THIS PAPER IS NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAMINATION HALLS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 266 0003 ZB DIPLOMA IN THE COMMON LAW LLB SCHEME A SCHEME B GRADUATE ENTRY ROUTE A GRADUATE ENTRY ROUTE B BSc DEGREES MANAGEMENT WITH LAW, ACCOUNTING WITH LAW, SOCIOLOGY WITH LAW Land Law Friday 27 May 2011: 10.00 13.15 Candidates will have fifteen minutes during which they may read the paper and make rough notes ONLY in their answer books. They then have the remaining THREE HOURS in which to answer the questions. Candidates should answer FOUR of the following EIGHT questions. Candidates should answer all parts of a question unless otherwise stated. University of London 2011 Page 1 of 5
1. The current law on freehold covenants is defective in a number of respects. The law fails to allow the burden of positive covenants to run with the land, and its rules relating to the running of the benefit of covenants is unduly complicated. However, rather than simply addressing these two defects we need a wide-reaching and fundamental reform of the law on freehold covenants. Discuss. 2. Eastern County Council owns the registered freehold title to Dalton Manor, which it occupies until 1996 before it moves its administrative headquarters to a new site. Dalton Manor is about four hectares of land, comprising a large building, a cottage and a garage. Eastern County Council now wants to sell Dalton Manor to raise capital funds. When Oliver, their surveyor, visits the property he discovers the following: (a) Jolene is occupying the cottage, and claims to be a squatter. She tells Oliver that she broke the lock of the front door in January 2000, and then moved in. She immediately mended the roof and installed a new heating system. She admits to Oliver that although she has lived in the cottage ever since, she fully expects that one day Eastern County Council may ask her to leave, or pay rent. (b) Tom is making use of the garage. Tom shows Oliver a copy of a contract for sale (dated 1998) by which Eastern County Council agreed to sell him the garage. Tom also produces a receipt for the purchase price. (c) the boundary fence between Dalton Manor and the neighbouring Willow Farm appears to be in a different place from that shown on the plans Eastern County Council gives Oliver. Consequently, a small part of land that belongs to Dalton Manor is on the wrong side of the fence. Oliver speaks to Pat, the owner of Willow Farm. She explains how, in 1999, she put the fence up in place of a fire-damaged hedge, erecting it where her lawyer told her the boundary lay between Willow Farm and Dalton Manor. Advise Eastern County Council as to whether Jolene, Tom or Pat can make a successful claim to be registered as proprietors of the parts of Dalton Manor they occupy. Indicate briefly how, if at all, your advice about Jolene s claim would be different if her legal position was governed by (i) unregistered land law rules; and (ii) the Land Registration Act 1925. Page 2 of 5
3. In 2005 Carlos purchased a shop in which to sell carpets. He used his savings to pay 5% of the purchase price. Although the Big Bank declined to make Carlos a loan, one of his regular suppliers, Rugland, advanced the balance of the purchase price, subject to having a registered charge over the title to the shop. The mortgage was for a period of 15 years. Carlos signed a mortgage deed, in which he agreed to: (i) pay 10% above the highest rate of interest charged by the Big Bank; (ii) buy all his supplies of carpet adhesive from Rugland; and (iii) give Rugland an option, exercisable for the first 10 years of the loan period, to buy the car park at the rear of the shop. In 2011 Carlos s business began to fail and he was therefore unable to make two monthly repayments to Rugland. Last month he decided to leave the premises and move abroad. He handed the keys to Rugland. Carlos also removed a glass display cabinet, which his late father made especially to fit in the shop, and to which he has a sentimental attachment. Last month Rugland s estate agent valued the shop at 400,000. One of Rugland s managers, Sandie, has expressed an interest in buying the shop if she can get it for a good price. Discuss whether: (a) Carlos has any legal basis to challenge the validity of the terms of the mortgage; (b) Carlos is entitled to remove the glass display cabinet; and (c) Rugland may sell the shop to Sandie. 4. Dot owns the registered freehold title of a large terraced house, Mon Repose, which is subdivided into four separate flats. She lives in the basement flat. In 2007 Dot writes to her sister, Ethel, and invites her to move into the first floor flat free of charge. Ethel moves in. She is grateful for Dot s offer because she has been homeless since her husband s death. Dot s letter tells her that she may stay in the flat until I sell Mon Repose. In 2008 Dot agrees to lease the ground floor to Grant for five years at 150 per week. She allows Grant to move in. In 2010 Dot allows two students, Woody and Terri, to move into the one bedroom attic flat. Dot, who wrongly believes them to be a couple, gets them both to sign identical agreements. Woody s lecture timetable means he signs his agreement a day later than Terri. Each document is headed: Licence Agreement, and provides that Dot will retain a key to the attic flat to allow her to change the bed linen each Friday between 11.00 and 11.30 am. Under the terms of the agreement, Woody and Terri also agree to be liable for the whole of the rent. After a few weeks, Dot starts to leave the fresh bed linen outside the attic flat door because Woody and Terri like to sleep late and so ask her not to disturb them. What, if any, rights do Ethel, Grant, Woody and Terri have to occupy their respective flats in Mon Repose? Page 3 of 5
5. Ty Du is a small cottage with its own garden, which forms part of Brian s extensive estate, Whiteacre. The main farm house belonging to Whiteacre benefits from its own tarmac drive leading to the main road, but Brian finds it quicker to cross through Ty Du s garden whenever he needs to walk to the main road. Ty Du s drains connect to the main sewer by running under Whiteacre, although Ty Du is also served by a cesspit at the bottom of its garden. In 2008 Brian grants Rory a three year lease of Ty Du. Rory does not object when Brian continues to cut through Ty Du s garden to reach the main road. Three months later, Brian gives Rory permission to leave his camper van in one of Whiteacre s disused stables during the winter months. In 2011 Brian sells Rory the freehold title of Ty Du. A month later, Brian sells Whiteacre to Jennifer. Jennifer wants to remove all the underground drains beneath Whiteacre, and she also asks Rory to stop using the stable belonging to Whiteacre. Rory is so annoyed at Jennifer s behaviour that he padlocks his garden gate to stop her from walking through Ty Du s garden. Advise Rory. 6. In 2004 Adam and Ian decided to buy a small cottage and live together. Adam s parents gave them 5,000, which they used to pay the deposit. Adam took out a mortgage, in his sole name, to cover the balance of the purchase price; the title to the cottage was also registered in his sole name. Adam also paid all the mortgage instalments while Ian used the wages from his job as a hotel chef to pay towards the household energy bills, buy food and meet all the costs of running the motorcycle they share. In 2007, when Ian s father died, he used a small legacy to renovate and refit the kitchen. He and Adam also invited Ian s mother, Jean, to come and live in the cottage with them. Initially, Jean was reluctant to give up the tenancy of her flat in Dublin, but Adam and Ian assured her that she could think of the cottage as her home for as long as she liked. Before moving in, Jean paid for an extension to be built at the back of the cottage. Last year Adam left Ian and moved out of the cottage. Debbie has expressed an interest in buying the cottage from him. Advise Debbie (a) whether Ian and Jean can claim any proprietary rights in the cottage; and (b) how, if she decides to buy the cottage from Adam, she can ensure she successfully obtains the title free from any such rights. 7. Critically assess the view that the provisions in Schedule 3 of the Land Registration Act 2002 relating to so-called overriding interests manage to strike an appropriate balance between the rights of registered proprietors and those who hold competing interests over their land. Page 4 of 5
8. In 2006 five brothers and sisters, Alex, Ben, Candice, Danny and Edith, pool their savings to purchase Seaview, a large house by the sea which they want to use as a holiday home. They each pay different sums towards the purchase price of the house, and title to Seaview is conveyed into the names of Alex, Ben and Candice. The conveyance also states that all five of them own the house as beneficial joint tenants. A few months later, Edith divorces her husband. The others agree to Edith and her daughter, Fiona, moving in and living in the annex at Seaview. In 2007 Alex agrees to sell his interest to Candice, but they later decide against going ahead with the transaction. In 2008, when Ben needs to raise money for his business, he secures a loan with the Royal Bank by creating a mortgage over his interest in Seaview. In 2009 Candice telephones the others in turn to tell them that, as she is re-locating to New York, she wants to sell her interest in Seaview immediately. Alex says he is interested in buying Candice s interest from her but will first need to discuss the proposed price with his accountant. The next day Alex is killed in a boating accident. In his will, Alex leaves all his property to Candice. In 2011 Danny decides he no longer wants to keep Seaview as a holiday home. Candice agrees to his proposal that the house is sold, but Edith objects because her doctor has highlighted the therapeutic benefits of living on the coast to help control Fiona s asthma. Advise Edith as to: (a) who has beneficial interests in Seaview; and (b) the likely success of an application for a court order that Seaview is sold. How, if at all, would your advice on (b) differ if Ben defaults on his loan repayments and the Royal Bank is making the application for the sale of Seaview? END OF PAPER Page 5 of 5