Land Law

Firstly it must be decided whether Shehan has bought Locke House subject to any interests with protected priority as set out in the Land Registration Act 2002 s.29 covering registered charges, interests protected by notice or those which override the purchaser interests. 12 When dealing with interests protected by notice Shehan as the buyer should have checked the register prior to the completion of the sale and inspected the land for any evidence of overriding interests. Should there have been any actual (registered) or constructive (evidentiary) notice of interests in the land then he will be subject to these interest. This would include any imputed notice from his agent checking the land, even if Shehan himself had not been told.13 Additionally should the register not have been checked and no inspection made of the land Shehan will still be subject to any genuine interests others have in Locke House.
Hilary has the option to buy Locke House from Ruth and their agreement forms an estate contract, an equitable interest in the land of Locke House and at the discretion of the courts has specific performance available as a remedy. Using Hilary’s estate contract with Ruth which gives her a proprietary right we can move to examine any equitable ownership Hilary may have of Locke House.
Despite being an equitable right in land and available when the legal formalities have not been followed to create a legal interest in the land, there are still formalities which an estate contract must adhere to. As the remedy of specific performance rather than damages is made available for land contracts, once the contract is made the purchaser acquires an immediate equitable interest in the land and therefore, from this, becomes the equitable owner of the land and the seller holds the land on trust for the beneficiary.18 In order for Hilarys contract with Ruth to be valid it must be in writing and expressly agree all terms prior to signing, and be contained in one