Land 3 - Easements - Implied

Question 1

What are the 4 methods of implied acquisition of easements?

Answer 1

1. Necessity (landlocked land)
2. Common Intention (land used for purpose E needed for purpose)
   .
3. Rule in Wheeldon v Burrows (grants only)
4. S62 LPA 1925 (grants only)

Question 2

What is ‘necessity’ for implied acquisition of easements?

Answer 2

Its existence is essential for use of dominant land
- Only used for rights of way to otherwise landlocked land
- Where land is inaccessible by vehicle i.e. only by foot, it can be deemed necessary

Applies to grants, can very rarely apply to reservations

Question 3

What is ‘common intention’ for implied acquisition of easements?

Answer 3

• Specific Purpose
• Purpose known to all parties
• Easement essential to achieve specific purpose

Where land sold/leased for a particular purpose and purpose can’t be achieved without the easement OR when it’s necessary for enjoying another expressly granted easement

Only Grants

Wong v Beaumont:

Question 4

What is the Rule in Wheeldon v Burrows and its requirements?

Answer 4

• Only for grants (new owner)
• Quasi easement
• continuous and apparent (degree of permanence & some evidence as to its existence)
• Necessary for reasonable enjoyment of land (lower bar than necessity)
• In use at date of transfer

Where an owner sells/leases land, the new owner/tenant impliedly acquires all rights the original owner exercised i.e. quasi easements

(Will be a legal easement as read into transfer)

Question 5

What is the effect of S62 LPA 1925? What are its requirements

Answer 5

Buyer/tenant receives benefit of all existing easements & informal rights can be ‘upgraded’ into full legal easements

1. Only for grants, not reservations
2. Prior diversity of ownership
3. Informal permission/licence granted
4. Conveyance of dominant tenement i.e. transfer deed or lease
   Can also be used with quasi easements that are continuous and apparent, expectation will be used in future, some physical evidence of the right.

Question 6

What is an implied legal easement?

Answer 6

Where an easement is implied into a transfer deed or a legal lease as the easement takes its status from the status of the document it is implied into

Question 7

What is an implied equitable easement?

Answer 7

Where the easement were implied into a contract or an equitable lease