STUDYING LAND LAW
Land law has the reputation of being a ‘challenging’ subject, governed by a system of sometimes technical rules and involving a number of complex and abstract concepts. This book is designed to make the subject both accessible and enjoyable, using realistic problem scenarios to develop an understanding and appreciation of the development, relevance and application of those rules and concepts. You will already know more than you may realise; everyone needs and uses land and so will come to the subject having some knowledge on its nature. This book gradually adds layers of knowledge, with topics building upon and reinforcing knowledge gained earlier. As a subject, land law demands coherence, since the answer to many questions requires an understanding of a number of interrelated issues or topics of study. A calm, structured approach both to study of the key principles and to answering questions will help you a great deal. The law covered in this text applies to England and Wales – Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate systems of land law.
As your studies progress, it will become apparent that to understand land law you must move beyond viewing it as simply a system of technical rules. You must be aware of the needs and issues that land generates, then the rules can be understood as a response to those challenges and be both appreciated and criticised. Land law is about the relationships which people and the state have with land. Nobody can live without land, and most people have to share it, creating competing rights. England and Wales have a limited supply of land and (at least in towns and cities) a dense population, so disputes about rights over land are common. The system of rules must regulate the use of land and take account of the needs and the culture of the society in which it operates.
Land can be a commercial financial asset but there are wider considerations relating to access to land and land as a home. In a market-based society land must be freely tradable, with security and guarantees for its owners, but there must also be recognition of those with lesser rights or interests in the land. Many land law problems will involve not just two but three sets of competing interests: those of a buyer of the land, a seller of the land, and a third party who has some lesser interest in the land (e.g. a right to live there for life, a loan secured against it, or the right to walk across it).
Land law has its own peculiar language and concepts that must be grasped before the complexities of the law in action can be addressed and understood. Thus the first part of the book explains the basic building blocks of the law, covering the meaning of property and ownership, the definition of land and the relationship between law and equity. It then moves on to how to transfer and create rights in land and to the role of unregistered and registered land systems. The book then explores the principal transactions that people get involved with in their occupation and use of land, namely leases, licences, mortgages, easements and restrictive covenants. It explores also the rights arising outside of agreed transactions, such as resulting and constructive trusts, adverse possession and proprietary estoppel.
USING THE PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING APPROACH IN LAND LAW
Traditionally, land law is taught by way of transmission of information concerning rules and concepts, followed by discussion and analysis of real-life application and the wider social and moral debates. Problem-based learning (PBL) reverses this, with learning centred on realistic scenarios from the very start. You are supported in thinking independently about the problems and issues raised and about how the material covered relates to the issues and objectives. Using this approach you will develop the confidence to conduct research into problems and to produce advice, with a solid foundation of knowledge concerning how the land law system works.
Effective use of PBL requires you to assume major responsibility for your own learning. It is important that you engage fully with each problem scenario. Research shows that learning the legal rules in context rather than in the abstract provides a deeper understanding and better recall. It is also more realistic in developing the practical skills you need as a lawyer, as well as being more enjoyable and engaging. Be aware that you should not expect to be able to answer a problem from the outset – each one raises new concerns and builds upon prior understandings. This can be challenging, but it will promote creative and original thinking and ensure that the points made in the text are better appreciated and more fully considered.
One of the primary aims of PBL is to develop ‘active learning’ skills among participants, in other words promoting the concept that responsibility for learning belongs to the student. Tutor Tips are used to direct students, with elements of the book requiring the students to engage actively via the Apply Your Learning activities throughout the chapters. These provide the opportunity to think about what has been read, consolidate those thoughts and to prepare for the Discussion section. These opportunities are all designed to reinforce, elaborate upon or introduce you to the issues raised in the PBL scenarios presented at the chapter outset. The best way to get the most from all these additional activities is to keep the PBL scenario in mind and see if you are able to relate the material you are given to the scenario, to supplement, deepen and enhance your understanding of the issues you have identified as arising from it.
FEATURES OF THIS BOOK
This book aims to cover the syllabus of land law at an undergraduate and GDL/CPE conversion level, using a PBL approach integrated throughout the text. As identified earlier, this approach is particularly relevant where the subject matter can be explained best via the real-world context. The aim of this book in using this approach is to:
■Engage students’ interest so that they want to learn about the topic and cultivate: independence, curiosity and skills for self-directed, life-long learning.
■Embed learning in a realistic setting, integrating knowledge with practice.
■Trigger existing knowledge and understanding which enables students to build upon what they already know.
■Promote self-motivation and self-responsibility to learn.
■Facilitate more enjoyable and more effective learning in land law.
■Encourage learning from experience, allowing students to use and organise what has been learnt to understand problems.
■Facilitate reflection, transition and self-assessment.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
1 Chapter Aims and Objectives – enable students to focus on the outcomes for the chapter, including knowledge, skills and essential cases and statutes.
2 Case Studies – provide realistic and detailed problem scenarios, featuring several strands or sets of circumstances which will be referred to as the chapter progresses and provide structure and focus for learning.
3 Apply Your Learning – enables students to apply/engage with content which they have covered by linking it back to the case studies.
4 Tutor Tips – pointers to help focus learning through highlighting key points, directing studies and highlighting how to avoid common mistakes.
5 Consider This – a case study may be modified to explore the implications of an alternative scenario.
6 Key Cases – contain extracts from judgments allowing students to familiarise themselves with the legal authority.
7 Discussion – pulls together issues which might feature in a discursive essay question, including a summary of the main critical debates, policy issues or problematic areas of law that might be open for reform.
8 End of Chapter Summary – a summary of the key points from the chapter.
9 Questions – sample examination-style essay and problem questions to allow the student to practise writing responses. Note that Chapter 17 has only an essay question, but it is of a practical bent.
10 Further Reading – further sources relevant to the law identified and the points for discussion developed in the chapter.
11 Companion Website – answers to Apply Your Learning boxes, answers to the Consider This questions, annotated answers to the end of chapter discussion questions, self-test questions and updates.
