unregistered land Flashcards
Under S1(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) there are…
two legal estates in land: freehold and leasehold.
Under s1(2) of the LPA 1925 there are…
five interests which may have legal status:
- Easements
- Rentcharges,
- Mortgages,
- Similar charges
- rights of entry.
Under s1(3) of the LPA 1925 there are…
All other interests will take effect in equity only, as per s1(3).
(RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS)
What is the doctrine of notice?
Under the doctrine of notice, a bona fide purchaser of a legal estate for value takes priority over any pre-existing equitable interest which is not registrable as a land charge, provided they did not have actual notice, constructive or imputed notice of their existence.
In many conveyances, the doctrine of notice will not be relevant, as overreaching will generally transfer the beneficiaries interest in the land to the proceeds of sale.
How do you prove title in unregistered land?
For unregistered land, title is proved by title deeds. The documents which prove the history of title over property are described as the root of title. These documents, should identify the person who currently holds the best “title” to the land. When a party looks to purchase that land, they are required to look at least at the previous 15 years in order to show a “good root of title.”
How are rights protected? Unregistered land
Most rights have to be protected by the use of the Land Charges Act 1972. Using the 1972 Act, the rights are registered as charges.
The Land Charges Act 1925 was intended to protect the rights of those with unregistered interests
The Land Charges Register, which comes from the Land Charges Acts, provides different “classes” of third party interests… What are they?
from Class A (charges created by a person applying under a statute) to Class F (Matrimonial rights).
If an interest ought to have been registered as a land charge and was not, then the interest will be void against nearly all potential purchasers of the land (Hollington v Rhodes.
Class F is the type of class which you are most likely to encounter in a problem question. Class F is a spouse’s statutory rights to occupy the matrimonial home. As with any other of the classes, if a spouse had a right to occupy the land, but the Class F land charge was not registered, then such a right will be void.
What happens if a notice is registered as a land charge?
Conversely, a notice that is registered binds everyone, according to s.198 of the Law of Property Act 1925. Therefore, even if a purchaser does not find the notice in their search, they are still bound by it.
Notice of interest in unregistered land…
In the case of unregistered land, legal estates and interests “bind the world” and thus will bind the purchaser, regardless of whether the purchaser did have, or even could have, knowledge of the estate or interest.
What is the principle for “crack in the mirror”
The so-called “mirror” is the reflection of the paper record (the entry in the register) to the corresponding right over the given estate in land.
These rights are classified as ‘unregistered interests’ and are deemed to be ‘overriding interests’, meaning they can bind subsequent purchasers of the land.
Notice of equitable interest in unregistered land…
`In the case of unregistered land, such interests only bind a purchaser if they have notice of the interest (as otherwise they will be protected as ‘equity’s darling’.)
To successfully defend a claim for equitable interest, you (the defendant) must provide evidence that you:-
Acquired the legal title;
In bona fide;
For valuable consideration; and
Without notice of the equitable claim against which your defence is asserted.
What is the bona fide purchaser rule,
Innocent purchaser of property who purchases for value without notice of any other party’s claim against the property. So long as a bona fide purchaser properly records the transaction, the bona fide purchaser takes good title to the property despite competing adverse claims.
a bona fide purchaser of a legal estate for value takes priority over any pre-existing equitable interest which is not registrable as a land charge, provided they did not have actual, constructive, or imputed notice of their existence.
the bona fide purchaser rule can still mean overriding interests do not take precedence over the rights of bona fide purchasers. This is so, provided that certain conditions are met:
- The purchaser must show that his absence of notice was ‘genuine and honest’ (Midland Bank Trust Co Ltd v Green)
- The purchaser must take a legal estate in the land concerned
- A person is a purchaser if they take property by reason of the act of another person.
- Finally, a bona fide purchaser must take the property without notice. (constructive, imputed, actual)
Explain overreaching
Under ss 2 and 27 LPA 1925, where purchase money is paid to two or more trustees any equitable interests in the land are overreached, which means they are converted into merely personal interests in the proceeds of sale. This leaves the purchaser to take free of these interests.
There are 3 forms of notice..
Notice can be actual, constructive or imputed.
