Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) Property Law and Equity and Trusts Syllabus

Property Law and Equity and Trusts syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Property Law and Equity and Trusts in Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Land Law Fundamentals

   4 topics

   • Estates and interests in land
     • Freehold and leasehold estates
     • Legal and equitable interests
   • Registered and unregistered land
     • Land Registration Act 2002 framework
     • Overriding and protected interests
   • Co-ownership
     • Joint tenancy and tenancy in common
     • Severance
     • Trusts of land and TOLATA 1996
   • Adverse possession
2. 2

   Third Party Rights over Land

   4 topics

   • Easements
     • Characteristics (Re Ellenborough Park)
     • Creation and acquisition by prescription
   • Freehold covenants
     • Running of benefit and burden
     • Restrictive covenants in equity
   • Mortgages
     • Lender's remedies
     • Equity of redemption and undue influence
   • Leases and licences distinction
3. 3

   Creation and Nature of Trusts

   4 topics

   • The three certainties
     • Certainty of intention, subject matter and objects
   • Constitution of trusts and formalities
   • Express, resulting and constructive trusts
   • Purpose trusts and the beneficiary principle
4. 4

   Trustees, Beneficiaries and Breach

   4 topics

   • Trustees' duties and powers
     • Duty of care and investment
     • Fiduciary duties and conflicts
   • Breach of trust and personal remedies
   • Tracing and proprietary remedies
     • Common law and equitable tracing
     • Mixed funds and innocent volunteers
   • Liability of third parties
     • Knowing receipt
     • Dishonest assistance

Property Law and Equity and Trusts flashcards for Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS)

23 of 59 cards from the Property Law and Equity and Trusts deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the legal definition of "land" under s.205(1)(ix) of the Law of Property Act 1925?

   Land includes the surface, buildings, mines and minerals, and corporeal/incorporeal hereditaments. It extends to fixtures and, by the maxim "cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos", to the airspace and subsoil (though airspace rights are limited to that necessary for ordinary use and enjoyment).

2. Under s.1(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925, what are the only TWO legal estates in land?

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

3. Under s.1(2) LPA 1925, name the legal interests in land that are capable of subsisting at law.

   Easements/rights/privileges for an interest equivalent to a fee simple absolute in possession or term of years absolute; a rentcharge in possession; a legal mortgage (charge by way of legal mortgage); rights under s.121/s.191; and certain other statutory charges. All other interests take effect only in equity (s.1(3)).

4. What is the test for distinguishing a fixture from a chattel in land law?

   Two-stage test (Holland v Hodgson): (1) degree of annexation — how firmly attached and whether removal would cause damage; and (2) purpose of annexation — whether attached to enjoy it as a chattel or to permanently improve the land. Purpose is now the dominant test.

5. In registered land, distinguish the three classes of registrable title concepts: registrable dispositions, registered charges, and overriding interests.

   Registrable dispositions (e.g. transfer of freehold, grant of legal lease >7 years) must be completed by registration to take effect at law (s.27 LRA 2002). Registered charges are legal mortgages on the register. Overriding interests (Schedules 1 and 3 LRA 2002) bind a purchaser despite not appearing on the register.

6. List the principal overriding interests under Schedule 3 LRA 2002 (interests overriding registered dispositions).

   (1) Legal leases granted for 7 years or less; (2) interests of persons in actual occupation (para 2, subject to exceptions); and (3) legal easements and profits acquired by implication or prescription (subject to conditions). Reduced reach compared with the old s.70(1) LRA 1925.

7. What are the conditions and exceptions for an interest of a person in "actual occupation" to override under Sch 3 para 2 LRA 2002?

   It overrides unless: (a) inquiry was made of the occupier and they failed to disclose the right when reasonably expected to; or (b) the occupation was not obvious on a reasonably careful inspection AND the purchaser had no actual knowledge of it. The interest only protects land actually occupied.

8. In UNREGISTERED land, how is a legal interest's enforceability against a purchaser determined, and what is the doctrine of notice?

   Legal interests bind the whole world ("legal rights bind all"). Equitable interests not registrable as land charges bind a purchaser unless they are a "bona fide purchaser of a legal estate for value without notice" (equity's darling). Notice = actual, constructive, or imputed.

9. What is the role of the Land Charges Register (Land Charges Act 1972) in unregistered land, and the effect of non-registration?

   Certain equitable interests (e.g. estate contracts as Class C(iv), restrictive covenants Class D(ii), equitable easements Class D(iii), Class F matrimonial home rights) must be registered against the estate owner's NAME. If registrable but not registered, they are void against a purchaser (Class C/D void against a purchaser of a legal estate for money or money's worth; void as in Midland Bank v Green).

10. Distinguish a joint tenancy from a tenancy in common in co-ownership.

    Joint tenancy: co-owners own the whole together, no distinct shares, requires the four unities, and the right of survivorship (jus accrescendi) applies. Tenancy in common: distinct (though undivided) shares, only unity of possession required, no survivorship — the share passes under the will/intestacy.

11. What are the "four unities" required for a joint tenancy (AG Securities v Vaughan / AG v Antoniades)?

    Possession (each entitled to possession of the whole), Interest (same nature, extent and duration), Title (same document/act), and Time (interests vest at the same time). Only unity of possession is needed for a tenancy in common.

12. Under the LPA 1925, what form must co-ownership of the LEGAL estate take, and what is the maximum number of legal owners?

    The legal estate can only be held as a JOINT TENANCY (s.1(6) and s.36(2) LPA 1925) and cannot be severed at law. Maximum of four legal trustees (s.34(2) Trustee Act 1925); they hold on a trust of land for the beneficial owners.

13. List the methods of severing a joint tenancy in equity (converting to a tenancy in common).

    (1) Written notice under s.36(2) LPA 1925; (2) the three Williams v Hensman methods: (a) an act of one operating on their own share (e.g. sale/mortgage), (b) mutual agreement, and (c) a course of dealing showing intention to treat as tenants in common; plus (3) by operation of law (e.g. unlawful killing, bankruptcy).

14. What are the limitation periods for adverse possession in unregistered land versus registered land?

    Unregistered land: 12 years of adverse possession extinguishes the paper owner's title (Limitation Act 1980, ss.15 & 17). Registered land (LRA 2002, Sch 6): the squatter may apply to be registered after 10 years, but the registered proprietor is notified and can object.

15. State the two essential elements a squatter must prove for adverse possession (JA Pye (Oxford) v Graham).

    (1) Factual possession — a sufficient degree of exclusive physical custody and control; and (2) intention to possess (animus possidendi) — intention to possess the land to the exclusion of all others, including the paper owner, so far as reasonably practicable. Possession must be without consent.

16. Under Schedule 6 LRA 2002, what happens after a squatter's 10-year application if the registered proprietor objects, and the three exceptional conditions allowing registration?

    If the proprietor objects, the application is rejected, but the squatter may reapply if still in adverse possession after a further 2 years. Three exceptions allowing immediate registration: (1) estoppel making it unconscionable to dispossess; (2) some other entitlement to the land; (3) a boundary dispute where the squatter reasonably believed the land was theirs for 10 years.

17. State the four characteristics of a valid easement from Re Ellenborough Park.

    (1) There must be a dominant and a servient tenement; (2) the easement must accommodate (benefit) the dominant tenement; (3) the dominant and servient tenements must be owned/occupied by different persons; and (4) the right must be capable of forming the subject matter of a grant (capable grantor and grantee, sufficiently definite, within the general nature of recognised rights).

18. List the methods by which an easement may be created.

    Express grant/reservation (deed); implied grant by (a) necessity, (b) common intention, (c) the rule in Wheeldon v Burrows, or (d) s.62 LPA 1925; and by prescription (long use) under common law, lost modern grant, or the Prescription Act 1832.

19. State the rule in Wheeldon v Burrows and its conditions.

    On a sale/division of land, the grant of part impliedly passes to the buyer all quasi-easements that were: (1) continuous and apparent; (2) necessary for the reasonable enjoyment of the land granted; and (3) in use by the common owner at the time of the grant, for the benefit of the part granted.

20. What are the prescription periods under the Prescription Act 1832 for easements (other than light)?

    For easements generally: 20 years' use as of right (nec vi, nec clam, nec precario) defeats certain objections; 40 years' use makes the right absolute and indefeasible (unless by written consent). For an easement of LIGHT: 20 years (s.3), and oral consent does not defeat it.

21. State the four conditions of the rule in Tulk v Moxhay for a restrictive (negative) freehold covenant to run with the land in equity to bind a successor.

    (1) The covenant must be negative/restrictive in substance; (2) it must accommodate (touch and concern) the dominant land, which must be identifiable; (3) the burden must have been intended to run (presumed under s.79 LPA 1925); and (4) the successor must have notice (registration as a Class D(ii) land charge / a notice on the register).

22. Why does the BURDEN of a positive freehold covenant not run with the land at common law, and what devices circumvent this?

    Burden of positive covenants does not run at common law (Austerberry v Oldham; Rhone v Stephens). Workarounds: the doctrine of mutual benefit and burden (Halsall v Brizell), chains of indemnity covenants, granting a long lease, a right of re-entry, an estate rentcharge, or commonhold.

23. Distinguish the methods by which the BENEFIT of a covenant may pass at law and in equity.

    At law (Smith v River Douglas): annexation, assignment, or a building scheme — covenant must touch and concern the land and benefit must be intended to pass (s.78 LPA 1925). In equity: express annexation, statutory annexation (s.78 LPA 1925, Federated Homes), express assignment, or a scheme of development (Elliston v Reece).

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