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 in relation to any part of that land.
Robert Walker LJ set out the principles applying to overriding interests: ‘The function of overriding interests in registered conveyancing is comparable to that of notice (actual, constructive or imputed) in unregistered conveyancing, but there are significant differences and the burden on a purchaser to make enquiries is now heavier than before. The rights of an occupier of registered land are to be distinguished from the fact of his occupation. The capacity in which a person occupies (for instance, as a tenant) need not be indicative of the right which he claims (or instance, an option to purchase the freehold reversion or an unpaid vendor’s lien). The occupier need not (in order to rely on s. 70(1)(g)) be in actual occupation of the whole of the land comprised in a registered disposition (whether that disposition is from the registered proprietor’s point of view a transfer of the whole, or a transfer of part, or a demise or other disposition taking effect in relation to the whole or part’
Judges:
Robert Walker, Stuart-Smith, Thorpe LJJ
Citations:
Times 08-Dec-1998, Gazette 10-Dec-1998, Gazette 27-Jan-1999, [1999] 1 All ER 977, [1999] Ch 355
Statutes:
Land Registration Act 1925 70(1)(g)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Young v The Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd CA 28-Jul-1944
Court of Appeal must follow Own Decisions
The claimant was injured and received compensation. He then sought to recover again, alleging breach of statutory duty by his employers.
Held: The Court of Appeal was in general bound to follow its own previous decisions. The court considered . .
Cited – Bridges v Mees ChD 1957
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. . .
Cited – Webb v Pollmount Ltd ChD 1966
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 . .
Cited – Celsteel Ltd v Alton House Holdings Ltd ChD 1985
An equitable easement (a right of way), which was not protected by any entry on the register, was a right openly exercised and enjoyed as appurtenant, in this case to a garage, and it adversely affected registered land as an overriding interest. The . .
Cited – Rickards v Rickards CA 1990
The Court of Appeal considered the circumstances in which it could depart from its own earlier decisions under the residual principle. The court refused to follow a previous decision of the same court because, although the relevant House of Lords . .
Cited – Crumpton v Unifox Properties CA 1992
The court was asked as to the right of a transferee of the reversion to forfeit a lease in the period before registration of the transfer. Staughton LJ said that since the transferee did not yet have a legal estate and the claim was based on the . .
Cited – Homsy v Murphy CA 27-Feb-1996
The plaintiff held a right of pre-emption over the freehold reversion on the building containing his flat. He appealed the award of andpound;5.00 damages for its breach. The judge had discounted an offer received by the plaintiff of andpound;100,000 . .
Cited – National Provincial Bank Ltd v Hastings Car Mart Ltd CA 1964
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 . .
Cited – National Provincial Bank Limited v Ainsworth HL 1965
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 . .
Cited – London Cheshire Co v Laplagrene 1971
A houseowner sold his freehold but remained in occupation as a tenant whilst the balance of the purchase price remained unpaid.
Held: His occupation as tenant protected his unpaid vendor’s lien although it arose from a different transaction. . .
Cited – Hodgson v Marks ChD 1970
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 . .
Cited – Kling v Keston Properties Ltd ChD 1985
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 . .
Overruled – Ashburn Anstalt v Arnold (1) CA 27-Oct-1987
Houses in Kensington were let together for a term of just over 50 years. There was just one title for the headlease. Informal subleases of parts had been granted granted at no rent. After several dealings with the titles, and the plaintiffs came to . .
Overruled – Ashburn Anstalt v Arnold (2) CA 25-Feb-1988
Various leases of properties had been granted. Legal and General occupied the property under an arrangement under which they paid no rent. The landlord sought possession, saying that the agreements were licences not tenancies because of the absence . .
Cited – Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v London Residuary Body and Others HL 16-Jul-1992
The parties signed a memorandum of agreement to let a strip of land from 1930 until determined as provided, but the only provision was that the lease would continue until the land was needed for road widening and two months’ notice was given. The . .
Cited – Williams and Glyn’s Bank Ltd v Boland HL 19-Jun-1980
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 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Registered Land
Updated: 27 November 2022; Ref: scu.145353
