
easement, right, privilege, or benefit on, over, or derived from land.’
- Tenure = conditions on which land is held
- Corporeal hereditaments = permanent tangible object that can be seen and
handled and is so confined to the land.
- incorporeal hereditaments = an intangible right, which is not visible but is
derived from real or personal property.
Extent of ownership-
Corbett V Hill [1870]
- The person who owns the land owns right to the sky and right to the middle of
the earth
Bocardo V Star Energy (Bocardo’s claim for damages arose from the fact that an oil company
had, without Bocardo’s knowledge or consent, drilled a well from their own land through
Bocardo’s land to access an oil deposit under Bocardo’s estate at Oxted in Surrey).
Anchor Brewhouse V Berkeley House (A crane which passes its boom over private land
without permission creates an actionable nuisance)
- ‘… the better view is to hold that the owner of the surface is the owner of the
strata beneath it, including the minerals that are to be found there, unless there
has been an alienation of it by conveyance, at common law or statute.’
- per Lord Hope
, Bernstein V Skyviews (The rights of landowners in the airspace above their land is restricted
to such a height necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of his land and the structures
upon it – above that height he has not greater rights then the general public).
Section 62 Law of Property Act 1925
- In the absence of any contrary intention, any conveyance of land includes all
buildings attached to the land plus other erections, fixtures etc
Fixtures & Fittings/Chattels-
Things which are fittings and chattels can be removed
Test to decide whether something’s a fitting or not:
1) Degree of annexation test (Extent to which an object is attached to the land)
2) Purpose of annexation test
Raise a presumption with the first test and then rebut with the second)
At pre-contractual stage, both parties fill out a fixtures and fittings form
Quicquid plantatur solo, solo cedit = "whatever is affixed to the soil belongs to the soil"
Where a chattel is physically attached to the land this will prima facie indicate that it is a
fixture:
- Holland v Hodgson (1872) (The owner of a mill purchased some looms for use in
his mill. They were attached to the stone floor by nails driven into wooden
beams. They could quite easily be removed. The owner then mortgaged the mill
and failed to keep up the payments and the mill was repossessed. The question
for the court was whether the looms were fixtures forming part of the land or
whether they remained chattels. The looms had become fixtures and thus
formed part of the land mortgaged).
- Blackburn J introduced the degree and object of annexation test:
- “ an article which is affixed to the land even slightly is to be considered as part of
the land, unless the circumstances are such as to shew that it was intended to all
along continue a chattel, the onus lying on those who contend that it is a
chattel.”
Dibble V Moore (Business dealing with greenhouses operated on a piece of land. The
greenhouses rested on their own weight on a mobile crane. The land changed hands but the
business continued to operate. It was held that the greenhouses were movable chattels and
therefore belonged to the business operators).
Berkley V Poulett ( Lord Poulett sold his estate at auction on 2 nd August 1968 to Effold Ltd.
Effold Ltd had agreed to sell part of the estate, consisting of Hinton House, to Mr Berkley
should they succeed in purchasing the house at auction. Mr Berkley wished to turn the
house into a tourist attraction and wanted to keep as many of the original features of the
property. The completion of the sale was delayed and did not take place until Nov 1968.
During this period, Lord Poulett had sold several items which Mr Berkley claimed were
fixtures and thus title had passed to him under the contract of sale. The disputed items
consisted of several valuable paintings which were set into oak panelling, a large marble
statue of a greek athlete which weighed half a tonne and rested on its own weight on a
stone plinth on the west lawn and a large sundial also resting on its own weight outside the
