Common Professional Examination (CPE) Land Law (Property Law) Syllabus

Land Law (Property Law) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Land Law (Property Law) in Common Professional Examination (CPE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Estates, Interests and Registration

   4 topics

   • Estates and Interests in Land
     • Freehold and leasehold estates
     • Legal and equitable interests
   • The Concept of Land
     • Fixtures and chattels
   • Registered Land
     • Land Registration Act 2002 and registrable dispositions
     • Overriding interests
   • Unregistered Land and Land Charges
2. 2

   Co-ownership and Trusts of Land

   4 topics

   • Joint Tenancy and Tenancy in Common
     • The four unities and severance
   • Trusts of Land
     • TLATA 1996 and powers of trustees
   • Resulting and Constructive Trusts of the Home
     • Common intention constructive trusts (Stack v Dowden, Jones v Kernott)
   • Resolution of Disputes and Sale
3. 3

   Leases

   3 topics

   • Essential Characteristics of a Lease
     • Certainty of term and exclusive possession (Street v Mountford)
   • Leasehold Covenants
     • Enforceability and the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995
   • Termination of Leases
     • Forfeiture and relief
4. 4

   Third Party Rights over Land

   4 topics

   • Easements
     • Re Ellenborough Park characteristics
     • Creation: express, implied and prescription
   • Freehold Covenants
     • Running of burden and benefit at law and in equity
   • Mortgages
     • Creation, the equity of redemption and protection of the mortgagor
     • Remedies of the mortgagee and the power of sale
   • Licences and Proprietary Estoppel

Land Law (Property Law) flashcards for Common Professional Examination (CPE)

18 of 52 cards from the Land Law (Property Law) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the difference between a 'corporeal' and an 'incorporeal' hereditament in land law?

   A corporeal hereditament is a physical, tangible thing attached to or part of the land (e.g. buildings, soil, fixtures). An incorporeal hereditament is an intangible right over land (e.g. an easement or profit). Both are 'real property' that historically passed to the heir.

2. Under s.205(1)(ix) Law of Property Act 1925, what is included in the statutory definition of 'land'?

   Land includes the surface, buildings and parts of buildings, mines and minerals (whether or not held with the surface), corporeal hereditaments, and incorporeal hereditaments such as easements, rights and privileges in or over land.

3. State the Latin maxim describing the extent of ownership of land vertically, and its modern limitation.

   'Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos' (whoever owns the soil owns up to heaven and down to hell). Modern limits: ownership of airspace is restricted to the height necessary for ordinary use and enjoyment (Bernstein v Skyviews), and subsurface rights are limited by statute (e.g. Crown's right to gold/silver, oil under the Petroleum Act).

4. What is the legal test for distinguishing a 'fixture' from a 'chattel'?

   Two tests: (1) the degree of annexation (how firmly attached, and damage caused by removal) and (2) the more important purpose of annexation (whether the item was attached to improve the land permanently or merely to enjoy it as a chattel). See Holland v Hodgson; Elitestone v Morris (a bungalow resting by weight held to be part of the land).

5. Name the only two legal estates in land capable of subsisting under s.1(1) Law of Property Act 1925.

   (1) A fee simple absolute in possession (freehold); and (2) a term of years absolute (leasehold).

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

   (a) An easement, right or privilege for an interest equivalent to a fee simple absolute in possession or a term of years absolute; (b) a rentcharge in possession; (c) a charge by way of legal mortgage; (d) certain other charges by statute; (e) rights of entry attached to a legal term of years or a legal rentcharge.

7. What is the effect of s.1(3) LPA 1925 on interests that do not qualify as legal estates or interests?

   All other estates, interests and charges in or over land take effect as equitable interests only (e.g. restrictive covenants, estate contracts, beneficial interests under a trust, life interests, fee simples that are not absolute in possession).

8. What are the three certainties required to create a valid lease (term of years)?

   (1) Certainty of parties; (2) certainty of premises; and (3) certainty of duration (the maximum term must be certain at the outset). Plus exclusive possession at a rent or for a term (Street v Mountford).

9. What is the key distinction established in Street v Mountford [1985] between a lease and a licence?

   The grant of exclusive possession for a term at a rent creates a lease (tenancy), regardless of how the parties label it. A licence merely grants permission to occupy without exclusive possession. The label parties attach is not decisive; substance prevails over form.

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

    The register should reflect, accurately and completely, the totality of estates and interests affecting the registered land, so that a purchaser can rely on it as a true mirror of the title. (Subject to the imperfection created by overriding interests.)

11. What are the 'curtain principle' and the 'insurance/guarantee principle' in registered land?

    Curtain principle: trusts are kept off the title (behind a curtain) so a purchaser need not look behind the register at beneficial interests, which are overreached. Insurance/guarantee principle: the State guarantees the accuracy of the register and pays indemnity for loss caused by errors or rectification.

12. Under the Land Registration Act 2002, what are the registrable dispositions that must be completed by registration to take effect at law (s.27)?

    Key examples: a transfer of a registered estate; the grant of a lease over 7 years; the express grant of a legal easement; the grant of a legal charge (mortgage); and the grant of a rentcharge. Until registered, these take effect only in equity.

13. Distinguish between a 'notice' and a 'restriction' as methods of protecting interests on the Land Register under the LRA 2002.

    A notice protects the priority of a burdening third-party interest (e.g. a restrictive covenant, estate contract, equitable easement) by entry against the registered title. A restriction regulates whether a disposition can be registered (e.g. requiring payment to two trustees to ensure overreaching), and is used to protect beneficial interests under a trust.

14. What are the two categories of overriding interests under the LRA 2002, and where are they found?

    Schedule 1 (interests overriding first registration) and Schedule 3 (interests overriding registered dispositions). They bind a purchaser despite not appearing on the register.

15. Under Schedule 3 paragraph 2 LRA 2002, what are the requirements for an interest of a person in 'actual occupation' to override a registered disposition?

    The person must have a proprietary interest in the land AND be in actual occupation at the time of the disposition. It will NOT override if: (a) the occupation would not have been obvious on a reasonably careful inspection AND the purchaser had no actual knowledge; or (b) inquiry was made of the occupier and they failed to disclose the right when they reasonably could have.

16. In Williams & Glyn's Bank v Boland [1981], what was established about a spouse's beneficial interest in the matrimonial home?

    A non-legal-owner spouse with a beneficial interest under a trust who is in actual occupation has an overriding interest binding a mortgagee, even where the legal owner alone dealt with the bank. (Now subject to the obviousness/inquiry limits of Sch 3 para 2 and overreaching where two trustees are paid.)

17. What is the system for protecting third-party interests in UNREGISTERED land, and what statute governs it?

    Land charges are registered against the name of the estate owner under the Land Charges Act 1972. Registration constitutes actual notice to the world; non-registration of a registrable charge generally makes it void against a purchaser.

18. List the main classes of land charge under the Land Charges Act 1972 (Classes C and D).

    Class C: (i) puisne mortgage, (ii) limited owner's charge, (iii) general equitable charge, (iv) estate contract. Class D: (i) Inland Revenue charge, (ii) restrictive covenant (post-1925), (iii) equitable easement. Class F: a spouse's/civil partner's statutory home right.

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