Lecture notes
Land Law Notes
Provides in-depth notes on UK land law. Great for revision/essays.
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Lectures on:(i) Values and Foundations of Land Law;
(ii) 1925 Legislation; and
(iii) Unregistered Title Conveyancing
, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
SCHOOL OF LAW
LAND LAW
Part I: Land, Law, and its Values
In order to study Land Law, it is helpful to identify a theory, principle or standard against
which we can assess the decisions of judges or policy makes. To do so, we must ask how
we as a society attribute value to land. What do we do with it? What do we expect it to do
for us? Is there a dominant value? Are the values necessarily in conflict?
NB. Complete Exercise 1 before watching the lecture expanding upon these
values.
The dominant idea is that land is a financial asset. Land features in many markets, e.g.
mortgage, rental, resale, right of way etc. Land helps us pursue efficient free markets.
This may mean there has to be barriers, or unwanted costs which help balance markets.
Markets need to support each other, and this often in the form of legislation – e.g. can’t be
thrown out of a property without notice etc.
However, land can also serve purpose to:
House us
Generate money
Feed us
Impress
Teach us about the past
Provide enjoyment
Benefit its environment
Transport
Exercise power
,Part II: Foundations for Land Law
A. WHAT IS LAND LAW ABOUT?
Definition? Land law is an element of the law of property:
In its simplest form the law of property deals with the legal relationship between a
thing and the owner of that thing; and land law deals with the legal relationship
between land and the owner of that land.
So how do we allow people to relate to the land? Let us answer that question with two
important insights.
Insight 1: Nobody owns the land; what we own are Estates and Interests that define
the way we interact with the physical land or control other’s interactions with the land.
The only person who ‘owns’ any land is King Charles III
Estates1 – a right which in practical terms resembles ownership, hence we often
refer to Estates as ‘ownership interests’. Supposed ‘homeowners’ actually have an estate.
They are estate holders, giving them a right to stand on the land, which may well be
exclusive, and enable you to control who can come onto the land. Estates are defined
specifically by how long you will hold the estate for.
Types of Estates (ownership interests):
(1) Freehold Estates are characterised by uncertain duration
a. Fee Simple – one where the estate holder can keep passing the estate on,
through their will. The estate remains intact throughout.
b. Fee Tail – estates which can only be passed to male heirs.
c. Life Estate/estate pur autre vie – estates held for so long an individual will live
for (pur autre vie – can either be based on the life of another).
All may exist:
i. In Possession – person enjoying the fee simple at the current moment.
1
In this module you will have to get used to distinguishing and using the word ‘estate’ in
two different ways. The first being that described at this point in the lecture – an
ownership interest in land. Second, an estate is alternatively all the possessions and
assets that belonged to someone when they died and which therefore gets shared out
according to their wishes as expressed in their Will, or as directed by the law if there is
no Will. An estate (1st sense) can form part of someone’s estate (2nd sense). So, make
sure you know the context in which it is being used when you come across it in your
reading!
, ii. In Remainder – person awaiting an estate to become ‘in possession’, e.g. the
daughter of a fee simple holding mother in possession.
iii. In Reversion – reverts back to the estate being the father’s, fee simple.
Conveyance from X (father) to Y (wife) for life, then to Z (daughter) for life.
[Note – the ‘best’ form of freehold is the ‘fee simple absolute in possession’. The only
term that you do not know in that description of the estate is ‘absolute’. You do not need
to worry too much about this for the purposes of the module, but suffice to say at this
point that it is possible to place conditions upon the holding of an estate. For example, I
could transfer a fee simple to X to hold only for so long as they are unmarried. Upon
marriage, the fee simple would pass to someone else I had nominated (or if I’ve forgotten
to nominate someone, the fee simple would revert back to my estate (2nd sense – see
footnote 1!). A fee simple which is ‘absolute’ is subject to no such conditions.]
(2) Leasehold Estates: characterised by certain duration [explored in more detail in
Tutorial 4]
Interests – a number of lesser rights, that do not resemble ownership, can be given by
Estate owners to others (often referred to as Third Parties Interests).
Examples:
Easements (Tutorial 6) – e.g. to run a drain under a property.
Freehold Covenants (Tutorial 7) – e.g. a promise not to do something, largely in
interest of neighbours.
Mortgages (Tutorial 8) – e.g. give bank a right to sell estate if you default.
Option to Purchase/Estate Contracts – e.g. can demand sale of property within 5
years.
Leases – e.g. if Landlord sold your house whilst under a leasehold, the new owner
would have to honour your interest.
Response 2: People have Personal and Proprietary relationships (Rights) with Land
The nature and limits of Rights in Personam – Rights in personam mean your rights only
lie against a specific person. E.g. If X agrees to sell a normal pen to Y, then X gives that
pen to Z, Y only has rights to sue for damages against X, as privity of contract means the
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