12. Easements

An easement is a form of third party right that allows one to enjoy the benefits of land ownership. Some examples of such rights are rights of way, rights of light, the right to use a washing line on a neighbour’s land, the right to use a neighbour’s lavatory, and the right to park a car on another person’s land. The easement must exist for the benefit of land and cannot exist in gross. The rule that an easement cannot exist in gross has been a controversial subject. This chapter, which explores the nature of easements and considers their related concepts such as natural rights, public rights, restrictive covenants, and licences, also discusses legal and equitable easements, the creation of easements, and proposals for reform of the law on easements.

10. Leasehold Estates

The lease was not originally perceived to be within Land Law at all, but is now a familiar part of landholding. The underlying basis of the lease is a contractual one, a factor that has led, at times, to conflict between landlord and tenant as to whether the relationship should be regarded as the incidents of that estate, or should be governed by normal contractual principles. Leases are employed in three main areas: residential property, commercial property, and agricultural property. This chapter, which deals with leasehold estates, examines the context of leases, the essentials of a lease, exclusive possession, types of tenancy, and equitable leases, and also discusses the rights and duties under a lease, the enforceability of covenants, and termination of tenancies.

4. Unregistered Land and the 1925 Legislation

In 1925, England enacted substantial legislation that recast the existing Land Law, and which provided the framework on which modern Land Law was developed for more than seventy-five years. The essential framework remained intact until the enactment of the Land Registration Act 2002, which replaced, and substantially modified, the Land Registration Act 1925. But while the Land Registration Act 2002 is expected to be an important piece of legislation relating to land ownership in England, the 1925 legislation will still provide a good deal of the theoretical underpinning of the subject. This chapter discusses the main strategies of the Land Registration Act 1925, focusing on its effect on unregistered land. It first describes Land Law after 1925 before turning to legal estates, legal interests in land, equitable rights, land charges registration under the Land Charges Act 1925, unregistrable interests, and classification of interests.

1. Introduction to Property and Land

Land is an important commodity in society that it is both permanent and indestructible, two features which distinguish it from other forms of property. More than one person can have a relationship with the land and share the right to possess it. The right to possess a land is known as ownership right, but it is also common for people to have enforceable rights in other people’s land. This is the third party right, an example of which is where the owner of a house in a residential area agrees with neighbours that the house will only be used as a residence. This chapter discusses land and property rights, ownership rights, third party rights, and conveyancing. It also examines the distinction in English law between real property and personal property, the meaning of land, items attached to the land, fixtures and fittings, and incorporeal hereditaments.

15. Licences

In recent times, there has been considerable development with respect to determining how rights in land can be created and the implications of such rights for purchasers of land. Licences are not considered full proprietary rights but provide an interesting area where the law seeks to protect licensees from both the licensor and, in some cases, the purchaser. It is an area of law where the courts have had to deal with informal relationships and try to balance the conflicting pressures of the satisfaction of legitimate expectations with the desire for security of transactions. This chapter focuses on licences: it first considers the nature of licences before turning to contractual licences and the licensee’s rights, and contractual licences and third parties.

6. Adverse Possession

According to Section 17 of England’s Limitation Act 1980, a person who loses the right to recover possession of land also loses his title to that land. The corollary is that the person who takes possession of the land acquires ownership rights. In cases where title is unregistered, English Land Law provides that ownership of land or, more accurately, estates in land, is a relative concept. In a dispute over entitlement to possession of land, the court must determine which of the two claimants has a better right to possess, rather than who is the owner. This chapter explains legal aspects of possessing land titles in England. After providing an overview of land ownership and possession, it discusses the rationale of the statute of limitation, the link between registered land and human rights, limitation under the Limitation Act 1980, the accrual of a right of action, and adverse possession.

2. Tenure and Estates

The doctrine of estates appears to be a logical consequence of tenure. The theory underpinning Land Law in England is that all land belongs to the Crown and that people held the land from the Crown, originally, in return for the performance of services. In this case, the tenants did not actually own the land itself, but only held an interest, or estate, in the land. Certain incidents of ownership can be divided between different people at different times, a process facilitated by the doctrine of estates. This chapter focuses on the doctrines of tenure and estates. It discusses freehold estates, which include the fee simple, the life estate, and the fee tail, as well as the co-existence of estates, ownership and possession of land, and leasehold estates.

14. Proprietary Estoppel

Proprietary estoppel is a doctrine of considerable antiquity, which, while the subject of considerable judicial development in the nineteenth century, lurked in a degree of obscurity until interest in the subject was revived comparatively recently. Estoppel is seen as having two main forms; in land law, it has long been accepted that estoppel can operate directly to found a cause of action. When operating in this way, the doctrine is referred to as proprietary estoppel, which is the focus of this chapter. It first considers the origin of the doctrine before turning to equitable estoppel, estoppel and other concepts, and estoppel and third parties.

7. Consecutive and Concurrent Interests in Land

According to the doctrine of estates, which provides the theoretical underpinnings of modern Land Law in England, a number of estates could exist simultaneously with regard to the same piece of land. Land could be settled upon one person for life, the remainder to a second person in fee tail, and the remainder to a third person in fee simple. The interests of the second and third persons are called future interests, which are considered consecutive interests in the land. In addition to consecutive interests, one can also have concurrent interests in the land. This chapter discusses the methods by which English law accommodates both consecutive and concurrent interests in the land. It also considers the law relating to co-ownership of land, the powers of the tenant for life, the structure of settlements, sale of trust, trust of land, the rights of beneficiaries, and overreaching.

13. Freehold Covenants

People who wish to develop their land, or build upon it, must obtain planning permission, applications for which are made public and those who may be affected by the action may make representations. The law governing this area is a highly complex one and involves the public control of land use. Private control of land use involves landowners seeking to regulate how land is used within a particular locality. This chapter deals with covenants made between freeholders and how successors in title to the original parties to the covenant can either acquire the benefit of a covenant or take subject to the burden of it. It first discusses the privity of contract before turning to the transmission of covenants, common law, equity, and restrictive covenants, and also considers remedies available in case a breach of covenant arises, discharge of covenants, and positive covenants.