THIS PAPER IS NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAMINATION HALLS

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1 THIS PAPER IS NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAMINATION HALLS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON ZA 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: 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 6

2 1. Proof of exclusive possession is all that should be required for the parties to establish that a lease has been created. To what extent, if at all, do you agree with this proposition? 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 Page 2 of 6

3 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. In 2006 Bianca, a solicitor, bought a garden flat in London. She paid the deposit, raised the balance of the purchase price by way of mortgage, and became the sole registered owner. In 2007 Bianca s partner Ricky moved in to the flat. Ricky gave up the tenancy of a cottage just outside Newcastle to move to live in London. Ricky used the wages from his job as a second-hand car dealer to landscape the garden, pay the food bills and pay for their annual, Mediterranean cruise. In 2009, when Bianca gave birth to their daughter, Tiffany, they agreed that Ricky would give up his job to stay at home and look after Tiffany. Last month Bianca sold the flat to Phil, before emigrating to live in Spain with a cruise ship singer, Manuel. Phil has now asked Ricky to leave the flat. Advise Ricky. Page 3 of 6

4 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. Page 4 of 6

5 6. In 2003 Amside Holdings plc purchased a large piece of land, and began the first phase of its development by building two large houses on half of the land: House 1 and House 2. In 2004 Susan bought House 1. Six months later, Clary purchased House 2. The transfer of House 1 and House 2 contained the following terms: The transferee hereby covenants on behalf of himself and his successors in title and for the benefit of the land retained by the transferor: (i) to pay one-third of the cost of the maintenance of the private road; (ii) to keep the front garden in a neat and tidy condition; (iii) not to use the property other than for residential purposes by one family. The transfers of House 1 and House 2 also provided that the benefit of covenant (iii) should be assigned whenever the land retained by the transferor was transferred. Over the years, House 1 and House 2 changed ownership several times. By 2010 House 1 was owned by Emma, and House 2 by Will. In 2011 Amside Holdings plc ran out of development funds, and sold its remaining half of the land to Caroline, and assigned her the benefit of covenant (iii) in writing. However, a few months later, Caroline sold the land to Matt without assigning the benefit of covenant (iii). Matt now seeks your advice as to what legal steps he may take in respect of: Emma, who has refused his request to tidy the garden of House 1 ; Will, who has let House 2 to a group of five students at Felpesham University; and both Emma and Will, who have each ignored his request to contribute towards the cost of resurfacing the private road. Advise Matt. 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 5 of 6

6 8. In 2005 Sally and Kevin purchased Headroom, a hairdresser s salon with a flat on the ground floor below. Sally and Kevin are both registered as owners of the fee simple of Headroom. They each contributed half of the purchase price. They immediately moved in to the flat, and Sally set up her hairdressing business in the salon. In 2008 Sally and Kevin s daughter, Tracey, was confined to a wheelchair following a riding accident. She started to make daily trips to the neighbouring swimming pool for physiotherapy. In 2009, distressed by Tracey s disability, Kevin began to gamble heavily. To raise money to cover his gambling debts, he agreed to sell his interest in Headroom to his mother-in-law, Audrey. However, Audrey s savings proved insufficient to complete the transaction, and Kevin therefore obtained a loan by charging his interest in Headroom to the Weatherfield Bank. In 2010 Sally s business ran into financial difficulties, and Kevin moved out of the property to set up home with his girlfriend, Molly. He also defaulted on his loan repayments to the Weatherfield Bank. The Bank wants Headroom to be sold. Advise Sally on each of the following matters: (a) (b) (c) her status as co-owner of Headroom. whether or not she and Tracey can carry on living in Headroom if Kevin and the Weatherfield Bank want it to be sold. how her right to live in Headroom would be affected in the event of Kevin being declared bankrupt, and his trustee in bankruptcy, Rita, seeking a sale of Headroom. END OF PAPER Page 6 of 6