Land Law

Question 1

What does “land” include in the context of Land Law?

Answer 1

“Land” includes corporeal hereditaments (tangible objects like buildings and plants) and incorporeal hereditaments (intangible rights like easements and rents).

Question 2

What are the two types of legal estates in land?

Answer 2

The two legal estates are freehold (fee simple, indefinite duration) and leasehold (term of years, fixed duration).

Question 3

What are the two tests to determine whether an item is a fixture or a fitting?

Answer 3

The two tests are:

Degree of annexation test: How firmly the item is attached.
Purpose of annexation test: Whether the item was intended to be a permanent part of the land.

Question 4

What is adverse possession, and what is required to claim it?

Answer 4

Adverse possession allows a squatter to gain title to land after actual, exclusive, and physical possession without the owner’s permission for at least 12 years for unregistered land (10 years for registered land).

Question 5

What are corporeal hereditaments in land law?

Answer 5

Tangible items, such as buildings, plants, mines, and airspace reasonably usable above the land.

Question 6

What are incorporeal hereditaments?

Answer 6

Intangible rights, such as easements, rents, and other interests in land.

Question 7

What is the key difference between a fixture and a fitting?

Answer 7

A fixture is attached to the land and passes with the sale of the land, while a fitting remains personal property unless listed in the contract.

Question 8

What is a restrictive covenant?

Answer 8

A promise not to do something on the land, such as restricting building types or uses.

Question 9

What is a positive covenant?

Answer 9

A promise to do something on the land, such as maintaining a boundary fence.

Question 10

What is required to create a deed?

Answer 10

It must be in writing, state it is a deed, be signed in the presence of a witness, and be delivered to show an intention to be bound.

Question 11

What are the requirements for proprietary estoppel?

Answer 11

Assurance, reliance, detriment, and unconscionability.

Question 12

How is a lease different from a license?

Answer 12

A lease gives exclusive possession for a defined term, while a license only grants personal rights to use the land.

Question 13

What is the right of survivorship in joint tenancy?

Answer 13

On death, a joint tenant’s share automatically passes to the surviving joint tenant(s).

Question 14

How is a tenancy in common different from joint tenancy?

Answer 14

Tenants in common can have unequal shares, and their share can pass through a will, unlike joint tenancy.

Question 15

What is an easement?

Answer 15

A right to use one piece of land (servient tenement) to benefit another piece of land (dominant tenement).

Question 16

What are the methods of creating an easement?

Answer 16

By deed, prescription, or implication (necessity, common intention, or existing use).

Question 17

What is a mortgage?

Answer 17

A loan secured by a legal or equitable interest in land, granting the lender rights over the property if the borrower defaults.

Question 18

What are overriding interests in registered land?

Answer 18

Rights that bind a buyer even if they are not on the title register, such as certain leases, implied easements, and rights of occupiers.

Question 19

What is the process for first registration of land?

Answer 19

Triggering events like sale, lease over seven years, or mortgage grant must be registered with HM Land Registry within two months.

Question 20

What are the key elements of a lease?

Answer 20

Certainty of term, exclusive possession, and compliance with formalities (such as a deed for terms over three years).

Question 21

What is the purpose of overreaching in land law?

Answer 21

To transfer a beneficiary’s interest in land to sale proceeds, ensuring the buyer takes free of those interests.

Question 22

Who owns the wild animals on land?

Answer 22

The landowner does not own wild animals but has the right to hunt them.

Question 23

What is a profit à prendre?

Answer 23

A right to take something from another’s land, such as timber or fish.

Question 24

What is a rentcharge?

Answer 24

An interest requiring a periodic payment by the landowner to the rentcharge owner, typically a former owner of the land.

Question 25

What are the five categories of legal interests in land?

Answer 25

Mortgage, easement, rentcharge, profit à prendre, and right of entry.

Question 26

What happens if a legal interest is created without meeting deed formalities?

Answer 26

An equitable interest may arise instead, as equity prioritises fairness over formality.

Question 27

How can covenants be enforced against subsequent buyers?

Answer 27

Restrictive covenants may bind subsequent buyers in equity if they have notice, while positive covenants generally bind only the original parties.

Question 28

What is required for a covenant to bind successors in equity?

Answer 28

It must be restrictive, touch and concern the land, intended to run with the land, and the successor must have notice of it.

Question 29

What is the significance of the Land Charges Register?

Answer 29

It protects equitable interests in unregistered land by serving as notice to all parties.

Question 30

What is the role of the Title Information Document?

Answer 30

It details the registered parcel of land, including the Property, Proprietorship, and Charges Registers.

Question 31

What is the difference between absolute and possessory title?

Answer 31

Absolute title is the best class of title, while possessory title relies on factual possession rather than documentary evidence.

Question 32

What is a reversionary lease?

Answer 32

A lease that takes effect at a future date, rather than immediately.

Question 33

What are the main statutory protections implied into residential leases?

Answer 33

Landlords must repair the structure, exterior, and certain installations (e.g., water, gas, electricity) of the dwelling.

Question 34

What is forfeiture in the context of leases?

Answer 34

The landlord’s right to terminate the lease early due to the tenant’s breach, provided this right is expressly included in the lease.

Question 35

How can a lease be created without formalities?

Answer 35

A lease for three years or less can be created orally if the tenant takes possession and pays the best obtainable rent.

Question 36

What is the test for distinguishing a lease from a licence?

Answer 36

A lease requires certainty of term, exclusive possession, and appropriate formalities, while a licence grants only personal rights.

Question 37

What is proprietary estoppel?

Answer 37

A remedy when someone acts to their detriment based on an assurance about property, and it would be unconscionable to deny them rights.

Question 38

What are implied easements by necessity?

Answer 38

Easements implied when a landowner sells part of their land, and the sold parcel is landlocked without access to a public road.

Question 39

What happens when a tenant assigns their lease?

Answer 39

The assignee takes over the lease, and the original tenant is released from liability for post-assignment breaches (for leases after 1995).

Question 40

What is a break clause in a lease?

Answer 40

A clause allowing one or both parties to terminate the lease early without affecting certainty of term.

Question 41

What are overriding interests in registered land?

Answer 41

Interests that bind a buyer even if not entered on the register, such as short leases, implied easements, and the rights of occupiers.