NG Bar Prop Law flashcards

34 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Customary tenure

A system of land holding under native law and custom, where land is held by a community, family or individual, with use rights and alienation subject to the consent of the family or community.

Statutory right of occupancy

A right of occupancy granted by the Governor over land in a state, evidenced by a certificate of occupancy, and held subject to the Land Use Act and its conditions.

Customary right of occupancy

A right of occupancy granted by a Local Government over land outside urban areas, held under customary law and evidenced by a certificate of occupancy issued by the Local Government.

Certificate of occupancy

A document issued by the Governor or Local Government evidencing a right of occupancy; it is conclusive evidence of title against the whole world, subject to interests shown on it.

Overriding public interest

A ground under the Land Use Act permitting the Governor to revoke a right of occupancy for public purposes, mining, oil pipelines, or public works, with compensation for improvements.

Revocation of right of occupancy

The Governor's power to cancel a statutory right of occupancy for overriding public interest or breach of conditions, effected by notice, with compensation payable for unexhausted improvements.

Unexhausted improvements

Buildings, works, crops and other developments on land that retain value at the date of revocation or acquisition; compensation is assessed on their value, not on the land itself.

Governor's consent

The approval required under section 22 of the Land Use Act for the alienation, assignment, mortgage or transfer of a statutory right of occupancy; absence renders the transaction invalid.

Deed of assignment

A written instrument, executed and attested, that transfers the assignor's entire unexpired interest in land to the assignee, subject to registration and stamping requirements.

Attestation of a deed

The signature of a witness to the execution of a deed, together with the witness's address and occupation, providing evidence that the parties executed the instrument.

Stamping of instruments

The payment of stamp duty under the Stamp Duties Act; an unstamped or insufficiently stamped instrument is inadmissible in evidence until the duty and penalty are paid.

Registration of instruments

The entry of a deed in the land registry under the applicable registration law; unregistered instruments are generally inadmissible to prove title, with limited statutory exceptions.

Root of title

The document from which a vendor's title is traced; a good root deals with the whole legal and equitable interest and is old enough to satisfy the statutory period of investigation.

Good title

A title free from reasonable doubt and capable of being forced on a purchaser, shown by an unbroken documentary chain and free of undisclosed encumbrances or defects.

Investigation of title

The purchaser's examination of the vendor's chain of title, encumbrances, capacity and statutory notices, supported by searches and enquiries, before completion of the transaction.

Requisitions on title

Formal questions raised by the purchaser's solicitor about defects, encumbrances or ambiguities in the vendor's title, which the vendor must answer satisfactorily before completion.

Joint tenancy

Co-ownership with unity of interest, title, time and possession, carrying the right of survivorship so that a deceased joint tenant's interest passes to the surviving co-owners.

Tenancy in common

Co-ownership in distinct undivided shares without survivorship; each co-owner may deal with or devise their share, subject to the rights of the other co-owners.

Severance of joint tenancy

The conversion of a joint tenancy into a tenancy in common by alienation, mutual agreement, course of dealing, or operation of law such as bankruptcy.

Family land

Land held collectively by a family under customary law, administered by the family head with principal members, and alienable only with the requisite family consent.

Partition

The division of co-owned or family land into separate portions allotted to individual co-owners or branches, effected by agreement or court order and usually by a registered deed.

Lease

A grant of exclusive possession of land for a definite term at a rent or other consideration, creating an interest that binds successors in title and may be assigned.

Licence

A permission to occupy or use land that creates no interest in the land, is generally revocable, and does not bind third parties or successors in title.

Tenancy at will

An occupation of land with the owner's consent but without a fixed term or periodic rent, determinable by either party at any time on demand.

Notice to quit

A notice terminating a periodic tenancy, which must be of the length prescribed by law or the tenancy agreement and served in accordance with the applicable Recovery of Premises Law.

Mortgage

A security interest in land created by deed to secure repayment of a debt, giving the mortgagee remedies including sale, foreclosure and appointment of a receiver on default.

Equity of redemption

The mortgagor's right to redeem the mortgaged property on payment of the debt and costs; any term that clogs or fetters this right is void.

Power of sale

A mortgagee's remedy to sell the mortgaged property after default, exercisable in good faith and with reasonable care to obtain a proper price, with proceeds applied to the debt.

Easement

A right enjoyed by one parcel of land over another, such as a right of way, which must accommodate the dominant tenement and be capable of forming the subject of a grant.

Restrictive covenant

An equitable interest that restricts the use of land for the benefit of other land; it binds successors if the burden and benefit are properly annexed and the covenant is negative.

Registration of title

A system in which the state records ownership of land in a register; the registered proprietor's title is conclusive, subject to registered and overriding interests.

Land charge

A statutory or equitable interest, such as a charge or restrictive covenant, registered against land; failure to register may render it void against a purchaser for value without notice.

Compulsory acquisition

The statutory power of the State to take private land for public purposes, following prescribed procedure and paying compensation for unexhausted improvements and disturbance.

Resettlement

The provision of alternative land or compensation to persons displaced by compulsory acquisition, agreed with the acquiring authority or determined by the appropriate tribunal.