Earlier This Year, Jorge Completed The Purchase Of Willow Cottage Assignment

Assignment Task

Section A

Earlier this year, Jorge completed the purchase of Willow Cottage from Christie for £450,000. The title to Willow Cottage was registered with Freehold Absolute at the Land Registry and Jorge has since been registered as the new registered proprietor.

Since then, the following claims have come to light:

(a) Anisha has shown Jorge a document which appears to be a contract between Christie and Anisha. In the document, which is dated October 2023, Christie agrees to sell Willow Cottage to Anisha for £400,000 at any time in the next 12 months. Anisha claims that Christie then refused to sell Willow Cottage to her, and instead sold it to Jorge. Anisha now wishes to enforce the contract against Jorge.

(b) Jorge wishes to build a two-storey extension to Willow Cottage and has submitted his application for planning permission. However, Jorge’s neighbour, Declan, has informed him that the drains from Declan’s house run underground across the site of the proposed extension. Declan has produced a deed, dating from 1982, that grants Declan an easement of drainage over Jorge’s land.

(c) When Jorge moved in, he discovered that the wooden garden office building had been removed by Christie prior to the sale. Jorge was surprised about this; he informs you that it was located on a concrete base, which has not been damaged at all by the removal. Christie has told Jorge that the office building was easy to de-construct and remove.

Jorge has checked back through the paperwork from his solicitor at the time of purchase (which included a copy of the title register) and there is no mention of any of the above matters.

Jorge also seeks advice about a garage that he has been renting nearby (“the Garage”). Jorge had made an agreement with Tola, the registered freehold owner of the Garage, to take a three-year lease of the Garage at an annual rent of £3,000. Tola had written to Jorge confirming these terms and said that she would instruct solicitors to deal with the paperwork in due course. Jorge was so keen to occupy the Garage that, in February 2024, he paid Tola £1,000 for the grant of the lease, plus six months’ rent upfront. Jorge started using the Garage immediately. Jorge has now received a letter from Sam in which Sam states that he is the new registered freehold owner of the Garage. Sam has informed Jorge that he has no right to use the garage and has told him to vacate it immediately.

Advise Jorge:

(a) The nature of the interests claimed by Anisha and Declan against Willow Cottage, and whether any of these interests are binding on Willow Cottage. You can assume that all of the documents referred to are genuine and as described.

(b) Whether Christie was within her rights to remove the garden office building.

Section B

Please answer any two of the following questions.

Question 1

Lavinia is the owner of a large two-bedroom flat, that she rents out. In the past, Lavinia has found that she obtains the most rent by entering into Licence Agreements with individuals. These Licence Agreements give each individual the right to occupy one bedroom, and to use the shared living area and kitchen. The Licence Agreements were wholly independent of each other, and only obliged each occupant to pay one-half of the monthly rent (£600 each), giving a total rent for the flat of £1,200 per month.

Six months ago, the whole flat was vacant and Lavinia was approached by Charlie, Daryll and Edith, who wanted to rent the flat together. Daryll and Edith made it known to Lavinia that they were a couple and that the three were close friends and keen to occupy a property together.

Lavinia entered into three separate Licence Agreements with Charlie, Daryll and Edith. Each Licence Agreement was signed on the same day, and gave Charlie, Daryll and Edith each a term of two years, with a requirement that the occupant be responsible for rent of £400 per month. The Licence Agreements also stated that, in the event of any of the other occupants of the flat leaving, the remaining occupants would share the flat with whomever Lavinia chose.

Charlie, Daryll and Edith have seen recent news articles about additional rights for leaseholders, and wonder whether they held leases from Lavinia. They also wondered what their rental obligations would be if one of them were to leave.

Advise Charlie, Daryll and Edith:

(a) What the status of their agreements with Lavinia is.

(b) Based on your answer to (a), what their rental obligations would be if any one of them left the flat?

Question 2

Albie, Beth, Callum, Daria and Elodie were five work colleagues. In 2010 they won £500,000 on the lottery and decided to purchase a holiday home in Norfolk for them to share. The property was transferred to them “jointly”.

In 2014, Beth decided she was bored of holidaying in Norfolk so she sold her share in the holiday home to Elodie.

In 2015, Callum started discussions with Albie, Daria and Elodie for the sale of his share. They agreed a price, but could not agree on who was in the best position to purchase Callum’s share. Callum became increasingly frustrated with the position, so he left a letter at the holiday home that stated that he was fed up with waiting to receive the money for his share. He demanded that they either pay him out within one month, or he would take steps to sell the whole property. Albie was the next to stay at the property and read the letter. Before anyone else could read it, Callum was killed in a car accident. His will left everything to his brother.

In 2017, Daria got into financial difficulties and mortgaged her share to Easy Loans Ltd. In 2022, Daria repaid Easy Loans Ltd and redeemed the mortgage.

Albie no longer enjoys staying in the property and wishes to sell it, but neither Daria nor Elodie can afford to buy Albie’s share. Albie is therefore demanding that the property be sold. Daria and Elodie are keen to keep it.

(a) Explain the devolution of the legal and equitable interests.

(b) If the property is to be sold, from whom would any purchaser take the transfer? Explain whether the purchaser would take free from all of the beneficial interests affecting the property.

Question 3

Sultana has owned a house with a small garden since 2010. Next to her garden is a small area of woodland. This is not within Sultana’s registered title, nor does she know who owns it.

When Sultana first moved into her house, she had young children and they would often play in the woodland, access to which was gained by climbing over the fence that separated Sultana’s garden from the woodland. In 2011, Sultana removed this fence, so that her children could gain access to the woodland more easily. She also checked that the other sides of the woodland were securely fenced so that her children could not roam any further.

In 2012, a storm blew down some trees which damaged the fencing, so Sultana repaired this.

In 2014, Sultana cleared an area of the woodland so that she could use it as part of her garden. She built a summer house and patio area and, around this time, she also strengthened the external fences to ensure that the only means of access to the land was through her garden.

Earlier this year, Jens approached Sultana and informed her that he was the legal owner of the woodland and asked her to vacate it. Sultana wishes to know what rights, if any, she has over the woodland.

Advise Sultana

(a) On the basis that title to the woodland is unregistered; and

(b) On the basis that title to the woodland is registered at the Land Registry.

Question 4

In 2010 Jabir bought an old farmhouse. Included in the land that he purchased was a large barn. In 2011 Jabir converted the barn into a house and fenced the plot to give it its own garden and parking space for one car. Then, in 2012, he let the barn and garden to Simone on a 10-year lease.

Simone runs a dog grooming parlour and, in 2016, Simone asked Jabir if her visitors could use his driveway and parking area, as there was insufficient room on her land. Jabir said this was fine and that Simone’s visitors could use his driveway and parking area “whenever she needed”.

When the lease expired in 2022, Jabir sold the barn and garden to Simone. There was no express grant of an easement in the transfer.

Simone now wishes to extend the barn by building on the land that is currently her own parking space. Jabir is concerned that this will increase Simone’s use of his driveway and parking area. Furthermore, he believes that the extension will significantly reduce the natural light that he receives in the farmhouse.

Advise Jabir:

(a) Whether he can prevent Simone from using his land for parking; and

(b) Whether there is any action he can take to prevent Simone from constructing an extension that will reduce the natural light received by the farmhouse?

Question 5

Mishal owned Lansdown House, a large freehold property, title to which is registered at the Land Registry. She wished to sell a portion of her garden to Dave, a builder, so that he could build a house on the land. Mishal was anxious to keep control over the works that Dave would be able to carry out, so the transfer to Dave contained the following covenants:

That Dave would only construct one building on the land
That Dave and his successors in title would use the property for residential purposes only;
That Dave and his successors in title would erect and maintain a fence along the boundary between Mishal’s land and Dave’s land.

Each covenant was made “for the benefit of Mishal’s retained land”.

The transfer also granted Dave a right to use the sewer that ran from Lansdown House into the public sewer, subject to paying a fair proportion of the costs of maintenance. Dave then constructed a house on the portion of the garden he purchased (“the New House”).

In 2011, Mishal sold number Lansdown House to Celeste.

In 2019, Dave sold the New House to Sylvie.