This document contains lecture notes and materials for a foundation law course. It discusses key concepts in land law including different types of property ownership like freehold and leasehold tenure. Freehold provides absolute ownership while leasehold provides possession for a set term of years. It also covers joint ownership structures like joint tenancy and tenancy in common. The document announces a change in class schedule due to the lecturer going on leave and reminds students of an upcoming summative assignment deadline.

1. Foundation Law 2013/14
Natasha Sharma

2.  In last week’s lecture we looked at what Equity is and the interplay between
equity and the common law
 So, what is equity?
 Equitable remedies- specific performance and promissory estoppel
 What is specific performance?
 What is promissory estoppel?
 Facts & judgement of Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees
House Ltd (1947)
Recap-Lecture 16

3.  Show knowledge & understanding of some of the main terms in land
law;
 Explain what is meant by the term “tenure”;
 Be able to define and explain the key features of both a Freehold and
Leasehold Tenure;
 Explain and compare how property/land can be jointly owned; and
 Be able to apply legal principles to a set of given facts and
demonstrate criticality & analysis when answering typical law
questions.
Land Law (1)-Learning Outcomes:

4. 
Do you think that there is a difference between “land” and
“property”?
Distinguishing “land” from
“property”

5.  Land: often only refers to the flat surface or ground layer on
the surface of the earth. Land does not have any foundations (is
not rooted)
 Examples of land- fields, “a plot of land” and acres
 Property: refers to anything that is built above the land and
therefore, the foundations of the building will be rooted in the
ground/land itself

6. 
Ownership
 What does ownership mean?
 Ownership refers to the possession of and the exercise of rights
over property or land
 The possession or right to property and the way in which it is
held is known as “tenure”
 In the UK property can be owned in a number of ways and
today we will be focusing on Freehold and Leasehold Tenures
and in the next lecture, we will look at the third type of tenure,
which is Commonhold

7. 
 This type of ownership is also known as “fee simple absolute in
possession” and is the most common (and preferred) type of
ownership
 Fee simple ownership represents absolute ownership of
property
Freehold(F/H) Tenure

8. 
 “Fee simple”: means that the owner of the property owns the
land and may dispose (sell it or pass it under his will) of it as he
wishes, without any restrictions
 “Absolute”: means that the property is not subject to any
condition of length or period of time
 “in possession”: means that the owner has immediate right of
possession of the land or has the right to receive any rent from
someone who might reside in it
Fee simple absolute in possession

9. 
 Unlike a F/H tenure, a L/H tenure is not complete ownership
of the property, as under this type of ownership, the holder
only has the right to enjoy possession of the property for a
specific period of time
 This period of time is referred to as the length of the lease or “
the term of years absolute”
Leasehold (L/H) Tenure

10. 
 The number of years or the length of the lease, can vary from a
period as short as a week to 999 years
 However, the greater the number of years, the greater the
rights and benefits the holder enjoys
 During the life of the lease, the holder of the lease can enjoy
possession of the property and the property can still be sold or
inherited, as with a F/H tenure. However, unlike a F/H, at the
end of the term of the lease, the property reverts back to the
freeholder
The term of years absolute

11.  L/H ownerships are commonly found in respect of the sale of
apartments/flats (“multi-storey buildings”) and commercial
units (warehouses, shops, offices etc.)
 In a L/H there will be a freeholder of the property who retains
title (“ownership”) of the property/land. The leaseholder (the
person who has been assigned the lease) will enjoy possession
of the land/property and exercise ownership rights over it, but
at the end of the lease, the property/land will go back to its
freeholder
 Furthermore, during the life of the lease, the current
leaseholder can sell the remaining terms of the lease
 There are provisions in the land law whereby leaseholders can
purchase the freehold, the lease can be extended/terminated
but this falls outside the scope of the foundation law syllabus

12. 
Examples
Residential Leasehold Tenure

13.  Flat number 5 is being sold as a L/H for £320,000
 The duration of the lease is 999 years
 The freeholder of this development is Urban Homes Ltd (as the
freeholder, the developer has “fee simple absolute in possession”)
 If I purchase this flat on 1st March 2014, for 999 years I will….
 …… enjoy possession of the apartment ( complete ownership rights
over the flat- e.g., change the bathroom suite, decorate the flat
according to my taste, call it “my home” etc.)
 ……in the event of my death, it will pass under my will or in the
absence of a will, under the rules of intestacy
 ……if I want to, I can sell the lease at anytime during the life of the
lease. For example, I may decide to sell the lease (which includes the
flat off course!) after 10 years (when the lease will have 989 years
remaining on it)

14.  However, at the end of the 999 years, unless a leaseholder buys
the flat absolutely or the lease is renewed, the flat will revert
back to the freeholder
What benefits do you think a freeholder has by selling his property/land
as a leasehold?

15. 
Examples
Commercial Leasehold Tenure

16.  This corner shop is being sold leasehold for £250,000
 It comes with a lease of 25 years
As a leaseholder, what benefits and rights do I enjoy?
What happens to the property at the end of the 25 years

17. 
Joint Ownership
 Property/land can be owned by more than one party
 For example, property can be jointly owned by husband & wife,
between siblings and business partners
 This is known as joint ownership
 Furthermore, it is not important for each owner to have equal shares
in the ownership and the share can be disproportionate amongst the
owners
 There are two main types of joint ownership: Joint Tenancy and
Tenancy in Common

18.  Under this agreement, the joint owners together own the whole
property and do not have a particular share in it
 If one of the owners dies, the other surviving owner automatically
becomes the sole owner
 This would be the case even if a will had been made leaving the
deceased owner’s “share” to someone other than the co-owner
 For example, a husband & wife buy a house together as joint tenants,
they both own the property in equal 50/50 shares. If one of them
dies, the property will pass to the other automatically
Joint Tenancy

19. 
 In this type of ownership, each of the parties has a definite
share in the property
 For example, A & B could own the property in equal (50/50 )
shares or A could have a share of 60% of the property and B
owns 40%
 This would be the most appropriate agreement where people
want to own property in separate pre-determined shares (for
example, business partners, parents & children, unmarried
couples etc.)
Tenancy in Common

20.  Under this form of ownership, if one of the owners dies, their
share will NOT automatically pass to the surviving owner/s
and instead, will pass to whosoever has been specified in the
deceased’s will or if a will has not been made, in accordance
with the rules of intestacy
 For example, A & B own a house under a tenancy in common
and each has a 50/50 share. If B dies, A does not automatically
get B’s share. B’s share will go to whomever has been specified
in B’s will or under the rules of intestacy
 The same rules apply when the property is sold. Each owner
will get their pre-determined share
 The other distinct feature about this type of ownership is that
each owner can also sell their share

21. 
Terminology
 Tenancy Agreement: an agreement between two parties (the
landlord and the tenant/s) to rent the property for a specified
length of time. Amongst other key terms and conditions, the
agreement will set out the duration of the tenancy, the rent
payable + payment terms and the “covenants” (restrictions)
and obligations on part of the parties
 Landlord: usually the person who owns the property – has
absolute in possession
 Tenant: the person/s to whom the property is being
leased/rented

22.  Vendor: the seller
 Buyer: the party that intends to buy the land/property or the
lease (in the case of a lease, the buyer of the lease will be called
the lessee)
 Mortgage: a loan that has been taken out to finance the
purchase of the land/property
 Mortgagee: the lender of the mortgage (usually a bank or
building society which will have a legal charge/interest in the
property/land, until the mortgage has been fully repaid)
 Mortgagor: the party/parties that take out the mortgage
 Conveyance: the legal process by which property/land is
brought/sold and ownership is transferred

23. 
Preps. For Seminar 17
 Hand-out:
 Reading List:
 Jacqueline Martin, “GCSE Law”, 5th edition, chapter 28- Family
Law: Inheritance
 Preparatory Questions

24. 
 Released: Wednesday 26th February 2014
 Due: BY 3PM THURSDAY 13TH MARCH 2014
 Weighs 25% of the final mark on the Foundation Law module
 Lets look over the assignment question and the instructions……
SUMMATIVE
ASSIGNMENT

25.  I will be going on leave between 3rd- 18th March 2014 (inclusive)
 This means that your timetables for the next two weeks will be changed
 FHLA/B/C –your law lecture/combined seminar will be on Friday 7th & Friday 14th
March 2014 at 4.30-6.30pm in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre
 You will not be having any other law lectures/seminars during these two weeks and
should use this time for private study- work on your summative assignment, reading,
revision, seminar preparations etc.
 FHLC- in order for you to attend the classes, your normal seminars with Simon Niziol on
Friday afternoons, will take place on Thursday 6th & Thursday 13th March at 9.30-11.30am
in Room 4.02 instead
 ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY WILL CONTINUE TO BE MONITORED AND
REGISTERS WILL BE TAKEN AS NORMAL!
 Normal classes will resume from Wednesday 19th March 2014
Important Announcement