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Exam Notes for Land Law B
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01 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LAND LAWFoundations 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)
Administration of Justice Act 1970 (AJA 1970)
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 1996 (TOLATA 1996)
Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (C(RTP)A 1999)
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 3 rd
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 3 rd
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 encumbrances 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 encumbrance 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 encumbrance (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)
12. Rule (3): Pre-1925 legislation rules
Not all rights are either overreached / capable of being overreached / registrable under LCA 1972
(Shiloh Spinners v Harding)
Equitable rights in land are binding against any person to whom the land was transferred except
“Equity’s Darling”
Equity’s bona fide purchaser rule (“Equity’s Darling”) / Doctrine of notice
A bona fide purchaser of a legal estate for value without notice An “unanswerable
defence” (Pitcher v Rawlins)
, Successors of the bona fide purchaser
Once a bona fide buyer has acquired the land free from an equitable interest, that
interest cannot be revived to bind successive buyers even if they have notice of
the equitable right, unless the purchase can be voided as a result of fraud (Wilkes
v Spooner)
13. Rule (3): Requirements to be “Equity’s Darling”
(1) Bona fide / Good faith
Equitable maxim: He who seeks equity must come with clean hands
Equity requires the genuine & honest absence of notice (Midland Bank Trust v Green)
(2) Purchaser
Includes those acquiring land under a will & those buying land
Must be a voluntary act of the person (e.g. will), not an operation of law (e.g. intestacy)
(4) Of a legal estate
(4) For valuable consideration
LPA 1925 s 205(1)(xxi): Includes marriage (& civil partnership), but does not include a
nominal consideration in money Must be > nominal but need not be commensurate
with the land’s value
(5) Without notice, either actual / constructive / imputed, of the equitable right
Actual notice (LPA 1925 s 199(1)(ii)(a))
Subjective: Depends on the purchaser’s state of mind (Re Montagu’s Settlement
– D knew of the breach but genuinely forgot before receipt)
Constructive notice (LPA 1925 s 199(1)(ii)(a))
A reasonable & prudent purchaser would investigate the documents of title going
back 15 years & physically inspect the land
Investigation of title (LPA 1969 s 23)
o Re Nisbet & Potts' Contract – By exercising reasonable care in
demanding the title to which D was entitled to, he must have discovered
the fact that there was an encumbrance & so that is proof that he must be
taken as having had constructive notice of it
Inspection of the land
o Hunt v Luck – If a purchaser fails to inspect & enquire into occupants’
interests, he will have constructive notice of interests which would have
been discoverable by the reasonable & prudent purchaser who would
have carried out that inspection
o Kingsnorth Finance v Tizard – The bank failed to carry out a reasonably
careful inspection of the property Their inspection was arranged at a
time to suit the husband & at which the wife would not be present, & the
presence of children should have prompted the bank to make further
enquiries
Imputed notice (LPA 1925 s 199(1)(ii)(b))
Notice to the agent constitutes notice to the purchaser (Kingsnorth Finance v
Tizard – Notice to the bank’s solicitor was imputed to the bank)
03 REGISTERED TITLE CONVEYANCING
14. General principles
LRA 1925 Replaced by LRA 2002
Fundamental objective: Electronic conveyancing To eliminate the “registration gap” by allowing
dispositions to be registered simultaneously
Mirror principle: The register is a mirror reflecting accurately & comprehensively the sum of all
rights & interests affecting a title
Curtain principle: The register is the sole source of information for potential purchasers
Purchasers need not concern themselves with what lies behind the curtain
Insurance principle: The register is deemed to provide a true & conclusive reflection of a title & is
guaranteed by the state Should there be an error & loss is suffered, an indemnity
(compensation) may be payable
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