Land II Enforceability of Third Party's Interests Flashcards
3 ways to ascertain third party interests
investigating the title
carrying out conveyancing searches
advising the buyer to physically inspect the land
Difference of legal interest and equitable interests in terms of enforceability
Legal interests will bind the world irrespective of awareness or notice
Equitable interests will bind only with notice
List out Class C Land Charges
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C(i) A puisne mortgage which is a mortgage not protected by a deposit with the lender of the title deeds
C(ii) A limited owners charge (rare)
C(iii) A general equitable charge not covered in the other categories (rare); and
C(iv) An estate contract, for example, a contract to purchase, an option agreement, right of pre-emption
List out Class D Land Charges
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D(i) Tax paid on death (rare)
D(ii) Restrictive covenants; and
D(iii) Equitable easements
Explain Class F Land Charge
a Class F land charge protects a non-owning spouse’s (or civil partner’s) statutory right of occupation of the matrimonial home under the Family Law Act 1996
Importance of registration of land charge against the correct owner
Registration of land charge is not against the address of the property but the correct estate owner.
Application to register a land charge is by the person the right is due, against the estate owner.
If a buyer searches against an incorrect name, they will take the property subject to any entries registered against the correct name of the estate owner
s 198(1) LPA 1925
Registration as a land charge constitutes actual notice to all persons of the interest or right registered
In purchasing an unregistered title, for a buyer to take free of an equitable interest unaware of notice of equitable interest (Equity’s Darling), he must
Have acted bona fide, w genuine and honest absence of notice
be a purchase for value (not by gift or by assent)
Have acquired a legal estate or legal interest (equitable interest)
no notice of the equitable interest
If an interest is not registrable as a land charge for an unregistered title, the 3 kinds of notice for an equitable interest to be made known for the buyer
Actual notice: actual knowledge
Constructive notice: had they made reasonable enquiry, they would have discovered for themselves.
Imputed notice: Notice given to an agent of the buyer will be deemed to be notice given to the buyer themselves.
Define rights that override first registration
When unregistered land is first registered under LRA 2002, it becomes subject to unregistered interests which override first registration (they become automatically binding)
These rights include
A lease granted for seven years or less;
A legal easement;
A local land charge;
An interest belonging to a person in actual occupation so far as relating to the land they occupy
Define adverse possession
Adverse possession is the process of acquiring title to land by dispossessing the previous holder
Following Limitation Act 1980, if some with an estate that is unregistered and is occupied by someone else for 12 years, the owner will lose the right to recover the land.
The legal owner retains the legal title, but they hold the legal estate on trust for the squatter who is entitled to register in his own name.
A situation where adverse possession may arise
- deliberate act: try to occupy the land for 12 years. not common.
2, Mistake. A genuine mistaken belief that someone’s else land is his with good faith. the boundaries on the title to the land can be made good with what happened on the ground
Procedure for adverse possession
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The application must be made to HMLR
The applicant has to show that
They have actual physical possession of land;
possession is exclusive to the applicant(walled or fenced);
the possession is without the permission of the owner(as of right)
The six main categories of legal, statutory and equitable interests in land (LEFTER)
Legal lease and legal easement Equitable lease and equitable easement s.30 Family Law Act 1996 Right Trusts Equitable Contract Restrictive Covenant
Distinguish Legal easement and equitable easement
Legal easement must be equivalent to term of years absolute/forever (s.1(2)(a) and must be made by deed s.52(1)
if the term is uncertain or if the easement is not expressed by deed, the easement is an equitable easement that binds buyers unless they are equity’s darling