CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) Foundation Stage: Land Law Syllabus

Foundation Stage: Land Law syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Foundation Stage: Land Law in CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Nature and Classification of Property Interests

   3 topics

   • Real and personal property
     • Land defined under the Law of Property Act 1925
     • Fixtures and chattels
   • Legal and equitable interests
     • Estates: freehold and leasehold
     • The 1925 property legislation reforms
   • The distinction between law and equity in land
2. 2

   Registered and Unregistered Land

   3 topics

   • The system of registered land
     • The Land Registration Act 2002 and the register
     • Overriding interests and the mirror principle
   • Unregistered land and land charges
   • Protecting interests through notices and restrictions
3. 3

   Co-ownership and Trusts of Land

   3 topics

   • Joint tenancy and tenancy in common
     • The four unities and severance
   • Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996
   • Resolving disputes between co-owners
4. 4

   Third Party Rights over Land

   4 topics

   • Easements
     • Characteristics in Re Ellenborough Park
     • Creation: express, implied and prescription
   • Restrictive covenants
     • Running of the burden and benefit
   • Mortgages
     • Creation and the right to redeem
     • Lender's remedies on default
   • Leases and the landlord and tenant relationship

Foundation Stage: Land Law flashcards for CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ)

20 of 52 cards from the Foundation Stage: Land Law deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the legal distinction between real property and personal property in land law?

   Real property (realty) refers to land and the fixtures attached to it, historically protected by a real action that could recover the land itself. Personal property (personalty) covers all other property, divided into chattels real (leaseholds) and chattels personal (movable goods/choses in possession and choses in action).

2. How does the law classify a leasehold estate within the real/personal property divide?

   A leasehold is a 'chattel real' — it is technically personal property because historically it could not be recovered by a real action, even though it relates to land. Freeholds are pure realty.

3. What is the difference between a fixture and a chattel, and which two tests determine it?

   A fixture is attached to the land and passes with it; a chattel remains personal property. The two tests are: (1) the degree of annexation (how firmly it is fixed) and (2) the purpose of annexation (whether attached to improve the land or merely to enjoy the item as a chattel) — purpose now being the dominant test (Holland v Hodgson).

4. What are the only two legal estates in land permitted under s.1(1) Law of Property Act 1925?

   (1) The fee simple absolute in possession (freehold), and (2) the term of years absolute (leasehold). All other estates can only exist in equity.

5. List the legal interests in land capable of existing at law under s.1(2) LPA 1925.

   Easements/rights/privileges for an interest equivalent to a fee simple or term of years; a rentcharge in possession; a charge by way of legal mortgage; certain charges imposed by statute; and a right of entry annexed to a legal term or rentcharge.

6. What is the fundamental difference between a legal interest and an equitable interest in land?

   A legal interest binds the whole world automatically and is enforceable against everyone. An equitable interest historically bound everyone except a bona fide purchaser for value of the legal estate without notice ('Equity's Darling'), and now generally requires registration/protection to bind a purchaser.

7. What is the historical origin of the distinction between law and equity in land?

   Common law courts applied rigid rules; the Court of Chancery developed equity to mitigate harshness, recognising trusts and granting discretionary remedies. The Judicature Acts 1873–75 fused the administration of law and equity, but the two sets of principles remain distinct.

8. State the maxim governing the priority of legal and equitable interests, and the exception.

   'Where the equities are equal, the law prevails' (a legal interest beats a later equitable one), and 'where the equities are equal, the first in time prevails' (between two equitable interests, the earlier wins). The exception is the bona fide purchaser without notice taking free of an equitable interest.

9. Define the bona fide purchaser for value without notice ('Equity's Darling').

   A purchaser who acquires a legal estate, in good faith, for valuable consideration (money or money's worth), without actual, constructive, or imputed notice of an existing equitable interest. Such a purchaser takes the land free of that equitable interest.

10. What are the three types of notice that defeat the bona fide purchaser defence?

    Actual notice (genuine knowledge), constructive notice (what would have been discovered by reasonable inspection of the land and investigation of title), and imputed notice (notice acquired by an agent such as a solicitor in the course of the transaction).

11. What three registers make up the register of title under the Land Registration Act 2002?

    (1) The Property Register (describes the land and estate, including benefiting easements); (2) the Proprietorship Register (names the registered proprietor and class of title); and (3) the Charges Register (records burdens such as mortgages, restrictive covenants, and notices).

12. What is the 'mirror principle' in registered land?

    The principle that the register should reflect, accurately and completely, the totality of estates and interests affecting the registered land, so a purchaser can rely on it as a mirror of the title without needing to investigate beyond it.

13. What are the 'curtain' and 'insurance' principles of registered land?

    The curtain principle keeps trust interests off the title (the purchaser need not look behind the curtain, as they are overreached). The insurance principle guarantees the accuracy of the register, with state-backed indemnity payable to anyone suffering loss from an error or rectification.

14. List the events that trigger compulsory first registration of an unregistered legal estate.

    Transfer of a qualifying freehold or lease (by sale, gift, court order, or assent); the grant of a lease for more than seven years; an assignment of a lease with more than seven years left to run; and the grant of a first legal mortgage (a protected first mortgage).

15. What is a 'disposition' that must be completed by registration to operate at law under s.27 LRA 2002?

    Registrable dispositions include a transfer of a registered estate, the grant of a legal lease over seven years, the express grant of a legal easement, and the grant of a legal charge. Until registered, they take effect only in equity.

16. What are 'overriding interests' and where are the main ones listed in the LRA 2002?

    Overriding interests bind a purchaser even though they do not appear on the register. The main categories are in Schedules 1 (first registration) and 3 (registered dispositions), including short legal leases of seven years or less, the interest of a person in actual occupation, and legal easements/profits.

17. State the requirements for the 'actual occupation' overriding interest under Schedule 3 para 2 LRA 2002.

    The person must have a proprietary interest in the land AND be in actual occupation at the time of the disposition. It does not bind a purchaser if: occupation was not obvious on a reasonably careful inspection and the buyer had no actual knowledge, or the occupier failed to disclose the right when reasonably expected to (Williams & Glyn's Bank v Boland; Abbey National v Cann).

18. In unregistered land, what governs whether a third party's equitable interest binds a purchaser?

    It depends on whether the interest is a registrable land charge under the Land Charges Act 1972 (registered against the name of the estate owner) or, if not registrable, on the doctrine of notice (the bona fide purchaser rule).

19. Name the principal classes of land charge registrable under the Land Charges Act 1972.

    Class C(i) puisne mortgage; C(iii) general equitable charge; C(iv) estate contract; Class D(ii) restrictive covenant (post-1925); D(iii) equitable easement; Class F matrimonial home rights; and Class B/A statutory charges. Pre-1926 restrictive covenants and certain interests fall outside.

20. What is the effect of registering a land charge, and of failing to register it?

    Registration constitutes actual notice to all persons for all purposes (s.198 LPA 1925), so it binds a purchaser. Failure to register makes a Class C(iv) or D charge void against a purchaser of a legal estate for money or money's worth (and void against any purchaser for value, including equitable, for some classes), regardless of actual knowledge (Midland Bank v Green).

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