The Nature of Land and Rights

• Land (s.205(1)(ix) Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925)

  • Includes physical land, buildings, fixtures (corporeal hereditaments), and rights over land (incorporeal hereditaments)

  • Includes ground below (Grigsby v Melville – cellar) and lower airspace above the ground (Bernstein v Skyviews)

  • Treasure belongs to the Crown (Treasure Act 1996)

  • Forgotten property is not abandoned property (Moffat v Kazana)

• Fixtures vs Chattels

  • Attached to the land is part of the land (Holland v Hodgson), two part test:

    • 1) Degree of Annexation – if moveable or resting on its own weight then a chattel (Culling v Tufnell)

    • 2) Purpose of Annexation – was it put there to improve the property? E.g. a wall hanging passes degree test but under purpose test it fails as only there to be looked at and enjoyed (Leigh v Taylor)

  • Chattels are goods and others not part of the land.

  • Anything that is a fixture on the date of sale or mortgage is a part of the property and cannot be sold/removed.

Proprietary vs Personal Rights

• Land users fall into one of three categories

  • A – a property/proprietary right (e.g. a lease, easement, covenant)

  • B – a personal right (e.g. they are a guest of X)

    • All this means is that they cannot be classed as a trespasser (Thomas v Sorrell).

    • Can only be binding in so far as they are in personal constructive trusts.

  • C – no right at all (e.g. a trespasser – nb one day they may become an adverse possessor and gain a property right).

    • Can be removed easily (possession order can be <24hrs).

• Purchaser for value without notice (‘T’)

  • If A’s right is proprietary, then it is capable of binding T or capable of binding the land.

    • This right is a part of the land – they affect the land potentially for ever.

  • B’s right is personal it is inherently incapable of affecting/binding T on the land.

    • King v David Allen [1916] – above principle declared.

    • Street v Mountford [1985] – Landlords tried to call as many things as possible a license in order that not too many tenants were classified under the Rent Act 1977.

      • Defined a lease (as opposed to a licence) as: a grant of exclusive possession of the property for a fixed or periodic term at a rent.

• Defining Proprietary Rights

  • Lord Wilberforce in National Provincial Bank v Ainsworth

    • Lord Wilberforce’s definition: “Before a right or an interest can be admitted into the category of property, or of a right affecting property, it must be definable, identifiable by third...

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