#10429 - Land Formalities, Registration, Overriding Interests And Overreaching - Land Law

Formalities registration: 3 stages of transfer of rights in land: ! contract ! supervision 3 creation/transfer ! registration. contract: * * Rules for valid contract in s.2 LP(MP)A 1989 - in writing, signed by both parties. Held in Firstpost Homes Ltd v Johnson [1955] that printed name is not enough. Effect of non-compliance: where parties have written and signed by terms are absent/ wrong then rectification or finding of collateral contracts may be invoked, or without a contract, a non-contractual remedy will be sought possible proprietary estoppel, although held in Yaxley v Gotts [2001] that estoppel cannot be used to enforce an otherwise invalid contract - must 'overlap' with a constructive trust. creation and transfer: Formalities for creation and transfer - s.52 and 54 LPA 1925 which says, save in exceptional cases, creation and transfer requires a deed. Requirements for deed found in s.1 LP(MP)A 1989 - signed and attested. Exceptions: * s.54(2) for a short lease (less than 3 years) which does not need a deed or registration. Effect of non-compliance: Title does not pass, although intended recipient may have equity claim. Held in Longman v Viscount Chelsea [1989] that if a deed is signed but not delivered, it is either (i) an escrow, or (ii) a non-deed, depending on the nature of the parties (no intention to deliver is a non-deed). Priority search - C has 30 days of protection against new interests being registered before the completion and after the contract. Doctrine of anticipation: Walsh v Lonsdale [1882] Where a party is under a duty to grant another a legal right but has not yet done so - equity anticipates the grant and gives the grantee an equitable right. Named after Walsh v Lonsdale where agreement to grant legal lease created equitable lease. This doctrine is now applied in normal conveyancing for sale/ purchase of land. For the doctrine to apply, the agreement must be one which is specifically enforceable. This will be the case if: valid contract under s.2 - consideration must have been provided - no defence to action of specific performance. Nature of rights dependent on nature of the agreement. Where the agreement is for the transfer of an existing legal estate, the effect of the doctrine is that the estate is held on trust for the purchaser. All land now registered, or will be upon a triggering event - laid out in s.4 LRA 2002. All subsequent dealings in the land should be put on the register. The registration gap - inherent within s.27(1) is the period between the completion of transfer and the registration. During this time, legal title is held on trust for the purchaser by doctrine of anticipation, but the purchaser remains vulnerable to 3rd party rights arising or further dealings affecting the title being carried out by the owner e.g. Brown & Root Technology v Sun Alliance [2001] REGISTERED LAND AND PRIORITIES Starting point is s.28 of LRA 2002 - "the priority of an interest effecting a registered estate or charge is not affected by a disposition of the estate or charge. s.29 and 30 apply to registrable dispositions made for valuable consideration, therefore excluding gifts, nominal consideration and adverse possession, so is ordinary sale/mortgage of registered land. OWNER'S POWERS - s.23 LRA 2002 Effect of a registered disposition --- s.29 LRA 2002, the pre-existing interest will not bind unless: (i) B has protected his right by the entry of notice on the register; (ii) where B's interest is an overriding interest within Schedule 3 LRA 2002. The defence afforded to C by s.29 applies "at the time of registration" against pre-existing rights held by B "immediately before the disposition".