Land 4.1 Nature of Land

Question 1

Can five people purchase a property together and hold the legal estate?

Answer 1

No. Only four people of full age and mental capacity can hold the legal estate to a property and appear on the proprietorship register

Question 2

What is the maximum number of people entitled to the beneficial interest?

Answer 2

No maximum number

Question 3

What is the LPA 1925

Answer 3

Law and Property Act 1925
This is one of the only pieces of legislation that you will be expected to recognise in the SQE exam.

Question 4

Corporeal hereditaments

Answer 4

tangibles which become part of the physical land e.g surface of the land, fixtures etc

Question 5

Incorporeal hereditaments

Answer 5

Rights over the land
They pass with the land on sale from a seller to a buyer

Question 6

Is a seller entitled to take trees and plants from the land they are selling?

Answer 6

No - they form part of the land and the buyer is entitled to them on purchase

Question 7

The definition of ‘land’ explained:

Answer 7

• a landowner cannot object to the passage of aircraft over their land during normal flight
• a landowner can hunt wild animals on their land, even though they do not own them,
  and
• if an old artefact or gold is found underground, it belongs to the Crown.

Question 8

Fixtures are

Answer 8

Things that are attached to the land and form a part of the land

Question 9

What are the two tests to decide if something is a fixture?

Answer 9

• The degree of annexation test: this test provides that the greater the degree of attachment
  to the land, the more likely the item is to be a fixture.
  The purpose of annexation test – if the fixture was brought to the land to be a permanent improvement, it is a fixture

Question 10

Fitting

Answer 10

Does not pass with the land and will not pass with the new owner

Question 11

Gold / treasure found on the land belongs to:

Answer 11

The Crown

Question 12

What is the legal estate

Answer 12

right to possess or use the property and has control over
the property

Question 13

The holder of the beneficial interest

Answer 13

Entitled to the economic benefit of a property, they have a ‘behind the scenes interest’
Also have a right to live in the property or take a share of the rental income

Question 14

What are the two estates in land:

Answer 14

• freehold
• leasehold

Question 15

What are the five legal interests in land?

Answer 15

• mortgages
• rentcharges: used to enforce a positive covenant ie. payment for the maintenance of property
• easements: ie. a right of way
• Profits à prendre: use the land for profit
• rights of entry

Question 16

Easements

Answer 16

A right which exists over one piece of land for the benefit of another piece of land.

Question 17

Rentcharges

Answer 17

An interest in land which requires the landowner to make a periodic payment in respect of land to the rent charge owner. They are generally used to enforce a
positive covenant, for example, for the payment for
communal services (such as a play area, park or shared
facilities) on a freehold housing estate.

Question 18

How must legal interests be created?

Answer 18

by deed: LPA 1925 s 52

Question 19

Equitable interests are

Answer 19

All other interests in land that aren’t legal

Question 20

Name some common examples of equitable interests

Answer 20

Freehold covenants
Estate contracts
Matrimonial home rights
Beneficial interests under a trust
Equitable mortgages

Question 21

What is a freehold covenant?

Answer 21

Equitable interest
Obligation to do or not do something
Restrictive or positive

Question 22

Equitable mortgages

Answer 22

An agreement to create a mortgage or a failure to create a mortgage by deed may give rise to an equitable mortgage.
There must be sufficient evidence in writing as to the terms of
the mortgage.

Question 23

If a legal interest creation fails ie. by a failure of the formalities of a deed - what is created?

Answer 23

An equitable interest

Question 24

Legal interests bind all

Answer 24

Third parties

Question 25

Equitable interests only bind when

Answer 25

parties who are not bona fide purchasers for value of a legal estate without notice of the
equitable interest

Question 26

Right of way is a

Answer 26

Easement
If created by deed, it is one of the five legal interests

Question 27

Legal charge is a

Answer 27

Mortgage
If created by deed it is possible that it is one of the five legal interests

Question 28

The creation of the two legal estates and five legal interests must be created by

Answer 28

Deed - check in a MCQ that is has been created by the relevant formalities
If the relevant formalities have not been met, it will not be a legal interest

Question 29

Is a deed needed to create a transfer of part?

Answer 29

yes - this is a new covenant or right over the land. Created when part of the seller’s land is sold

Question 30

Transfer of whole - what type of deed is needed

Answer 30

This is when all of the land is transferred in a sale
TR1 form

Question 31

Transfer of part

Answer 31

used when a part of the land is sold, the form required is a TP1

Question 32

Conveyance is a

Answer 32

Traditional deed
Used in the unregistered conveyancing system to transfer an interest in unregistered land

Question 33

Two legal estates and five legal interests must be created by

Answer 33

Deed. If a right or interest does not fall within these categories, by definition, it must be an equitable
interest.

Question 34

Name some examples of how an equitable interest can be created

Answer 34

• express trust
• an attempt to create a legal interest which has failed
• behind the scenes beneficial interest implied in land - by implication: when someone has contributed towards the acquisition of the land
• Behind-the-scenes beneficial interest in land – by declaration: declaration of trust where two people purchase a property together

Question 35

tenants in common

Answer 35

own different shares of the property
share of the property does not automatically go to the other owners if you die
you can pass on your share of the property in your will

Question 36

joint tenants

Answer 36

have equal rights to the whole property
property automatically goes to the other owners if you die
cannot pass on your ownership of the property in your will

Question 37

own a property as either

Answer 37

joint tenants
or tenants in common

Question 38

Fixtures can only be transferred by

Answer 38

Conveyance

Question 39

Profit a prendre in gross

Answer 39

right to take something from the land of another, which can be bought and sold independently, and is not attached to the ownership of a particular piece of land

Question 40

profit a prendre appurtenant

Answer 40

A profit a prendre appurtenant is a right the benefit of which is attached to a particular piece of land

Question 41

A profit a prendre may be

Answer 41

appurtenant (attached to the land) or in gross (not attached to the land can be bought or sold)

Question 42

An equitable easement should be protected by registration of a

Answer 42

D(iii) land charge

where a deed fails to create a legal interest ie. an easement. This can create an equitable easement instead that can be protected by registration of a D(iii) land charge

Question 43

Concurrent interests - what does this these describe?

Answer 43

This describes interests over the same piece of land which exist at the same time.