W1 Nature and Application Flashcards
Name
Detail
What is the authority for the legal definition of land?
S205(1)(ix) Law of Property Act 1925
How far above the land do property rights extend?
Airspace/height as necessary for ordinary enjoyment and use.
Authority: Bernstein v Skyviews
How far below the land do property rights extend?
Scope of potential access.
Authority: Bocardo v Star Energy
Bernstein v Skyviews
Facts: D took an aerial photograph of C’s country house and offered to sell it to him. C tried to claim damages for trespass/invasion of privacy. Court found there was no infringement of C’s rights in the air space above his property.
Significance: Authority for how far above a property rights extend: such a height as is necessary for ordinary use and enjoyment of land and the structures upon it.
Bocardo v Star Energy
Facts: Oil company constructing wells 800 to 3000 feet below the surface of land was found to be trespassing.
Significance: Owner of the land also owns the strata beneath it, including the minerals found there (unless there has been an alienation), unless the depth is beyond the scope of potential access.
Kelsen v Imperial Tobacco
Facts: D’s sign protruded into C’s airspace above his shop. Was found to be trespassing.
Significance: A lease of land includes the air space above. Can be trespassing without damage or loss.
What are corporeal hereditaments?
Physical things included in the definition of land. Includes fixtures but not chattels.
What are incorporeal hereditaments?
Non-physical things included in land, i.e. rights in land such as easements
What are fixtures?
Things affixed to the land whose ownership rights pass with the land.
What are chattels?
Things on the land which are not part of the land, and so their ownership rights do not pass with the land.
Are fixtures included in the transfer of ownership when land is bought/sold?
Yes, unless contracted otherwise. Authority: s62(1) LPA 1925.
Are chattels included in the transfer of ownership when land is bought/sold?
No
Holland v Hodgson
Facts: Owner of a mill who was also a spinner mortgaged the mill to the defendants. When C went bankrupt, D seized looms in the mill that had been nailed down. Court found that they were affixed enough to be fixtures and assed with the land.
Significance: Establishes the test for whether something is a fixture or chattel - degree and purpose of annexation.
What is the test for determining if something is a fixture or a chattel?
Two stage test, as set out in Holland v Hodgson:
1) To what degree is it annexed? I.e. how permanently is it affixed?
2) What is the purpose of annexation? Was it intended as a long-term improvement to the land (like a fixture), or just for enjoyment of the item (more like a chattel)?
What is the degree of annexation test?
How permanently affixed is the feature?
Authority: Holland v Hodgson
What is the purpose of annexation test?
Was the purpose intended to be a long-term improvement to the land (indicating fixture) or just to enjoy the item itself (if so, chattel)?
Authority: Hamp v Bygrave
Hamp v Bygrave
Facts: Claimant complained when the seller of a house removed a number of garden fittings, mainly stone ornaments resting on their own weight. They had been included in the particulars of sale and pre-contract inquiries. Judge applied the fixtures vs chattels test (degree and purpose of annexation). Judge held that including them in particular made them fixtures and were included in sale.
Significance: Restatement of the purpose of annexation test.
Is the degree of annexation test objective or subjective?
Objective
Is the purpose of annexation test objective or subjective?
Objective
What happens if the degree and purpose of annexation tests yield different results?
Purpose takes precedence
Elitestone v Morris
Facts: Issue was whether a chalet which rested on its own weight and wasn’t fixed to the ground was a fixture or a chattel. Occupiers needed protection under security of tenure provisions, so needed it to be a fixture. HoL decided that even though it wasn’t fixed to the land, it was difficult to move that you would have to destroy the chalet to move it, so it was a fixture.
Significance: If something would be destroyed by its removal from the land, it is a fixture.
D’Eyncourt v Gregory
Facts: A mansion contained tapestries, artwork, statues, etc. Question was whether these passed under a will to the same person as the mansion that housed them.
Significance: Things that are part of the architectural design of the house are fixtures (tapestries, etc) but things not attached and easily removed (glasses, pictures not in panels) were not.
Are things growing naturally on the land included in the definition of land?
Yes
Authority: Stukeley v Butler
Are things being cultivated on the land included in the definition of land?
Yes
Authority: Stukeley v Butler
Are animals naturally occuring on the land included in the definition of land?
When alive, the landowner has qualified property rights over them - can hunt them on their land. Once they have been caught and killed, they are absolute property of the landowner.
Authority: Blades v Higgs