SG - Estates and Interests in Land Flashcards
Legal estates
Freehold & Leasehold; estate > interest (right in land)
Legal interests
1) Easement
2) Mortgage
3) Rentcharge
4) Miscancellaneous statutory charges
5) Rights of entry
Equitable interests
All other, i.e.
1) Equitable easements and mortgages
2) Restrictive covenant
3) Estate contracts
4) Beneficial interests under trust
Protection in registered land
1) Registrable disposition (must be registered in order to take effect): leases of 7yr, legal easements, legal mortgages, rent charges, rights of entry
2) 3P interests (protected by Notice or Restriction on the Land Register): estate contracts, restrictive covenants, interests under trust [but can be overreached by payment to 2 trustees]
3) Unregistered/overriding interests (do not need to be registered to be protected): leases
Protection in unregistered land
1) Legal rights bind the whole world (except from puisne mortgages)
2) Equitable rights are either:
a) subject to doctrine of notice
b) registrable as a land charge:
- puisne mortgages
- estate contracts
- restrictive covenants
- equitable easements post 1925
- Family Law Act (charges)
Fee simple absolute in possession
- estate inheritable
- no restriction to who can inherit
- right is not subject to any conditions
- right is available now
- estate brought to end when O dies with no heirs -> returned to Crown
Terms of years absolute
- estate lasts for a specific period of time (term)
- right is not subject to any conditions
- since no ‘in possession’ one can have benefit of lease that starts at some point in the future
Commonhold
created to overcome difficulties faced by O of leasehold property in enforcing covenants; alternative method of holding freehold land; rare, Act 2002
Easement
Right of O to use or restrict use of land of another, i.e. right of way
Privilige
= profit a prendre, right to take sth from land i.e. fish
Charge by way of legal mortgage
= mortgage, interest in house in exchange for loan
Right of entry
Landlord can enter property and take it if tenant breached terms of lease
Creation of legal interest
kind of interest from s1(2) LPA + deed (s52(1)) + registered where land registered = legal interest; failure in any = equitable interest
Estate contract
1) Contract for sale and purchase of land
2) Option to purchase (right to purchase within fixed time period)
3) Pre-emption right (the purchase of goods or shares by one person or party before the opportunity is offered to others)
Restrictive covenant
Promise by landowner not to do a particular act in relation to his land, i.e. not to build, not to use for business
Registered land
LRA02 separates in:
1) registrable interests or dispositions
2) 3P rights and interests
3) unregistered or ‘overridning’ interest
Registrable interests
s 27(2) LRA02; 1) legal mortgage 2) rentcharge 3) right of entry 4) expressly granted legal easements 5) legal lease for over 7yrs registrable interests + registration at land registry = binding
3P interests
Protected by notice:
1) equitable easement and mortgage
2) restrictive covenant
3) estate contract
Protected by Restriction:
1) interest under trust
Need to be registered to bind 3P
De Lusignan v Johnson
Failure to registere 3P interest will result in the owner of the interest having no way of protecting that interest
Unregistered/overriding interest
Some 3P interests will bind purchaser of registered land even if they are not protected, (sch. 3 LRA02):
1) legal leases granted for
Interests of people ‘in actual occupation of the property’
E interest + continuous or permanent occupation + disclosure upon reasonable enquiry/ obvious upon reasonable inspection = unregistered/overriding interest
Williams & Glyn’s Bank Ltd v Boland
Home in H’s sole name, W had E interest, no repaying mortgage, mortgage company wanted to take house, but W was found to be in actual occupation of property thus she had overriding interest
+ overreaching can only take place when purchase monies paid to two trustees
Strand Securities v Caswell
In order to claim an overriding interest by virtue of actual occupation, the occupation must be permanent and continuous
Chhokar v Chhokar
H sold when W in hospital, buyer had to take subject to W’s interest since she was in actual occupation
Legal interests in unregistered land
except from puisne mortgage, buyer will be bound by all the interests no matter if he knows about them (legal right binds whole world at CL)
Equitable interests in unregistered land
must be registered in Central Land Charges Register to be protected; Land Charges Act 1972
Puisne mortgage
mortgage that is not protected by the deposit of the title deeds with the lender, only legal interest capable of registration under LCA72
Restrictive covenant under LCA
only C created after 1926, before that subject to E doctrine of notice, O bound by it unless BFP for value of the legal estate without notice
Family Law Act charges
FLA 1996 gives a spouse right of occupation in matrimonial home, but no interest in the land, where not L owner
Overreaching
s2 LPA - any interest under a trust of land can be ‘overreached’ by a purchaser of the legal estate of the land burdened by the interest, provided that the purchaser pays the purchase monies to two trustees or a trust corporation (enables P to take free of interest)
City of London Building Soc v Flegg
Family home in joint names of H & W, W’s parents - E interest. H’s trustees remortgaged property to B.Soc, defaulted, B.Soc wanted to take property, held: overreaching defeated overriding interest of parents
Rectification
Sch 4 LRA02, if mistake that could prejudicially affect the title of the registered proprietor, rectification necessary;
no need to prove fault;
no way of registering overriding interest by way of rectification, since not prejudicial;
registered proprietor must consent to change unless exceptions;
proprietor contributed via fraud or negligence to mistake?
would it be unjust to correct the mistake?
