Chapter 2 - What am i buying - The land itself

Question 1

What are we buying?

Land is made up of

Answer 1

Tangible & intangible items

Question 2

The definition of Land is made up of

Answer 2

Statute & common law

Question 3

Statute defines land as

Answer 3

**s205(1)(ix) LPA 1925*
o Tenure- the way land is held, i.e., FH/ LH
o Corporeal hereditaments- physical/ tangible objects, e.g., building
o Incorporeal hereditaments- various intangible rights associated with land, e.g., easements/ restrictive covenant

Question 4

s205(1)(ix) LPA 1925

Answer 4

Statute definition of land

Question 5

Common law presumptions / definition of land

Answer 5

He who owns the land owns everything extending to the heavens and to the depths of the earth
Whatever is attached to the ground becomes part of it

Question 6

He who owns the land owns everything extending to the heavens and to the depths of the earth

Answer 6

Airspace
Underground
Surface

Question 7

Airspace- Kelson v Imperial Tobacco Ltd (1957)

Answer 7

??????
OVERHANGING BILLBOARDS
OVERHANGING GUTTERING

Question 8

Airspace- Anchor Brewhouse Developments v Berkley House (Docklands) Developments (1987)

Answer 8

The jib of a crane above the claimant’s property

Question 9

Bernstein v Skyviews Ltd (1978)

Answer 9

Although ownership is said to be to the heavens, the owner is only allowed rights in the airspace to such a height as is necessary for the ordinary use & enjoyment of their land and structures on it

Question 10

Civil Aviation Act 1982 s 76

Answer 10

No action for trespass or nuisance can lie in respect of flights of aircraft over property at a reasonable height. What is reasonable depends on the prevailing weather conditions at the time.

Question 11

Underground

Answer 11

Tunneling under a neighbour’s property would amount to a trespass.

Question 12

Underground- Exceptions

Answer 12

All mines of gold and silver belong to the Crown, as does treasure by virtue of the Treasure Act 1996.
Oil extracted from the ground under the Petroleum Act 1998 belongs to the Crown.

Question 13

Bocardo SA v Star Energy UK Onshore Ltd (2009)

Answer 13

The defendants, owners of a licence granted by the Crown for oil extraction, bored a hole under the claimant’s land in Oxted, Surrey. Three pipelines were drilled diagonally into the substrata of the claimant’s land at a depth of 800 feet & terminating at a greater depth between 2,300 & 2,800 feet. By the end of 2007, over 1 million barrels of oil had been extracted.

It was held that there had been a trespass to the land of the claimants. The claimants were awarded damages by the Court of Appeal of £1,000. This nominal sum was granted as there was only a technical trespass, there being no interference with the claimant’s enjoyment of their property or interference with their rights.

Question 14

Infrastructure Act 2015

Answer 14

fracking (drilling for shale gas) by oil & gas companies
o to take place below 300 metres under neighbouring land without the landowners’ permission.
The common law rule and the decision in Bocardo SA v Star Energy (2009) would still apply to the subsoil down to 300 metres.
o Coal belongs to the Coal Authority by virtue of the Coal Act 1938.

Question 15

Surface- part of the land

Answer 15

Minerals
Buildings
trees

Question 16

Remedies for trespass to land

Answer 16

Damages - Where actual damage has occurred

Injunction- To prevent intrusions

Self-help - Cutting of branches from overhanging trees

Question 17

Fixture or Chattels

Fixture

Answer 17

An object that is attached to the land in such a way & for such a reason that it becomes part of the land

Whatever is fixed to land becomes part of it

s205(1)(ix) LPA 1925
…..buildings or parts of buildings……

Question 18

Land to be transferred by deed

Answer 18

Fixtures- need to transferred by deed
•Goods/ Chattels- do not need to be transferred by deed
Deed- LPA 1925 s 52

Fittings & Contents Form should be completed

Question 19

LPA 1925 s 52

Answer 19

Deed-

Question 20

Holland v Hodgson (1872)

Answer 20

In this case, the question arose whether looms installed in a factory formed part of that factory- that is, were they part of the land?

Spinning looms were bolted to the floor of a mill. Being attached other than by their own weight, the looms were held to be fixtures.

Blackburn J said whether an object is a fixture or a chattel depends on 2 tests- Purpose of attachment & Permanence of attachment

Question 21

whether an object is a fixture or a chattel

Answer 21

Purpose of attachment & Permanence of attachment

Question 22

Purpose of attachment

Answer 22

he courts looks at the purpose of the attachment: o was the object attached for its own benefit- in which case it is likely to remain a fitting or chattel, or
o was it attached for the benefit of the land as a whole- in which case it may well be a fixture

Question 23

Leigh v Taylor(1902)

Answer 23

A tapestry that was nailed to the wall of the premises…

Fitting.
o Normally, one hangs a picture, painting or tapestry to show the object itself to its best advantage and not to benefit the house as a whole.

Question 24

D’Eyncourt v Gregory (1866)

Answer 24

Marble statues of lions in a garden…

Fixtures as they were there to increase the owner’s enjoyment of the land.

Question 25

Permanence of attachment

Answer 25

Lampshades & curtains are unlikely to be considered as fixtures,whereas light fittings & fitted shelves probably will be.

Question 26

Botham v TSB Bank plc (1996)

Answer 26

Lampshades & curtains are unlikely to be considered as fixtures,whereas light fittings & fitted shelves probably will be.

Question 27

H E Dibble v Moore (1970)

Answer 27

Greenhouse

Fitting

Question 28

Elitestone Ltd v Morris (1997)

Answer 28

A bungalow built on pillars

Fixture

Question 29

Chelsea Yacht & Boat Co v Pope (2001)

Answer 29

A houseboat moored by cables and ropes with connection to mains water and power

Fitting

Question 30

Taylor v Hamer(2002)

Answer 30

It is important to make quite clear, when selling land, what is being sold with the land & what is not.
•Flagstones = fixture

Question 31

Peel Land & Property (Ports No. 3) Ltd v TS Sheerness Steel Ltd (2013)

Answer 31

Chattels
oCranes, transformers, a bar mill weighing over 800 tonnes & a continuous casting machine weighing over 500 tonnes that
were not attached to the land & had not become part of the structure or fabric of the building.
o A furnace, which was integrated into the building, was not considered removable.