Chattels and Fixtures Flashcards
What is the definition of a chattel?
An item of moveable property.
What is the definition of a fixture?
Fixtures are treated as part of the land to which they are attached.
What are the two tests that are applied to determine whether an item is a fixture or a chattel?
Berkley v Poulett:
(a) The method and degree of annexation;
(b) The object and purpose of the annexation.
What four items were considered in Berkley?
(a) Pictures affixed to the wall (chattels);
(b) A sundial detached from its pedestal (chattel);
(c) A heavy statute which was easy to remove from its plinth (chattel);
(d) The plinth itself, which was firmly affixed to the ground in an architecturally important siting (fixture).
What are the two main exceptions to the rule that you cannot remove fixtures?
(a) A proviso in a contract for sale that gives a right to remove fixtures;
(b) Where a person has affixed objects as a tenant, so-called ‘tenant’s fixtures’.
What are the four cases dealing with the question of fixtures and chattels in addition to Berkley?
D’Eyncourt, Leigh, Elitestone Ltd, and Botham.
D’Eyncourt
Numerous freestanding items were considered fixtures because they were part of the architectural design (e.g. tapestries fixed into walls, a portrait hung in a certain location, carved kneeling figures and sculptured marble vases, 16 stone garden seats).
Leigh
Tapestries tacked to a framework never lost their character as chattels because they could only properly be displayed in this manner.
Elitestone Ltd
A bungalow resting on concrete foundation blocks was, by common sense, a fixture. A house constructed to be removable could be a chattel; a house that cannot be removed save by destruction cannot be intended to be a chattel.
Botham
White goods manufactured to standard sizes and fitting into standard-sized holes considered chattels; fitted kitchen units considered fixtures; fitted carpets, curtains, light fittings and gas fires connected to the building only by gas pipe were all chattels.
