The disposal of land in a conveyance, for the purposes of the Act, takes place on the transfer and not on exchange of contracts. The authority set out to sell land by auction but before the auction decided to accept an offer from the tenants. Before exchange the applicants offered a larger sum, but the council exchanged on the lower offer. They were enjoined from completing the sale pending a review of their decision not to accept the higher offer. Although the idea of disposal could certainly include the creation of equitable rights upon exchange, when asking which of the two events was the disposal, the conveyance date was the one. Accordingly it was not too late for the court to intervene and set aside the transaction so far.
Citations:
Times 28-Nov-2000, Gazette 05-Jan-2001, [2000] EWHC Admin 405
Links:
Statutes:
Local Government Act 1972 123 128
Land, Local Government
Updated: 29 May 2022; Ref: scu.140221
