Land Law and Real Property
Land Law and Real Property
This domain tests estates, interests, and the machinery that makes third-party rights enforceable against later owners. Expect registration, co-ownership, easements, covenants, mortgages, and adverse possession.
Estates and interests
- Legal estates: fee simple absolute in possession and term of years absolute; other interests are equitable.
- Registration systems: title by registration (Torrens) vs deeds registration; priority depends on notice and registration.
- Co-ownership: joint tenancy (right of survivorship; four unities) vs tenancy in common (distinct shares).
- Easements require a dominant and servient tenement, diversity of ownership, benefit to the dominant land, and a capable grantor; prescription can create them.
- Covenants: the burden at law runs only if it touches and concerns the land and there is privity; in equity, Tulk v Moxhay requires notice, intention, and touch and concern; the benefit runs under annexation, assignment, or scheme.
Worked example
A owns two adjoining plots and sells one to B, purporting to grant B a right of way over the retained plot. Later, C buys the retained plot. B claims the easement binds C. Reasoning: at the time of the grant, A owned both plots, so there was no diversity of ownership; a person cannot hold an easement over their own land. The right is void, and registration cannot cure it.
Traps
- Forgetting that a legal easement can bind even if unregistered in some systems, while equitable interests may be overreached.
- Confusing restrictive covenants (equitable) with positive covenants (which generally do not run at law).
- Missing the four unities for joint tenancy.
- Assuming adverse possession stops automatically on registration; limitation periods vary and registered land often requires a statutory application.