Introduction to Land Law

361 Pages·2013·23.171 MB·English

by  Roger Smith

“A comprehensive and concise introduction to land law, demonstrating great strength in clarity of the text THIRD
without compromising coverage. The online support resources are particularly welcome.”
EDITION
Dr Lucy Barnes, University of East Anglia

THIRD EDITION
“A clear, concise and accurate introductory text written by a leading authority in land law.”
I Introduction to
Professor Antonia Layard, University of Birmingham n
“The text is clear and easy to understand. It explains the issues very well indeed without over-simplifying
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fundamental points.”
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Land Law
Professor Janine Griffiths-Baker, St Mary’s University College o
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Roger Smith’s Introduction to Land Law presents a u Roger J. Smith
straightforward account of the law and its effects,
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providing clear explanations of legal concepts students
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often find difficult to grasp and illuminating the
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interesting and thought-provoking issues stemming Join over 5,000 law students o
from land law.
succeeding with MyLawChamber
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The third edition incorporates leading decisions from MyLawChamber is packed with a wealth of tools
to help you develop and test your knowledge of t
the Supreme Court which have lately emerged in
land law, strengthening your understanding so you
o
important areas of land law such as human rights can excel.
(Manchester CC v Pinnock), leases (Jones v Kernott) and The Pearson eText is a fully searchable,
the family home (Mexfield Housing Co-operative Ltd v interactive version of Introduction to Land L
Law. You can make notes in it, highlight
Berrisford). The chapter on the family home has been a
it, bookmark it, even link to online
substantially revised to reflect recent developments. sources – helping you get more out of
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studying and revision.
Key features of this edition: • Interactive multiple-choice questions d
• Practice exam questions with guidance
 Part 1 provides a solid foundation for studying land
• Weblinks
L
law - explaining what it is and why it’s important, • Glossary flashcards
the difference between land law and other forms • Legal newsfeed a
of property law, and the increasingly important • Legal updates w
relationship between land law and human rights. CASE Case Navigator provides in-depth
analysis of the leading cases in business
 Explanation of critical and controversial issues NAVIGATOR law, improving your case-reading skills
has now been integrated with discussion of the PBOYWERED and understanding of how the law is
applied.
relevant legal principles in each chapter for deeper
Virtual Lawyer lets you apply your
understanding.
knowledge of the law to a range of
 Examples of how the law works out in practice are interactive scenarios, strengthening
your understanding and developing
highlighted throughout the text.
your skills in answering legal problem
 The text is now fully cross-referenced with questions.
the author’s Property Law: Cases and Materials www.mylawchamber.co.uk S
companion to expand learning. m
Case Navigator is included with your MyLawChamber
 A glossary provides clear definitions of the technical registration. The LexisNexis element of Case Navigator is i
only available to those who currently subscribe to LexisNexis t
and often archaic terms encountered in land law. Butterworths online. h
Roger J. Smith teaches law at Magdalen College,
University of Oxford. He is also the author of two very
“One of the few books in this area which lives up to its title. It really does give
successful in-depth treatments of the subject: Property
Law and Property Law: Cases and Materials, both the student an introduction to the subject.”
published by Pearson. Dave Powell, formerly University of Teesside
www.pearson-books.com
Cover image © PNL / Alamy
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Introduction to Land Law
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Introduction to Land Law
Third Edition
Roger J. Smith
Magdalen College, Oxford
iii
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Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
Web: www.pearson.com/uk
First published 2007 (print)
Second edition published 2010 (print)
Third edition published 2013
© Pearson Education Limited 2007, 2010 (print)
© Pearson Education Limited 2013 (print and electronic)
The right of Roger J. Smith to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The print publication is protected by copyright. Prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in
a retrieval system, distribution or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, recording or otherwise, permission should be obtained from the publisher or,
where applicable, a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom should be
obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London
EC1N 8TS.
The ePublication is protected by copyright and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred,
distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically
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it was purchased, or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised
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rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence (OGL) v1.0.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence.
Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third-party internet sites.
ISBN: 978-1-4082-9346-1 (print)
978-1-4082-9348-5 (PDF)
928-1-292-00058-9 (etext)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for the print edition is available from the Library of Congress
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
17 16 15 14 13
Print edition typeset in 9.5/13pt ITG Giovanni Std by 35
Print edition printed and bound in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press,
Dorchester, Dorset
NOTE THAT ANY PAGE CROSS REFERENCES REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION
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Brief contents
Preface to third edition xvi
Guided tour xviii
Acknowledgement xx
Table of cases xix
Table of legislation xxvi
Part 1
Introduction to land law 1
1 Introducing land law 3
2 Trusts and equitable interests 12
3 Legislative reform: 1925 to 2002 16
4 Land and other property 24
5 Human rights 28
Part 2
Acquiring interests and binding purchasers 37
6 Adverse possession and fixtures 39
7 Transfer and creation of interests in land 55
8 Estoppel 75
9 Ownership of the family home 94
10 Priorities and registration 115
Part 3
Rights to enjoy land 143
11 Successive and concurrent ownership 145
12 Trusts of land 161
13 Leases: types and requirements 187
14 Leases: obligations and remedies 208
vv
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BRIEf ConTEnTS
Part 4
other interests in land 237
15 Licences 239
16 Easements 253
17 Covenants 276
18 Mortgages 294
Glossary 316
Index 322
vi
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Contents
Preface to third edition xvi
Guided tour xviii
Acknowledgement xx
Table of cases xxi
Table of legislation xxviii
Part 1
Introduction to land law 1
1 Introducing land law 3
What is land law? 3
What issues arise in land law? 4
Interests in land 6
Splitting ownership 6
Other interests in land 8
Why have a list of interests in land? 10
Questions to consider 11
Further reading 11
2 Trusts and equitable interests 12
The trust 12
Other equitable interests; remedies 13
Equitable interests in the modern law 14
Questions to consider 15
Further reading 15
3 Legislative reform: 1925 to 2002 16
A strategy for estates 16
Freehold estates 17
Leasehold estates 18
Registration of title 19
A strategy for interests other than estates 19
An interim solution: land charges legislation 20
The modern solution: registration of title 20
Commonhold: a new estate? 21
Conclusions 22
Questions to consider 22
Further reading 23
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ConTEnTS
4 Land and other property 24
The range of proprietary interests recognised 24
The significance of possession 25
Formalities 25
Registration 25
Land as a home 26
Land and the 1925 legislation 26
Conclusions 27
Questions to consider 27
Further reading 27
5 Human rights 28
Convention rights 28
Enforcement of Convention rights 30
Human rights in the enforcement of property rights 31
Assessing human rights in land law 33
Questions to consider 34
Further reading 34
Part 2
Acquiring interests and binding purchasers 37
6 Adverse possession and fixtures 39
Nature and importance 39
Adverse possession 39
Introduction 39
Justifications for adverse possession: human rights arguments 40
Adverse possession under the Land Registration Act 2002 43
When is there adverse possession? 45
The effects of adverse possession 48
Fixtures 49
The significance of fixtures 50
When is there a fixture? 51
Rights to remove fixtures 52
Assessing the law on fixtures 53
Questions to consider 53
Further reading 54
7 Transfer and creation of interests in land 55
Nature and importance 55
The importance of formalities 55
The reasons for formality rules 56
Justifications 57
Are the justifications convincing? 58
Transfers of land 59
Contracts for the sale of land 60
Transferring the land 62
viii
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ConTEnTS
Creating interests in land 62
Legal interests 63
Equitable interests 64
Electronic conveyancing 64
Electronic Communications Act 2000 65
Land Registration Act 2002, section 91 65
Land Registration Act 2002, section 93 66
Trusts 68
Express declaration of trust 68
Trusts not requiring writing 68
Resulting trusts 69
Constructive trusts 72
Questions to consider 74
Further reading 74
8 Estoppel 75
Nature and importance 75
When will estoppel arise? 77
The basic test 77
The mistake: assumptions and representations 78
The mistake: promises 78
Detrimental reliance 83
The owner’s responsibility 85
The remedy 86
Estoppel as a proprietary claim 89
The earlier cases 89
Land Registration Act 2002, section 116 89
Is proprietary status appropriate? 89
Non-proprietary expectations and remedies 90
Conclusions 90
Benefit and burden 91
Questions to consider 92
Further reading 92
9 ownership of the family home 94
Nature and importance 94
Express declarations of trust 96
Transfer into joint names 97
Transfer into a single name 97
Background and early developments 98
Gissing v Gissing 98
Inferred and imputed intentions 99
Contributions and inferred common intentions 100
Express common intentions 102
Intentions after purchase: improvements 104
Quantifying the shares 105
Resulting or constructive trust? 105
ix
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