Textbook On Land Law

PREFACE
Once again, the text has been updated to take account of changes to the land law of England and Wales which have occurred since the previous edition. There have been no major developments during this period, but the Court of Appeal has provided several interesting decisions which are worth noting. These include IAM Group PLC v Chowdrey12012] EWCA Civ SOs, interpreting the 'reasonable belief provisions of the new adverse possession rules, and Chaudhary v Yavuz [2011] EWCA Civ 1314 which raises the novel question of whether a dominant tenement owner could be in 'actual occupation' of the land over which he exercises an easement. We also note 'straws in the wind' deci-sions, such as Geary v Rankine 20121 EWCA Civ 555 and, at first-instance, Aspen v Elvy(2012] EWHC 1387 (Ch), which suggest that courts are beginning to apply the Stack v Dowden 'whole course of dealing' approach to the acquisition stage in sole-name cases.In response to readers' suggestions, we have extended our consideration of priority rules in registered land, so as to give a fuller account of LA 2002, ss. 28 and 29. We also give further consideration to the issue of the physical extent of an estate owner's rights in the light of the Supreme Court's consideration of the traditional 'down to the centre of the earth' maxim in Bocardo SA v Star Enersy UK Onshore Ltd [2010] 1 AC 380.When looking along the shelves of libraries and bookshops, it is only too obvious that all law textbooks grow in size and weight from one edition to another. We are determined to keep this text to a reasonable size, and so have continued our practice of transferring full coverage of certain topics to the Online Resource Centre (www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/landlaw15e) while dealing with them more briefly in the book.Both of us have been fascinated by land law ever since our first encounters with the subject as undergraduates and were disappointed to discover that many law students and practitioners regarded the subject with dislike. We felt that one source of confusion, and often boredom, in the student was produced by the traditional method of teaching land law, in which the historical background to the subject was heavily emphasised. As a result, during the years in which we taught together we developed a new approach to the subject, which concentrated on its modern and practical aspects. However, we found our efforts hampered by the lack of a text which suited our methods, and were therefore pleased to be offered the opportunity to present our style of teaching in book form in our earlier book, A Practical Approach to Land Law, which first appeared in 1986. Over the years we have been pleased to see that many other teachers have come to approach this subject in a more accessible way. We hope that this text will continue to encourage an interest in a lively and important subject and that it will, perhaps, prove to be a comfort to the confused and faint-hearted.Some have queried our decision to leave the question of what constitutes land to the end of the book, rather than dealing with it at the start. Notwithstanding these com-ments, we remain of the view that this is the most technical aspect of the subject and consider it unhelpful to expect students to understand the concept of an incorporeal hereditament before they have even grasped the basics of estates and interests in land.Accordingly, the more detailed material on this topic remains in the last chapter of the book but we have included an introduction to the concepts involved in Chapter 1. There is, of course, nothing to stop you reading the detailed chapter on this subject at an early stage, if your teachers do not agree with us.In case there is any doubt about it, we should emphasise that Trant Way, Mousehole, in the county of Stilton is a purely fictional street and so are its inhabitants. The other characters and institutions in this book are also all inventions and bear no relation to any real persons or bodies, living or dead.Judith-Anne MacKenzie retired from the Civil Service at the end of 2010. She continues to advise and support Bar students at Lincoln's Inn and law students at her alma mater, King's College, London. She is also taking a professional embroiderers' course at the Royal School of Needlework and is a broderer at Southwark Cathedral.Mary Phillips, following her retirement from the post of Dean at the Inns of Court School of Law, for some years continued her interest in the teaching of land law at City University and later at the University of Surrey. However she is now simply enjoying retirement, spending time with granddaughters Sophie and Emma and 'dog-sitting' with Foxy, who lives with Alex and Martin in their country cottage with its flying bedroom.We hope that this new edition will prove as popular as its predecessors. As always, we are happy to receive any comments and suggestions for improvements; which may be sent to us via our publishers.Finally, we must express our gratitude to the staff of the Land Registry for the advice which they always give so readily, and in particular for providing the copy of the register of title for 1 Trant Way, which appears as Figure 7.1. We are also grateful for permission to reproduce the transfer form as Figure 7.2.The law is stated as at 1 March 2014.