1 Land, Estates & Interests Flashcards
Basically describe land
- permanent
- indestructible
- finite
- valuable
- central to uk economy, banks lend money with land as surety (mortgages)
- one piece of land can serve multiple interests
- can also provide security, safety, health, comfort, job etc
What are the central themes in land law
Heritability Alienation (disposing of property) - monetary value Certainty and clarity (formalities) Exclusion and boundaries Responsibility Enforceability of rights Possession
What is property
tangible property, which can be physically possessed, and
intangible property (choses in action) - these are rights which can be enforced by legal action
Describe the concept of property ownership
Ownership is not simply possession of tangible property, also is a bundle of rights
An owner can alienate certain rights and retain others
What are some of the most important distinctions land law requires us to make
- to identify rights and how they were created
- decide if rights have been transferred to another (sometimes pass without owners agreement)
- decide if purchaser is bound by the rights
What statute defines ‘land’
LPA 1925 section 205(1)(ix) - general definitions
What do these key terms mean, commonly used in statute:
Hereditament
Corporeal
Incorporeal
Hereditament = can be passed on to heirs Corporeal = tangible Incorporeal = intangible
What clarifies the uncertainty of how high or low land can be owned / classed from the surface, in the statute quote ‘whether or not held apart from the surface’
Case of Corbett v Hill 1870
- “up to the sky and down to the centre of the earth”
But there are other limits
What other limits are there on Corbett v Hills distance above or below the surface that can classify as the same land
Height limits
- Kelsen v Imperial Tobacco Co 1957 - invasion of the airspace over another’s land is trespass
- Civil Aircraft Act 1982 (s76) - aircrafts invading ‘the airspace’ over someone’s land are fine though as long as are at a ‘reasonable height’
- The Electricity Supply Regulations 1998 (s13) - electricity cables must reach a ‘minimum height’
Distance beneath limits
- as there is always coal, gas and petroleum under peoples land, all three of which are owned by gov (Petroleum Act 1998, s2, Coal Industry Act 1994), one must have permission to cross the owner’s land to get to those resources, or else it is trespassing (even if it is the sub-strata of your land) - Bocardo v Star Weald Energy 2010
- trespass to land consists of any unjustifiable intrusion by a person upon the land in possession of another
Describe corporeal hereditaments (tangible property), and the key case for it
- tangible property is things on the land perceptible by touch
- it is important because of alienation
Key case: Elitestone Ltd v Morris 1997 - distinguished between the tangible property of chattels, fixtures and part and parcel of the land
Describe fixtures of land
- part of the land and thus part of the mortgage or sale of that land
- Marshall v Lloyd 1837 - ‘whatever is attached to the soil becomes part of it’
- part of the land
How do you distinguish between fixtures and fittings (chattels)?
1) degree of annexation:
- Holland v Hodgson 1872- fixture if it’s fixed to the ground
- Elitestone v Morris 1997 - fixture if cannot be removed without destroying it
- D’Eyncourt v Gregory 1866 - fixture if its integral to the design
2) Purpose of Annexation (the intention)
- fixture if its attached to the land for the enjoyment of the chattel or attached to the land for the purposes of a permanent improvement of the land - but this can be complex to distinguish
- fixture if the intent to effect a permanent improvement was undeniable
3) degree of permanence
What is the principle of the case Botham v TSB Bank PLC 1996
Purpose of annexation (intention of it) is decisive
Degree of annexation gives rise to evidential presumptions
Describe chattels of land
- ornaments attached for display and enjoyment
- items that can be removed without damaging fabric of the building
- buildings may be different - Elitestone v Morris 1997
- personal property
Describe the principles of the case Elitestone v Morris 1997
- à wooden bungalow on concrete pillars could be classed as part and parcel of the land for example
- key q is not only whether it’s attached, and there’d intention that it is part of the land, but also a degree of permanence
- is it intended to serve a permanent purpose
What are some central concepts of land law
Tenure
Estates
Incorporeal hereditaments
Describe tenure and estates in general
- tenure = person who held land from another
- although now more historical interest - tenure shows ‘ownership’ is an interest in property
- the estate defines the rights and duration associated with the tenure
Describe estates in land specifically and the different types of it
- estate duration of rights = abstract concept reflecting duration a person enjoys their wide range of rights over land
2 types of estate in land (LPA 1925 s1)
- legal estates
- equitable interests
What are the only ESTATES in land which are capable of subsisting or of being conveyed or created AT LAW (the legal estates in land)
- an estate in fee simple absolute in possession
- a term of years absolute
Describe an estate in fee simple absolute in possession, as an ESTATE in land capable AT LAW
- fee = heritable
- unrestricted duration (freehold)
- but title is not indefeasible (adverse possession can occur to it)
Describe a term of years absolute, as an ESTATE in land capable AT LAW
- a specific duration (leasehold)
Describe the distinction between law and equity.
Law, common law - must have compliance with formalities, strict application of rules - ‘as of right’
Equity - not grounded in strict adherence with formalities, flexible, for deserving claimants, so judicial discretion
Thus key point = if an estate in land is ‘capable of being legal’ - it MUST comply with statutory formalities
Why do legal and equitable interests matter
Legal rights
- bind the world
- enforceable against the successor in title (the purchaser of your title to your land, if you were to sell it)
Equitable rights
- not automatically binding
- binding on the whole world EXCEPT the ‘bone fide purchaser for value of a legal estate for value without notice of the equitable interest’
Outline the legal formalities for creating a legal estate
LPA 1925 section 52
- conveyances to be by deed
However this does not apply to certain things - eg those listed under section 2
