Land Law

By Louise Glover and Kate Campbell-Pilling

Land law is of great importance in the commercial and financial sphere, as well as in the domestic life of the nation. But the issues involved and their practical resolution are complex.
Land Law gives the reader a sound knowledge of the current law relating to land. It is suitable for students on GDL and LLB courses and is targeted at those new to studying law and coming to grips with the subject under time pressure. The book aims to provide clarity and focus to guide students through the rules without glossing over the technicalities found in this fascinating area of the law. It provides frameworks to apply to land law problems and considers ‘real world’ issues in contemporary land law.
Features in the book include key case summaries; discussion of the law in practice and reform proposals; examples, diagrams and flowcharts to help understanding; further reading sections; and test your knowledge questions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: H&S
• Release date: Jun 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781916243187

Book preview

LAND LAW

LAND LAW

Louise Glover and Kate Campbell-Pilling

SECOND EDITION

Hall and Stott Publishing Ltd

27 Witney Close

Saltford

BS31 3DX

© Louise Glover and Kate Campbell-Pilling 2021

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the publisher, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organisation.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

ISBN 978 1 9162431 7 0

Typeset by Style Photosetting Ltd, Mayfield, East Sussex

PREFACE

This book grew out of our writing a new course for GDL students and we are very grateful to Sue Hall and David Stott for giving us the opportunity to transform our teaching into a textbook. Our collective teaching experience encompasses teaching land law and equity and trusts to first and second year undergraduate students, and a final year module on property development, as well as property law and practice to professional students on the Legal Practice Course.

We have both come to teach land law after careers as practising solicitors in the commercial property sector. We know from experience that land law enables individuals and organisations to inhabit, invest in or finance property with a high degree of certainty about the outcome. Yet for many students land law remains inaccessible, over-complex and seemingly random in its application. It is frequently said with land law that it ‘comes together’ for many students only towards the end of the course when they are able to gain some perspective on how the detail comes together to form the whole. Some students never get to that point – either because they are not familiar enough with the detail or because they are not able to stand back to see how the detailed rules fit together to form a coherent and practical body of law.

We wanted to address these issues in our course by giving students a broad scope to understand the general scheme of land law but also to become familiar with the source material, both statutory and case law, to grasp the detail of the rules precisely and the reasons behind them. So we have used lots of statutory and case extracts but also practical examples to see how these could be applied. We have tried to do so in a readable form, using explanations similar to those we might use in seminars, and including diagrams that we have used ourselves in teaching to make a point visually as well as verbally in the knowledge that students learn in a variety of ways. We hope that students will use this book as a starting point for further exploration and return to it to help them analyse what they have learnt.

We would also like to thank our colleagues at The University of Sheffield for their support and Sue and David at Hall & Stott Publishing for their patience throughout the writing of this book.

Louise Glover and Kate Campbell-Pilling

Sheffield

April 2021

CONTENTS

Preface

Table of Cases

Table of Legislation

Abbreviations

1 Introduction to Land Law

1.1 Introduction

1.2 What is ‘land’?

1.2.1 Airspace

1.2.2 Below the ground

1.2.3 Buildings

1.2.4 Intangible rights

1.2.5 Fixtures

1.2.6 Items found in or on land

1.3 What rights can exist in land?

1.3.1 Legal ‘ownership’ of land

1.3.2 Legal third party rights in land

1.3.3 Equitable interests in land

1.3.4 Equitable ‘ownership’ of land

1.3.5 Equitable third party rights in land

1.3.6 No right in land at all?

1.4 Law and equity

1.5 Trusts of land

1.6 Proprietary rights vs personal rights

1.6.1 National Provincial Bank v Ainsworth

1.6.2 Criticism of the test

1.6.3 The end of the story?

1.6.4 The nature of the right determines if it is proprietary

1.7 How are rights created or transferred?

1.7.1 Formalities

1.7.2 Registration

1.7.3 Informal acquisition

1.8 In what circumstances will rights be binding on a purchaser of land?

1.9 Complementary and competing interests in land

1.10 Human rights

1.10.1 Article 1 of Protocol No 1

1.10.2 Article 8

1.10.3 Where the landlord is a public authority

1.10.4 Private landlords

1.10.5 Equality Act 2010

1.11 Further reading

2 Acquisition

2.1 Possession as the basis for acquisition

2.2 Adverse possession

2.2.1 Factual possession

2.2.2 Intention to possess

2.2.3 A two-stage test

2.2.4 Limitation Act 1980

2.2.5 Land Registration Act 2002

2.2.6 Pye and human rights

2.2.7 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, s 144

2.3 Formalities

2.4 Stages in a typical transaction

2.4.1 Investigating title

2.4.2 Contract

2.4.3 Completion

2.4.4 Registration

2.5 Trust

2.6 Why are formalities important?

2.7 Informal means of obtaining an estate or interest in land

2.7.1 Adverse possession

2.7.2 Doctrine of anticipation, or, what happens if the parties fail to complete a valid deed?

2.7.3 Resulting, implied or constructive trusts

2.7.4 Proprietary estoppel

2.7.5 Priority

2.8 Further reading

3 Unregistered Land

3.1 Modernisation of land law

3.2 Reduction in the number of legal estates and interests

3.3 Overreaching

3.3.1 How does overreaching work?

3.3.2 What happens to an equitable interest that has been overreached?

3.3.3 What equitable interests can be overreached?

3.3.4 Who can overreach?

3.3.5 What if there are no capital monies?

3.4 Registered and unregistered land

3.4.1 Registration of title

3.4.2 Why was registered land introduced?

3.5 Unregistered land

3.5.1 Title, priority rules and third party rights

3.5.2 How title and third party rights are investigated in unregistered land

3.5.3 What rights will bind the buyer after completion?

3.6 Further reading

4 Registration of Title

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Registration of title

4.3 The principal objectives of a system of registered land

4.4 The overall scheme of registered land in England and Wales

4.5 Mirror principle

4.5.1 Conclusiveness of the register

4.5.2 Powers of the owner

4.5.3 How the mirror principle is upheld on first registration

4.5.4 How the mirror principle is upheld on subsequent dealings with the land

4.5.5 ‘Cracks’ in the mirror

4.5.6 The prudent purchaser

4.6 Curtain principle

4.7 Insurance or indemnity principle

4.7.1 Conclusiveness of the register

4.7.2 Alterations to the register

4.7.3 Rectification of the register

4.7.4 State guarantee

4.7.5 The relationship between rectification, the State guarantee and overriding interests or adverse possession

4.8 Electronic conveyancing – the future?

4.9 Further reading

5 Registered Land Priority Rules

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Basic rule

5.3 Special priority rule

5.4 Interplay between ss 28 and 29 of the LRA 2002

5.5 Protection of earlier interests

5.6 Overriding interests

5.6.1 Short legal leases (seven years or less) (LRA 2002, Sch 3, para 1)

5.6.2 Interests of persons in actual occupation (LRA 2002, Sch 3, para 2)

5.6.3 Easements (LRA 2002, Sch 3, para 3)

5.7 Comparison between registered and unregistered land priority rules

5.8 Further reading

6 Co-ownership and Trusts of Land

6.1 What is co-ownership?

6.2 Joint tenancy

6.3 Tenancy in common at equity

6.4 What was the problem with co-ownership and how did the Law of Property Act 1925 help?

6.5 Joint tenancy or tenancy in common of the equitable title?

6.5.1 The four unities

6.5.2 Express indication in the document

6.5.3 Presumptions

6.5.4 Help from the Land Registry?

6.5.5 No express declaration of trust

6.5.6 Ambulatory constructive trust

6.5.7 Ownership with an investment/commercial element

6.5.8 Resulting and constructive trusts

6.5.9 Reform

6.6 Severing a joint tenancy in equity

6.6.1 How can you sever a joint tenancy in equity?

6.6.2 Can a will ever sever the joint tenancy of the equitable title?

6.6.3 What is the effect on the joint tenancy of the legal title when t he joint tenancy of the equitable title is severed and it becomes a tenancy in common?

6.7 Some history: the trust for sale and the doctrine of conversion

6.7.1 Trust for sale

6.7.2 Doctrine of conversion

6.8 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996

6.8.1 Section 1 – Trust of land

6.8.2 Section 3 – Abolition of the doctrine of conversion

6.8.3 Section 6 – General powers of trustees

6.8.4 Section 11 – Consultation with beneficiaries

6.8.5 Section 12 – Right to occupy

6.8.6 Section 13 – Exclusion and restriction of right to occupy

6.8.7 Section 14 – Applications for order

6.8.8 Section 15 – Matters relevant in determining applications

6.8.9 Section 2 – Settlements

6.9 Further reading

7 Use of Leases, Lease Characteristics, Formalities, Licences and Forms of Lease

7.1 What is a lease?

7.1.1 Terminology

7.1.2 So why use a lease?

7.2 Essential characteristics of a lease

7.2.1 What does exclusive possession mean?

7.2.2 What is certainty of term?

7.2.3 For a rent or other consideration?

7.3 Formalities

7.3.1 Express grant

7.3.2 By operation of law

7.3.3 Equitable leases

7.4 Why do we need to distinguish between a lease and a licence?

7.5 Types of lease

7.5.1 Fixed-term leases

7.5.2 Periodic tenancies

7.5.3 Tenancies at will and tenancies at sufferance

7.6 Further reading

8 Privity of Contract and Privity of Estate, Enforceability of Covenants and the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995

8.1 Privity of contract and privity of estate

8.2 Enforceability of covenants

8.2.1 Old leases – granted before 1 January 1996

8.2.2 New leases – granted on or after 1 January 1996

8.3 Some comfort for landlords

8.3.1 Authorised guarantee agreements (AGAs)

8.3.2 How do existing guarantors and an AGA sit together?

8.3.3 Is a landlord bound after transferring the reversion?

8.4 Subleases

8.5 Further reading

9 Lease Clauses, Breaches and Ending a Lease

9.1 Lease structure and clauses

9.1.1 Parties

9.1.2 Parcels

9.1.3 Demise

9.1.4 Term

9.1.5 Rent

9.1.6 Rent review

9.1.7 Tenant’s covenants

9.1.8 Landlord’s covenants

9.1.9 Provisos

9.1.10 Schedules

9.2 Remedies for breach of covenant

9.2.1 Breach of tenant covenants

9.2.2 Breach of landlord covenants

9.3 The end of the lease

9.3.1 Effluxion of term

9.3.2 Notice to quit

9.3.3 Operation of an option to determine or break clause

9.3.4 Surrender

9.3.5 Merger

9.3.6 Forfeiture

9.3.7 Disclaimer

9.3.8 Frustration

9.3.9 Repudiation

9.4 Further reading

10 Mortgages: Concept, Creation and Protection

10.1 Introduction

10.2 What is a mortgage?

10.3 Terminology

10.4 ‘Once a mortgage always a mortgage’

10.5 How to create and protect a legal mortgage

10.5.1 Obsolete methods of creating charges

10.5.2 Some history

10.5.3 Modern law

10.5.4 Methods of creating a mortgage over registered and unregistered land

10.6 Formalities and registration requirements for a legal charge

10.6.1 Deed

10.6.2 Registered land

10.6.3 Unregistered land

10.7 Relationship between a mortgagee and third parties with rights in the mortgaged land

10.7.1 Overreaching

10.7.2 Special priority rule

10.7.3 Occupiers

10.7.4 Leases

10.8 When might a lender want or end up with an equitable charge?

10.8.1 Creating an equitable charge

10.8.2 Protecting an equitable charge

10.8.3 Practical implications of a protected equitable charge

10.9 Further reading

11 Mortgages: Lender Enforcement Rights and Borrower Protection

11.1 Introduction to mortgagee enforcement rights

11.2 Right to payment

11.3 Taking possession

11.3.1 When will a mortgagee have the right to possession?

11.3.2 What protection does a mortgagor have against a mortgagee seeking possession?

11.3.3 Other restraints on a lender seeking possession

11.3.4 Duties of mortgagee in possession

11.4 Sale

11.4.1 Power of sale arising and exercisable (LPA 1925, ss and 103)

11.4.2 Purchaser protection

11.4.3 Effect of sale

11.4.4 Duties of a selling mortgagee

11.5 Appointing a receiver

11.6 Foreclosure

11.7 Application of proceeds of sale

11.8 Powers of an equitable mortgagee

11.9 Further reading

12 Setting Aside a Mortgage for Undue Influence or Misrepresentation

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Misrepresentation

12.3 Undue influence

12.3.1 Actual undue influence

12.3.2 Presumed undue influence

12.3.3 Undue influence exercised by a mortgagee against the mortgagor

12.3.4 Undue influence or misrepresentation exercised by a third party against the mortgagor

12.4 Does a mortgagee have other remedies?

12.4.1 Action under s 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996

12.4.2 Insolvency Act 1986, s 335A

12.5 Further reading

13 Easements

13.1 What does an easement do?

13.2 Profits à prendre

13.3 Four essential characteristics of an easement

13.3.1 There must be a dominant and servient tenement

13.3.2 The easement must accommodate the dominant tenement

13.3.3 Dominant and servient owners must be different persons

13.3.4 The right must be capable of forming the subject matter of a grant

13.3.5 Does the right require positive action by the owner of the servient land?

13.4 Creation of easements

13.4.1 Express creation

13.4.2 Implied

13.4.3 Prescription

13.5 Scope of easements

13.5.1 Changes in use

13.5.2 Use for other land

13.5.3 Rights to light

13.6 Abandonment of an easement

13.7 Commercial issues

13.8 Easements and overreaching

13.9 Restrictive covenants

13.10 Further reading

14 Covenants

14.1 What is a covenant?

14.1.1 Freehold titles

14.1.2 Leasehold and commonhold titles

14.2 Burden of covenants at law

14.2.1 General rule

14.2.2 Mutual benefit and burden

14.3 Burden of covenants in equity

14.4 Tests to determine if a restrictive covenant runs with the land

14.4.1 The burden must be intended to run with the land

14.4.2 There must be dominant land

14.4.3 The covenant must benefit the dominant land

14.4.4 The restriction must not be personal

14.4.5 There must be proximity between the servient and dominant land

14.5 Benefit of covenants

14.6 Exceptions to the non-transmissibility of the benefit of a covenant

14.6.1 Annexation

14.6.2 Assignment

14.6.3 Building schemes

14.7 Limits of covenants or has there been a breach?

14.8 Protection

14.8.1 Registered land

14.8.2 Unregistered land

14.9 Remedies

14.10 Discharge and modification of restrictive covenants

14.11 Reflection

14.12 Private law and public law

14.13 Reform

14.14 Alternatives to covenants

14.14.1 Practical means of enforcing obligations

14.14.2 Chain of indemnity covenants

14.14.3 Restriction on registered title to servient land

14.14.4 Estate rentcharge

14.14.5 Leasehold/commonhold

14.15 Further reading

Index

TABLE OF CASES

Numerics

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

TABLE OF LEGISLATION

Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992

s 1 370

Administration of Justice Act 1970

s 36 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 298, 299

s 36(1) 275

s 36(2) 275

s 36(3) 275

s 39 281

Administration of Justice Act 1973

s 8 278, 279, 298

s 8(1) 278

Chancery Amendment Act 1858

s 2 362

Civil Aviation Act 1982

s 76(1) 4

Common Law Procedure Act 1952 238

s 210 238

s 212 238

Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 10, 347

Commons Act 2006

Part I 151

Consumer Credit Act 1974 282

Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 354

s 1 354

s 1(1)–(3) 354

s 1(5) 354

Coronavirus Act 2020 237

County Courts Act 1984

s 138(2) 238

s 138(3) 238

s 138(9A) 238

Criminal Law Act 1977

s 6 40, 237, 275, 276

s 7 40

s 9 40

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 285

Equality Act 2010 27, 28, 29, 284, 285, 286

s 4 27

s 15 284

s 15(1) 28, 284

s 15(2) 285

s 19 284, 285

s 21(1) 286

s 35(1) 27, 29

s 35(1)(b) 28

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 45, 253

European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 253

Family Law Act 1996

Part IV 18, 87

s 30 91, 281

s 31 91

s 31(10)(a) 18

s 31(10)(b) 18

s 54(5) 281

s 55 281

Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 253

s 19 3

Housing Act 1985 241

Housing Act 1988 241, 246

s 21 27

Housing Act 1996

s 193(2) 28

Housing Acts 209

Human Rights Act 1998 22, 23, 28, 284

s 6 24, 25, 27, 368

s 6(1) 26

Infrastructure Act 2015 6

s 43(1) 6

s 43(4) 6

Insolvency Act 1986

s 178 247

s 315 247

s 335A 189, 190, 192, 297, 311

s 335A(1), (2) 190

s 335A(3) 190, 311

Judicature Acts 1873–75 15, 30

Land Charges Act 1925 85, 88, 92

Land Charges Act 1972 85, 87, 89, 91, 92, 96, 97, 99, 107, 152, 362

s 2 86, 92

s 2(4)(i) 259

s 2(4)(iii) 265

s 2(4)(iv) 51, 86, 88

s 2(5) 268, 342, 343

s 2(5)(ii) 20

s 2(7) 18

s 4 89

s 4(5) 88, 265

s 4(6) 20, 51, 87, 89, 362

s 4(8) 18

s 17 89, 265

s 198 91

Land Registration Act 1925 74, 112, 113, 114, 142

s 20(4) 114

s 69 114, 124

s 70(1)(g) 121, 135, 143

s 70(1)(k) 134

s 83 120

s 101(3) 53

Land Registration Act 1988 106

Land Registration Act 2002 38, 39, 70, 74, 81, 101, 103, 104, 107, 110, 112, 114, 119, 124, 126, 127, 130, 150, 152, 265, 290

Part 9 69

s 2 127

s 3 103

s 3(2) 105

s 4 70, 103, 104, 127, 195, 204, 268, 292, 342

s 4(1) 80, 104

s 4(1)(a) 51, 104

s 4(1)(a)(i) 21, 68

s 4(1)(aa) 104

s 4(1)(b) 104

s 4(1)(c) 52, 68, 135

s 4(1)(c)(i) 21, 104

s 4(1)(d) 104

s 4(1)(e) 104

s 4(1)(g) 52, 68, 104, 259, 264, 265

s 4(2) 259

s 6(1) 52, 104

s 6(4) 104, 264

s 6(5) 104

s 7(1) 52, 104

s 7(2) 105

s 7(2)(b) 52

s 8 105

s 9(2) 106

s 9(4) 106

s 9(5) 106

s 10(2) 106

s 10(3) 106

s 10(5) 106

s 10(6) 106

s 11(4)(b) 120

s 12(4)(c) 120

s 23 102, 119, 129

s 23(1) 258

s 24 102, 119, 129

s 27 52, 67, 70, 127, 153, 154, 195, 204, 267, 268, 292, 325, 342

s 27(1) 79, 80, 107, 134, 136, 142, 259, 263

s 27(2) 107, 127, 130, 136, 324, 341

s 27(2)(a) 52, 107, 136, 155

s 27(2)(b) 52, 107, 128, 135, 136

s 27(2)(b)(i) 261

s 27(2)(d) 52, 107, 151, 341

s 27(2)(f) 52, 107, 136, 137, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 266, 269

s 28 114, 120, 130, 132, 154, 155, 265

s 29 52, 120, 131, 132, 136, 139, 142, 155, 259, 265, 266, 267, 268, 325, 326, 330, 331, 342, 343

s 29(1) 53, 107, 108, 109, 130, 131, 153, 154, 262, 266

s 29(2) 131, 151, 259

s 29(2)(a)(i) 18, 20, 51, 132, 155, 259, 261, 265

s 29(2)(a)(ii) 20, 67, 112, 127, 133, 145, 260, 261, 265

s 29(3) 131

s 29(4) 131, 134, 262

s 32 21, 51, 67, 108, 127, 133, 151, 265, 266, 267, 269, 362

s 32(1) 108

s 32(3) 20

s 33 67, 108, 128, 135

s 33(a)(i) 108, 109, 111, 155, 265

s 33(b) 21, 108

s 34 108, 136, 268, 269, 325, 342, 343

ss 35–39 108

s 40 109

s 40(1)–(3) 109

s 41 109

s 41(2) 109

s 42 109

s 42(1)(b) 109

s 42(2) 109

s 43 109

s 44 109

s 44(1) 109

s 45 109

s 46 109

s 46(1) 109

s 46(2) 109

s 47 109

s 52 200, 291

s 58 102, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 124

s 66(1) 108

s 96 38

s 115 51

s 116 67, 78, 139, 145

s 132(1) 107, 130

Sch 1 103

Sch 3 103, 120, 127, 133, 143, 154, 259, 330

para 1 128, 133, 134, 135, 154, 261

para 1(a) 133

para 1(b) 133

para 2 67, 112, 121, 135, 136, 137, 139, 141, 144, 154, 155, 259, 260, 261, 267, 325

para 2(b) 146, 147

para 2(c)(i) 95, 147

para 2(c)(ii) 148

para 3 151, 152, 154, 265, 326, 331

para 3(1) 151

para 3(2) 151

Sch 4 121, 124

para 1 39, 115, 119, 123

para 2 114

para 2(1)(b) 119

para 3(2) 115, 117, 123

para 3(3) 116

para 4 39

para 5 114

para 5(d) 114

para 6 115

para 6(2) 117

para 6(3) 116

para 9 118

Sch 6 37, 41, 42, 69, 71, 105, 111

para 1(1) 38

para 1(2) 38

para 2 38

para 4 38, 39

para 6 38

para 7 38, 39

Sch 8 112, 117, 118, 119, 121

para 1 118, 119

para 1(1)(a) 118, 119, 120

para 1(1)(b) 118, 120

para 1(1)(c)–(h) 118

para 1(2)(b) 118, 119, 121, 122

para 1(3) 118

para 3 119

para 5 118

para 6(a) 119

para 6(b) 119

para 8(a) 119

para 8(b) 119

Sch 12

para 9 152, 325

para 18 124

Landlord and Tenant Act 1927

s 18 243

s 19(1)(a) 230, 231, 233, 234

s 19(1A) 232, 233, 248

s 19(1B) 232

s 19(1C) 232, 234

Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 207, 209

Part II 209, 246

Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 236

Landlord and Tenant Act 1988

s 1(3) 230, 249

s 1(4) 230

s 4 230

Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 213, 214, 216, 219, 220, 221, 221, 223

s 3 217, 224

s 3(1)–(3) 217

s 3(5) 222

s 3(6) 217

s 5 216, 224

s 6 221

s 8 222

s 11 218,234

s 16 219, 224

s 16(1)–(3) 219

s 16(4), (5) 220

s 17 242

s 19 242

s 24(2) 221

s 25 221

Law of Property Act 1925 73, 77, 81, 99, 157, 159, 161, 175, 181, 257, 290

s 1 12, 76, 84, 209

s 1(1) 9, 11, 12, 30, 74, 75, 76, 84, 85, 98

s 1(1)(a) 10, 21, 84, 195

s 1(1)(b) 21, 75, 84, 195

s 1(2) 10, 11, 17, 30, 76, 85, 98, 258, 324, 342

s 1(2)(a) 11, 316, 341

s 1(2)(b)–(d) 11

s 1(2)(e) 11,236

s 1(3) 11, 12, 17, 30, 74, 85, 98

s 1(4) 76

s 1(6) 159, 160, 161

s 1(8) 78

s 2 73, 97

s 2(1) 76, 78, 96, 259

s 2(1)(ii) 81

s 2(1)(iii) 76, 80, 292

s 2(1)(iv) 76, 80

s 2(2) 75, 76, 150, 160, 161, 339

s 2(3) 78, 150

s 27 160, 161

s 27(2) 73, 75, 81, 97, 339

s 32(2) 50

s 34 159

s 34(2) 16, 159, 160, 194

s 36(2) 157, 175, 176, 178, 192

s 40 44, 263

s 42(1)(a) 76

s 44(1) 83

s 52 69, 209, 211, 266, 268, 342

s 52(1) 11, 19, 48, 128, 134, 204, 258, 269

s 52(2)(d) 204

s 53 56

s 53(1) 19

s 53(1)(a) 53

s 53(1)(b) 53, 56, 57, 69

s 53(1)(c) 53, 56, 69, 177, 264, 266, 268

s 53(2) 20, 54, 57, 69

s 54 20

s 54(1) 49

s 54(2) 49, 55, 69, 134, 204, 211

s 56 354

s 56(1) 354

s 62 7, 326, 328, 329, 330, 331, 341, 344

s 77(1) 216

s 78 355, 356, 358, 372

s 78(1) 355, 372

s 78(2) 355

s 79 350, 351

s 79(1) 350

s 79(2) 351

s 79(3) 351

s 84 365, 369

s 84(1)(a) 365, 366

s 84(1)(aa) 365, 366, 368

s 84(1)(b) 365

s 84(1)(c) 365, 366

s 84(1)(i) 365

s 84(1)(ii) 365

s 84(1A) 365, 368

s 84(1B) 366, 368

s 85(1) 257

s 85(2) 258

s 85(2)(a) 274

s 86(1) 257

s 86(2) 258

s 87 75, 76, 258

s 87(1) 258, 266, 275, 297

s 88(1) 292

s 89(1) 292

s 91(2) 281, 296, 297

s 99 262

s 101 284, 289, 290, 291, 295, 297, 298, 299

s 101(1)(i) 255, 289

s 101(1)(iii) 297

s 103 289, 290, 292, 295, 298, 299

s 104 290

s 104(1) 290, 291

s 104(2) 291, 292, 299

s 105 296, 298

s 109(1) 295

s 109(2) 295

s 109(8) 295

s 146 239, 243

s 146(2) 239, 240

s 146(4) 240

s 149(6) 204

s 193(4) 333

s 196 179

s 196(1) 179

s 196(3) 179

s 196(4) 179, 180

s 198(1) 51, 87

s 199(1) 93

s 199( 1)(ii)(a) 94

s 199( 1)(ii)(b) 94

s 205 204

s 205(1)(ii) 48, 75, 83, 258, 259, 329

s 205(1)(ix) 4, 6, 30

s 205(1)(xxi) 80

Law of Property Act 1969

s 23 82, 97

s 25 91

Law of Property (Joint Tenants) Act 1964

s 1 97

Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989

s 1 69, 204, 268, 269, 342

s 1(2) 49

s 1(2)(a) 49

s 1(2)(b) 49

s 1(3) 49, 50

s 1(3)(a)(i) 49, 50

s 1(3)(b) 49

s 2 44, 45, 46, 47, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 65, 69, 205, 206, 263, 267, 268, 269, 343

s 2(1) 46, 205

s 2(2) 46, 205

s 2(3) 205

s 2(5) 57, 58, 59, 60

Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938

s 1 243

s 1(1) 243

s 1(3) 243

s 1(5) 244

s 1(6) 244

Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993

s 42 115

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 39

s 144 39, 40, 41, 42, 71

Limitation Act 1980 24, 37, 41, 105, 111

s 15 37, 38, 71, 106

s 15(1) 23, 37, 123

s 17 38, 39, 69

s 18 124

s 19 242

s 20(1) 274

s 20(5) 274

Sch 1

para 1 37

Married Women’s Property Act 1882

s 17 17

Matrimonial Homes Act 1967 18

Mental Health Act 1983 144, 145

Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 262

s 1 262

s 1(5) 262

s 1(6) 262

Petroleum Act 1988

s 2 5, 6

Prescription Act 1832 332, 341

Protection from Eviction Act 1977 237

s 1 275

Rent Act 1977 241

Rent Acts 207, 209

Senior Courts Act 1981

s 38 238

s 50 362, 363

Settled Land Act 1925 191

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 368

Treasure Act 1996 8

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

Part 3 242

s 81 242

Trustee Act 2000

s 1 183

Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act

1996 157, 161, 182, 192

s 1 74

s 1(1)(a) 182

s 2 191

s 3 183

s 4 182

s 5 182

s 6 183

s 6(1) 16, 183

s 6(2) 183

s 6(5) 183

s 8 183

s 9 183

s 9A 183

s 11 183, 184, 192

s 11(1)(a) 184

s 11(1)(b) 184

s 12 184, 185, 186, 188

s 12(1) 21

s 12(2) 21, 184

s 13 185, 188

s 13(1) 185, 186

s 13(2), (3) 185

s 13(4) 185, 186

s 13(5) 185, 186

s 13(6) 185, 186

s 13(7), (8) 186

s 14 187, 188, 192, 297, 311

s 14(3) 187

s 15 187, 188, 189, 192, 297, 311

s 15(1) 187

s 15(1)(a) 187, 189

s 15 (1)(b) 187, 189

s 15 (1)(c) 187, 189

s 15(1)(d) 187

s 15(2) 187, 188

s 15(3) 187, 188, 189

s 15(4) 189

Statutory instruments and Codes

Civil Procedure Rules 282, 283

Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims based on Mortgage or Home Purchase Plan Arrears in Respect of Residential Property 282, 283

Code for Leasing Business Premises 2020 (RICS) 225

Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 272

Land Registration Rules 2003

r 24(1)(c) 103

r 28(1) 103

r 28(4) 103

Mortgage Conduct of Business Rules 274, 283, 287, 294

r 13.3 287

r 13.3.1 287

r 13.3.2A 288

r 13.3.4A 288

r 13.6.1 294

r 13.6.2 294

r 13.6.3 294

r 13.6.4 274, 294

Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 235

EU

Mortgage Credit Directive 287

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 45

International

European Convention on Human Rights 22

Article 8 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 284, 368

Article 34 22

Protocol No 1, Article 1 22, 23, 24, 39, 284

ABBREVIATIONS

chapter 1

Introduction to Land Law

study points

After reading this chapter, you will be able to understand:

• what is treated as land in the law of England and Wales

• the distinction between a fixture and a chattel

• what rights are recognised as being rights in the land

• the distinction between legal estates and interests and equitable interests in land

• the distinction between proprietary and personal rights

• how land can be subject to complementary and competing rights

• how human rights protection applies in the context of land.

1.1 Introduction

It is hard to overstate the importance of land to us. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) estimates that up to 70% of the world’s wealth is bound up in land and real estate (RICS, April 2017). It is home to the world’s estimated 7.9 billion citizens and the basis of mega cities and infrastructure, as well as to rural life and