The second defendant had, under the undue influence of the first defendant sold him her house at an undervalue. She also asserted non est factum. He then charged it to the claimant. The court was asked which innocent party should prevail. She said she had been in actual occupation at the time of the charge. … Continue reading Bank of Scotland v Hussain and Another: ChD 5 Nov 2010
Wife in Occupation had Overriding Interest The wife had made a substantial financial contribution to the purchase price of the house which was registered only in her husband’s name, and charged to the bank. The bank sought possession. The wife resisted saying that she had an overriding interest. Held: Her equitable interest was not only … Continue reading Williams and Glyn’s Bank Ltd v Boland: HL 19 Jun 1980
A person in actual occupation of registered land at time of transfer can enforce his rights against the transferee. A sub-underlessee in occupation of part could enforce an option to purchase against the freeholder acquiring intermediate registered title. Actual occupation of part of the land comprised in a registered disposition protected a right or interest … Continue reading Ferrishurst Ltd v Wallcite Ltd: CA 30 Nov 1998
The court refused parents leave to appeal against a mortgage possession order, rejecting their argument that children living with them had a beneficial interest in the mortgaged premises and were thus ‘in actual occupation’ so as to have overriding interests under section 70(1)(g) of the Land Registration Act 1925. A child cannot be in occupation … Continue reading Hypo-Mortgage Services Limited v Robinson and Another: CA 17 Nov 1996
Mrs Moss inherited the former matrimonial home. Her daughter (L) suggested that she transfer it into their joint names to ease its transfer on her mother’s death. It was agreed the house would never be sold during Mrs Moss’s lifetime. L borrowed andpound;30,000 using the house as security and forged her mother’s signature on the … Continue reading Abbey National plc v Moss and Others: CA 1994
A couple bought a property and registered it in their own names with substantial financial assistance from the parents of one of them. The parents occupied the house with them. Without telling the parents, the owners borrowed again, executing further charges. Held: The fact of occupation did not add to the parents’ rights as equitable … Continue reading City of London Building Society v Flegg And Another: HL 14 May 1987
A house owner allowed occupiers in and gave a informal option for them to buy it. He later charged it and sold the property to the chargee in satisfaction of the debt. Before buying it the mortgagee enquired of the occupiers as to whether they intended to purchase the property, and their reply did not … Continue reading Habermann v Koehler and Another (No 2): CA 22 Nov 2000
An option to purchase the reversion contained in a seven-year lease was protected under s. 70(1) by virtue of the tenant’s occupation under the lease. ‘It is vital . . . to bear in mind that what we are seeking to ascertain at present is whether options to purchase are overriding interests or rights within … Continue reading Webb v Pollmount Ltd: ChD 1966
The tenant overpaid rent, including a payment in May 1997 on advice that the payment would be recoverable following litigation establishing that it was an overpayment. The court later held that the payments in question were indeed overpayments. The plaintiff then sought repayment of the sums overpaid (including the payment made in May 1997), on … Continue reading D B Ramsden and Co Ltd v Nurdin and Peacock Plc and Another: ChD 14 Sep 1998
The plaintiff had transferred her house to her lodger, expressing it to be for her love and affection for him. The judge at first instance had held that the true intention of the plaintiff had been that she would continue to live there as before and that she owned the equity. The lodger had sold … Continue reading Hodgson v Marks: CA 12 Mar 1971
Registered land was bought with an advance from the plaintiff. The transfer and charge were registered one month later, but in the meantime, the buyer’s parents moved in. When the buyer defaulted, his mother resisted possession proceedings, saying that she had an overriding interest through her occupation at the time when the charge was registered. … Continue reading Abbey National Building Society v Cann: HL 29 Mar 1990
Cross J set out the nature of overriding interests: ‘Overriding interests are, speaking generally, matters which are not usually shown on title deeds or mentioned in abstracts of title and as to which, in consequence, it is not possible to form a trustworthy record on the register. As to such matters, persons dealing with registered … Continue reading National Provincial Bank Ltd v Hastings Car Mart Ltd: ChD 27 Mar 1963
Mr. Boyle sought compensation in respect of a rectification of the register by removal from his title of land belonging to a neighbour. Since Mr. Boyle’s registered title was subject to overriding interests, he would not have been entitled to compensation if the land removed from the title was in the actual occupation of the … Continue reading In re Boyle’s Claim: ChD 1961
(Bristol County Court) The relevant date for identifying occupation for section 70 was the date of execution of the building society’s charge. On appeal the case was decided on a different point. Judges: Judge McCarraher Citations: (1985) 50 P and CR 244 Statutes: Land Registration Act 1925 70(1)(g) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited … Continue reading Paddington Building Society v Mendelsohn: 1985
The respondent stayed on in the family home owned by her husband after he had left, and resisted a possession order sought by the chargee. The husband had charged the house as security for his business debts.Lord Wilberforce described the common law characteristics of property, saying: ‘Before a right or an interest can be admitted … Continue reading National Provincial Bank v Ainsworth: HL 13 May 1965
Claim by a wife that she has a beneficial interest in a house registered in the sole name of her husband and that her interest has priority over the rights of a bank under a legal charge executed without her knowledge. The case raises a point of importance in the law of registered conveyancing. Shortly … Continue reading Lloyds Bank plc v Rosset: CA 13 May 1988
The leaving of furniture in a flat or having a key to the flat or making occasional use of it was not enough to constitute actual occupation. Where A permits B to occupy land on B’s own behalf by way of gratuitous licence, A’s capacity as licensor will not by itself entitle him to claim … Continue reading Strand Securities Ltd v Caswell: CA 2 Feb 1965
The purpose and effect of section 70(1)(g) of the Land Registration Act 1925 was to make applicable to registered land the same rule as previously had been held to apply to unregistered land. (Russell LJ, Dissenting) ‘Nor should the mind be in any way distracted by the fact that the owner of the rights under … Continue reading National Provincial Bank Ltd v Hastings Car Mart Ltd: CA 1964
The plaintiff, an elderly widow, transferred her house into the name of her lodger, but remained in occupation of the house, on exactly the same basis as before, until the lodger sold the house and the purchaser had mortgaged it to a building society. Held: The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claim to be registered as … Continue reading Hodgson v Marks: ChD 1970
Brightman J [1971] Ch 499 Land Registration Act 1925 70(1)(g) England and Wales Citing: Approved – Re Birmingham, deceased; Savage v Stannard 1957 An unpaid vendor’s lien arises the moment the contract is entered into. It is discharged on completion to the extent that the purchase money is paid. . . Cited by: Cited – … Continue reading London and Cheshire Insurance Co Ltd v Laplagrene Property Co Ltd: ChD 1971
An overriding interest, namely an estate contract, was protected under s. 70(1) of the Act even though it could have been protected by a caution under s. 59. Harman J [1957] Ch 475 Land Registration Act 1925 70(1)(g) England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Ferrishurst Ltd v Wallcite Ltd CA 30-Nov-1998 A person in … Continue reading Bridges v Mees: ChD 1957
Land had been divided into three lots on its development, but the site plan did not match the line of a fence actually erected. Held: The court was not bound by the Watcham case, and would not follow it to allow reference to the later behaviour of parties in interpreting a deed. The court related … Continue reading Beale v Harvey: CA 28 Nov 2003
The house had been bought during the marriage but in the husband’s sole name. The plaintiff’s charge secured the husband’s overdraft. The bank issued possession proceedings. Mr Rosset had left, but Mrs Rosset claimed, as against the bank an interest in it as the matrimonial home. She said there had been a common understanding or … Continue reading Lloyds Bank plc v Rosset: HL 29 Mar 1990
The court refused parents leave to appeal against a mortgage possession order, rejecting their argument that children living with them had a beneficial interest in the mortgaged premises and were thus ‘in actual occupation’ so as to have overriding . .
The respondent mortgagee had obtained an order for possession against the mortgagor freeholder, referred to in the judgment as ‘the Chief’, who had, prior to the mortgage, granted a tenancy to the appellant. Held: The landlord’s retention of a right to use the kitchen made the tenancy a restricted tenancy even though no use was … Continue reading The Mortgage Corporation Ltd v Ubah: CA 21 Mar 1996
Issues – rectification of a transfer made in 1992 – whether there was a mutual mistake as at the date of the transfer – whether the equity of rectification bound subsequent purchasers – whether the previous purchasers were in ‘actual occupation’ pursuant to section 70(1)(g) of the Land Registration Act 1925 – whether the Tribunal … Continue reading Conway, Conway v Shelton, Shelton (Rectification or Setting Aside of Documents : Grounds for Rectification): LRA 8 Dec 2014
The applicant said that its land had been misappropriated, and sought rectification of the register against the respondent who was a successor in title having bought the land from the wrongdoer. Held: On registration, section 69 operated to vest only the legal title in the prior registered proprietor. The transfer being of no effect in … Continue reading Malory Enterprises Ltd v Cheshire Homes (UK) Ltd and others: CA 22 Feb 2002
The claimants asked the defendant to find a purchaser for their house for a fee. Pretending to be a purchaser under an assumed name, he obtained from them the documents necessary to register the transfer, and received a further payment towards the deposit on a new house. He was registered as proprietor, and obtained a … Continue reading Collings v Lee: CA 2001
The plaintiff had and exercised a right of pre-emption entitling him to take a long lease of a garage. He was at the time also licensee of the garage. Held: The use of the garage amounted to actual occupation, thereby protecting the right as an overriding interest as regards the garage. His right was protected … Continue reading Kling v Keston Properties Ltd: ChD 1985
The significance of the distinction between occupation and rights was that although the deserted wife was in actual occupation of the former matrimonial home, the quality of her rights was not such as to be capable of amounting to an overriding interest. A purchaser of land and in particular a reversion to a lease, will … Continue reading National Provincial Bank Limited v Ainsworth: HL 1965
The First Defendant agreed to purchase a business from the Second Defendant for andpound;160,000. andpound;80,000 was raised by way of a secured loan from the plaintiff and was paid to the Second Defendant. The balance of andpound;80,000 was left . .