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1.1 The significance of land 1 Land law deals with the legal relationship between land and the owner of that land.
2 Many different people can have competing claims in respect of the same piece of land.
3 The interests of owners of neighbouring land often affect the landownerâs enjoyment of his own land, so land should not be seen in isolation.
4 The competing interests of different landowners become more significant as more land is taken into residential ownership.
5 Ownership of land therefore comprises not only rights one may have over oneâs own land, but also rights one may have over a neighbourâs land. Such rights may include the right to use a neighbourâs land in a particular way or to prevent a particular use a neighbour may wish to make of the land.
1.2 The definition of land âWhoever owns the soil owns everything up to the heavens and down to the depths of the earthâ (Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos).
A landowner has no rights to enter the land of his neighbour in order to carry out repairs to his own property (John Trenberth Ltd v National Westminster Bank (1979)).
The Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 allows a landowner the right to make an application to court for an order allowing access for specified repairs. The terms of the order are very strictly limited to whatever access is necessary for the essential repairs to be carried out.
The ground immediately below the surface is owned by the landowner. If there is a cellar or open space below the land, it is owned by the landowner irrespective of whether he is aware of it or not (Grigsby v Melville [1974]).
1.3 Real and personal property 1 Property is divided into real and personal property.
2 Real property mainly comprises land and is property that can be recovered by a real action, allowing a claimant to recover the property itself.
3 Personal property is property that can only be recovered by a personal action, allowing the defendant a choice between the return of the item or paying a sum in damages.
4 Historically, leaseholds were treated as personal property and could only be recovered by personal action (i.e. the claimant might have to be satisfied with damages only).
5 Today, the important issue is whether a right over land is personal or proprietary.
6 A proprietary right is a right in the land itself, which can be binding on a third-party purchaser.
7 A lease is now defined as a proprietary right in land.
8 A personal right is a right against another person and cannot bind a third party (e.g. a bare licence only gives the licensee the right to remain on the land until the licence is revoked by the licensor).
1.3.1 Real property
1 An estate in land is a right over land for a period of time.
2 Under the Law of Property Act (LPA) 1925 s 1(1) there are only two legal estates in land: leasehold and freehold.
3 An estate in land can also be called real property.
4 Land includes rights called incorporeal and corporeal hereditaments.
5 Hereditaments are rights in land that can be inherited and so can pass under a will or an intestacy.
6 Corporeal hereditaments are physical objects (e.g. land and anything attached to it, such as buildings, trees and minerals).
7 Incorporeal hereditaments are rights in land that are not physical things (e.g. easements and profits), but can be very valuable.
1.4 Legal and equitable rights 1 Historically:
legal rights were enforceable only in the common law courts of the King;
equitable rights were enforceable by the Kingâs Chancellor...
