Law of Property Act 1925

Part II E+W Contracts, Conveyances and other Instruments

ContractsE+W

40. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1E+W

Textual Amendments

41 Stipulations not of the essence of a contract.E+W

Stipulations in a contract, as to time or otherwise, which according to rules of equity are not deemed to be or to have become of the essence of the contract, are also construed and have effect at law in accordance with the same rules.

42 Provisions as to contracts.E+W

(1)A stipulation that a purchaser of a legal estate in land shall accept a title made with the concurrence of any person entitled to an equitable interest shall be void, if a title can be made discharged from the equitable interest without such concurrence—

(a)under a [F2trust of land]; or

(b)under this Act, or the M1Settled Land Act, 1925, or any other statute.

(2)A stipulation that a purchaser of a legal estate in land shall pay or contribute towards the costs of or incidental to—

(a)obtaining a vesting order, or the appointment of trustees of a settlement, or the appointment of trustees of [F3land]; or

(b)the preparation stamping or execution of a conveyance [F3in trust], or of a vesting instrument for bringing into force the provisions of the Settled Land Act, 1925;

shall be void.

(3)A stipulation contained in any contract for the sale or exchange of land made after the commencement of this Act, to the effect that an outstanding legal estate is to be traced or got in by or at the expense of a purchaser or that no objection is to be taken on account of an outstanding legal estate, shall be void.

(4)If the subject matter of any contract for the sale or exchange of land—

(i)is a mortgage term and the vendor has power to convey the fee simple in the land, or, in the case of a mortgage of a term of years absolute, the leasehold reversion affected by the mortgage, the contract shall be deemed to extend to the fee simple in the land or such leasehold reversion;

(ii)is an equitable interest capable of subsisting as a legal estate, and the vendor has power to vest such legal estate in himself or in the purchaser or to require the same to be so vested, the contract shall be deemed to extend to such legal estate;

(iii)is an entailed interest in possession and the vendor has power to vest in himself or in the purchaser the fee simple in the land, (or, if the entailed interest is an interest in a term of years absolute, such term,) or to require the same to be so vested, the contract shall be deemed to extend to the fee simple in the land or the term of years absolute.

(5)This section does not affect the right of a mortgagee of leasehold land to sell his mortgage term only if he is unable to convey or vest the leasehold reversion expectant thereon.

F4(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7)Where a purchaser has power to acquire land compulsorily, and a contract, whether by virtue of a notice to treat or otherwise, is subsisting under which title can be made without payment of the compensation money into court, title shall be made in that way unless the purchaser, to avoid expense or delay or for any special reason, considers it expedient that the money should be paid into court.

(8)A vendor shall not have any power to rescind a contract by reason only of the enforcement of any right under this section.

(9)This section only applies in favour of a purchaser for money or money’s worth.

Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Marginal Citations

43 Rights protected by registration.E+W

(1)Where a purchaser of a legal estate is entitled to acquire the same discharged from an equitable interest which is protected by registration as a pending action, annuity, writ, order, deed of arrangement or land charge, and which will not be over-reached by the conveyance to him, he may notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary, require—

(a)that the registration shall be cancelled; or

(b)that the person entitled to the equitable interest shall concur in the conveyance;

and in either case free of expense to the purchaser.

(2)Where the registration cannot be cancelled or the person entitled to the equitable interest refuses to concur in the conveyance, this section does not affect the right of any person to rescind the contract.

44 Statutory commencements of title.E+W

(1)After the commencement of this Act thirty years shall be substituted for forty years as the period of commencement of title which a purchaser of land may require; nevertheless earlier title than thirty years may be required in cases similar to those in which earlier title than forty years might immediately before the commencement of this Act be required.

(2)Under a contract to grant or assign a term of years, whether derived or to be derived out of freehold or leasehold land, the intended lessee or assign shall not be entitled to call for the title to the freehold.

(3)Under a contract to sell and assign a term of years derived out of a leasehold interest in land, the intended assign shall not have the right to call for the title to the leasehold reversion.

(4)On a contract to grant a lease for a term of years to be derived out of a leasehold interest, with a leasehold reversion, the intended lessee shall not have the right to call for the title to that reversion.

[F5(4A)Subsections (2) and (4) of this section do not apply to a contract to grant a term of years if the grant will be an event within section 4(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002 (events which trigger compulsory first registration of title).]

(5)Where by reason of any of [F6subsections (2) to (4) of this section] , an intending lessee or assign is not entitled to call for the title to the freehold or to a leasehold reversion, as the case may be, he shall not, where the contract is made after the commencement of this Act, be deemed to be affected with notice of any matter or thing of which, if he had contracted that such title should be furnished, he might have had notice.

(6)Where land of copyhold or customary tenure has been converted into freehold by enfranchisement, then, under a contract to sell and convey the freehold, the purchaser shall not have the right to call for the title to make the enfranchisement.

(7)Where the manorial incidents formerly affecting any land have been extinguished, then, under a contract to sell and convey the freehold, the purchaser shall not have the right to call for the title of the person entering into any compensation agreement or giving a receipt for the compensation money to enter into such agreement or to give such receipt, and shall not be deemed to be affected with notice of any matter or thing of which, if he had contracted that such title should be furnished, he might have had notice.

(8)A purchaser shall not be deemed to be or ever to have been affected with notice of any matter or thing of which, if he had investigated the title or made enquiries in regard to matters prior to the period of commencement of title fixed by this Act, or by any other statute, or by any rule of law, he might have had notice, unless he actually makes such investigation or enquiries.

(9)Where a lease whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, is made under a power contained in a settlement, will, Act of Parliament, or other instrument, any preliminary contract for or relating to the lease shall not, for the purpose of the deduction of title to an intended assign, form part of the title, or evidence of the title, to the lease.

(10)This section, save where otherwise expressly provided, applies to contracts for sale whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, and applies to contracts for exchange in like manner as to contracts for sale, save that it applies only to contracts for exchange made after such commencement.

(11)This section applies only if and so far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the contract.

[F7(12)Nothing in this section applies in relation to registered land or to a term of years to be derived out of registered land.]

Textual Amendments

F6By Land Registration Act 2002 (c. 9), ss. 133, 136(2), Sch. 11 para. 2(3) (with s. 129); S.I. 2003/1725, art. 2, it is provided that in s. 44(5) for the words "the last three preceding subsections" there is substituted (13.10.2003) "subsections (2) to (4) of this section"

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

45 Other statutory conditions of sale.E+W

(1)A purchaser of any property shall not—

(a)require the production, or any abstract or copy, of any deed, will, or other document, dated or made before the time prescribed by law, or stipulated, for the commencement of the title, even though the same creates a power subsequently exercised by an instrument abstracted in the abstract furnished to the purchaser; or

(b)require any information, or make any requisition, objection, or inquiry, with respect to any such deed, will, or document, or the title prior to that time, notwithstanding that any such deed, will, or other document, or that prior title, is recited, agreed to be produced, or noticed;

and he shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that the recitals, contained in the abstracted instruments, of any deed, will, or other document, forming part of that prior title, are correct, and give all the material contents of the deed, will, or other document so recited, and that every document so recited was duly executed by all necessary parties, and perfected, if and as required, by fine, recovery, acknowledgment, inrolment, or otherwise:

Provided that this subsection shall not deprive a purchaser of the right to require the production, or an abstract or copy of—

(i)any power of attorney under which any abstracted document is executed; or

(ii)any document creating or disposing of an interest, power or obligation which is not shown to have ceased or expired, and subject to which any part of the property is disposed of by an abstracted document; or

(iii)any document creating any limitation or trust by reference to which any part of the property is disposed of by an abstracted document.

(2)Where land sold is held by lease (other than an under-lease), the purchaser shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that the lease was duly granted; and, on production of the receipt for the last payment due for rent under the lease before the date of actual completion of the purchase, he shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that all the covenants and provisions of the lease have been duly performed and observed up to the date of actual completion of the purchase.

(3)Where land sold is held by under-lease, the purchaser shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that the under-lease and every superior lease were duly granted; and, on production of the receipt for the last payment due for rent under the under-lease before the date of actual completion of the purchase, he shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that all the covenants and provisions of the under-lease have been duly performed and observed up to the date of actual completion of the purchase, and further that all rent due under every superior lease, and all the covenants and provisions of every superior lease, have been paid and duly performed and observed up to that date.

(4)On a sale of any property, the following expenses shall be borne by the purchaser where he requires them to be incurred for the purpose of verifying the abstract or any other purpose, that is to say—

(a)the expenses of the production and inspection of all Acts of Parliament, inclosure awards, records, proceedings of courts, court rolls, deeds, wills, probates, letters of administration, and other documents, not in the possession of the vendor or his mortgagee or trustee, and the expenses of all journeys incidental to such production or inspection; and

(b)the expenses of searching for, procuring, making, verifying, and producing all certificates, declarations, evidences, and information not in the possession of the vendor or his mortgagee or trustee, and all attested, stamped, office, or other copies or abstracts of, or extracts from, any Acts of Parliament or other documents aforesaid, not in the possession of the vendor or his mortgagee or trustee;

and where the vendor or his mortgagee or trustee retains possession of any document, the expenses of making any copy thereof, attested or unattested, which a purchaser requires to be delivered to him, shall be borne by that purchaser.

(5)On a sale of any property in lots, a purchaser of two or more lots, held wholly or partly under the same title, shall not have a right to more than one abstract of the common title, except at his own expense.

(6)Recitals, statements, and descriptions of facts, matters, and parties contained in deeds, instruments, Acts of Parliament, or statutory declarations, twenty years old at the date of the contract, shall, unless and except so far as they may be proved to be inaccurate, be taken to be sufficient evidence of the truth of such facts, matters, and descriptions.

(7)The inability of a vendor to furnish a purchaser with an acknowledgment of his right to production and delivery of copies of documents of title or with a legal covenant to produce and furnish copies of documents of title shall not be an objection to title in case the purchaser will, on the completion of the contract, have an equitable right to the production of such documents.

(8)Such acknowledgments of the right of production or covenants for production and such undertakings or covenants for safe custody of documents as the purchaser can and does require shall be furnished or made at his expense, and the vendor shall bear the expense of perusal and execution on behalf of and by himself, and on behalf of and by necessary parties other than the purchaser.

(9)A vendor shall be entitled to retain documents of title where—

(a)he retains any part of the land to which the documents relate; or

(b)the document consists of a trust instrument or other instrument creating a trust which is still subsisting, or an instrument relating to the appointment or discharge of a trustee of a subsisting trust.

(10)This section applies to contracts for sale made before or after the commencement of this Act, and applies to contracts for exchange in like manner as to contracts for sale, except that it applies only to contracts for exchange made after such commencement:

Provided that this section shall apply subject to any stipulation or contrary intention expressed in the contract.

(11)Nothing in this section shall be construed as binding a purchaser to complete his purchase in any case where, on a contract made independently of this section, and containing stipulations similar to the provisions of this section, or any of them, specific performance of the contract would not be enforced against him by the court.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

46 Forms of contracts and conditions of sale. E+W

The Lord Chancellor may from time to time prescribe and publish forms of contracts and conditions of sale of land, and the forms so prescribed shall, subject to any modification, or any stipulation or intention to the contrary, expressed in the correspondence, apply to contracts by correspondence, and may, but only by express reference thereto, be made to apply to any other cases for which the forms are made available.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

47 Application of insurance money on completion of a sale or exchange.E+W

(1)Where after the date of any contract for sale or exchange of property, money becomes payable under any policy of insurance maintained by the vendor in respect of any damage to or destruction of property included in the contract, the money shall, on completion of the contract, be held or receivable by the vendor on behalf of the purchaser and paid by the vendor to the purchaser on completion of the sale or exchange, or so soon thereafter as the same shall be received by the vendor.

(2)This section applies only to contracts made after the commencement of this Act, and has effect subject to—

(a)any stipulation to the contrary contained in the contract,

(b)any requisite consents of the insurers,

(c)the payment by the purchaser of the proportionate part of the premium from the date of the contract.

(3)This section applies to a sale or exchange by an order of the court, as if—

(a)for references to the “vendor” there were substituted references to the “person bound by the order”;

(b)for the reference to the completion of the contract there were substituted a reference to the payment of the purchase or equality money (if any) into court;

(c)for the reference to the date of the contract there were substituted a reference to the time when the contract becomes binding.

48 Stipulations preventing a purchaser, lessee, or underlessee from employing his own solicitor to be void. E+W

(1)Any stipulation made on the sale of any interest in land after the commencement of this Act to the effect that the conveyance to, or the registration of the title of, the purchaser shall be prepared or carried out at the expense of the purchaser by a solicitor appointed by or acting for the vendor, and any stipulation which might restrict a purchaser in the selection of a solicitor to act on his behalf in relation to any interest in land agreed to be purchased, shall be void; and, if a sale is effected by demise or subdemise, then, for the purposes of this subsection, the instrument required for giving effect to the transaction shall be deemed to be a conveyance:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect any right reserved to a vendor to furnish a form of conveyance to a purchaser from which the draft can be prepared, or to charge a reasonable fee therefor, or, where a perpetual rentcharge is to be reserved as the only consideration in money or money’s worth, the right of a vendor to stipulate that the draft conveyance is to be prepared by his solicitor at the expense of the purchaser.

(2)Any covenant or stipulation contained in, or entered into with reference to any lease or underlease made before or after the commencement of this Act—

(a)whereby the right of preparing, at the expense of a purchaser, any conveyance of the estate or interest of the lessee or underlessee in the demised premises or in any part thereof, or of otherwise carrying out, at the expense of the purchaser, any dealing with such estate or interest, is expressed to be reserved to or vested in the lessor or underlessor or his solicitor; or

(b)which in any way restricts the right of the purchaser to have such conveyance carried out on his behalf by a solicitor appointed by him;

shall be void:

Provided that, where any covenant or stipulation is rendered void by this subsection, there shall be implied in lieu thereof a covenant or stipulation that the lessee or underlessee shall register with the lessor or his solicitor within six months from the date thereof, or as soon after the expiration of that period as may be practicable, all conveyances and devolutions (including probates or letters of administration) affecting the lease or underlease and pay a fee of one guinea in respect of each registration, and the power of entry (if any) on breach of any covenant contained in the lease or underlease shall apply and extend to the breach of any covenant so to be implied.

(3)Save where a sale is effected by demise or sub-demise, this section does not affect the law relating to the preparation of a lease or underlease or the draft thereof.

(4)In this section “lease” and “underlease” include any agreement therefor or other tenancy, and “lessee” and “underlessee” and “lessor” and “underlessor” have corresponding meanings.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C7S. 48 extended (prosp.) by Building Societies Act 1986 (c. 53, SIF 16), ss. 54(3)(a)(5), 119(5), 124, 126, Sch. 21 paras. 9(a), 12(2)(3) (the said s. 124 (which induces Sch. 21) being repealed (prosp.) by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 76:1), s. 125(7), Sch. 20

49 Applications to the court by vendor and purchaser.E+W

(1)A vendor or purchaser of any interest in land, or their representatives respectively, may apply in a summary way to the court, in respect of any requisitions or objections, or any claim for compensation, or any other question arising out of or connected with the contract (not being a question affecting the existence or validity of the contract), and the court may make such order upon the application as to the court may appear just, and may order how and by whom all or any of the costs of and incident to the application are to be borne and paid.

(2)Where the court refuses to grant specific performance of a contract, or in any action for the return of a deposit, the court may, if it thinks fit, order the repayment of any deposit.

(3)This section applies to a contract for the sale or exchange of any interest in land.

[F8(4)The county court has jurisdiction under this section where the land which is to be dealt with in the court does not exceed [F9£30,000] in capital value. F10 . . .]

Textual Amendments

F9Words in s. 49(4) substituted (1.7.1991) by S.I. 1991/724, art. 2(8), Sch. Pt.I (with art. 12)

F10Words in s. 49(4) omitted (1.7.1991) by virtue of S.I. 1991/724, art. 2(8), Sch. Pt.I (with art. 12)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C9S. 49 extended (1.7.1991) by S.I. 1991/724, art. 2(3)(a) (with art. 12)

50 Discharge of incumbrances by the court on sales or exchanges.E+W

(1)Where land subject to any incumbrance, whether immediately realisable or payable or not, is sold or exchanged by the court, or out of court, the court may, if it thinks fit, on the application of any party to the sale or exchange, direct or allow payment into court of such sum as is hereinafter mentioned, that is to say—

(a)in the case of an annual sum charged on the land, or of a capital sum charged on a determinable interest in the land, the sum to be paid into court shall be of such amount as, when invested in Government securities, the court considers will be sufficient, by means of the dividends thereof, to keep down or otherwise provide for that charge; and

(b)in any other case of capital money charged on the land, the sum to be paid into court shall be of an amount sufficient to meet the incumbrance and any interest due thereon;

but in either case there shall also be paid into court such additional amount as the court considers will be sufficient to meet the contingency of further costs, expenses and interest, and any other contingency, except depreciation of investments, not exceeding one-tenth part of the original amount to be paid in, unless the court for special reason thinks fit to require a larger additional amount.

(2)Thereupon, the court may, if it thinks fit, and either after or without any notice to the incumbrancer, as the court thinks fit, declare the land to be freed from the incumbrance, and make any order for conveyance, or vesting order, proper for giving effect to the sale or exchange, and give directions for the retention and investment of the money in court and for the payment or application of the income thereof.

(3)The court may declare all other land, if any, affected by the incumbrance (besides the land sold or exchanged) to be freed from the incumbrance, and this power may be exercised either after or without notice to the incumbrancer, and notwithstanding that on a previous occasion an order, relating to the same incumbrance, has been made by the court which was confined to the land then sold or exchanged.

(4)On any application under this section the court may, if it thinks fit, as respects any vendor or purchaser, dispense with the service of any notice which would otherwise be required to be served on the vendor or purchaser.

(5)After notice served on the persons interested in or entitled to the money or fund in court, the court may direct payment or transfer thereof to the persons entitled to receive or give a discharge for the same, and generally may give directions respecting the application or distribution of the capital or income thereof.

(6)This section applies to sales or exchanges whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, and to incumbrances whether created by statute or otherwise.

Conveyances and other InstrumentsE+W

51 Lands lie in grant only.E+W

(1)All lands and all interests therein lie in grant and are incapable of being conveyed by livery or livery and seisin, or by feoffment, or by bargain and sale; and a conveyance of an interest in land may operate to pass the possession or right to possession thereof, without actual entry, but subject to all prior rights thereto.

(2)The use of the word grant is not necessary to convey land or to create any interest therein.

52 Conveyances to be by deed.E+W

(1)All conveyances of land or of any interest therein are void for the purpose of conveying or creating a legal estate unless made by deed.

(2)This section does not apply to—

(a)assents by a personal representative;

(b)disclaimers made in accordance with [F11sections 178 to 180 or sections 315 to 319 of the Insolvency Act 1986], or not required to be evidenced in writing;

(c)surrenders by operation of law, including surrenders which may, by law, be effected without writing;

(d)leases or tenancies or other assurances not required by law to be made in writing;

(e)receipts [F12other than those falling within section 115 below];

(f)vesting orders of the court or other competent authority;

(g)conveyances taking effect by operation of law.

Textual Amendments

53 Instruments required to be in writing.E+W

(1)Subject to the provision hereinafter contained with respect to the creation of interests in land by parol—

(a)no interest in land can be created or disposed of except by writing signed by the person creating or conveying the same, or by his agent thereunto lawfully authorised in writing, or by will, or by operation of law;

(b)a declaration of trust respecting any land or any interest therein must be manifested and proved by some writing signed by some person who is able to declare such trust or by his will;

(c)a disposition of an equitable interest or trust subsisting at the time of the disposition, must be in writing signed by the person disposing of the same, or by his agent thereunto lawfully authorised in writing or by will.

(2)This section does not affect the creation or operation of resulting, implied or constructive trusts.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C13S. 53(1)(c) excluded (6.3.2009) by The Unit Trusts (Electronic Communications) Order (S.I. 2009/555), {art. 3}

54 Creation of interests in land by parol.E+W

(1)All interests in land created by parol and not put in writing and signed by the persons so creating the same, or by their agents thereunto lawfully authorised in writing, have, notwithstanding any consideration having been given for the same, the force and effect of interests at will only.

(2)Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall affect the creation by parol of leases taking effect in possession for a term not exceeding three years (whether or not the lessee is given power to extend the term) at the best rent which can be reasonably obtained without taking a fine.

55 Savings in regard to last two sections.E+W

Nothing in the last two foregoing sections shall—

(a)invalidate dispositions by will; or

(b)affect any interest validly created before the commencement of this Act; or

(c)affect the right to acquire an interest in land by virtue of taking possession; or

(d)affect the operation of the law relating to part performance.

56 Persons taking who are not parties and as to indentures.E+W

(1)A person may take an immediate or other interest in land or other property, or the benefit of any condition, right of entry, covenant or agreement over or respecting land or other property, although he may not be named as a party to the conveyance or other instrument.

(2)A deed between parties, to effect its objects, has the effect of an indenture though not indented or expressed to be an indenture.

57 Description of deeds.E+W

Any deed, whether or not being an indenture, may be described (at the commencement thereof or otherwise) as a deed simply, or as a conveyance, deed of exchange, vesting deed, trust instrument, settlement, mortgage, charge, transfer of mortgage, appointment, lease or otherwise according to the nature of the transaction intended to be effected.

58 Provisions as to supplemental instruments.E+W

Any instrument (whether executed before or after the commencement of this Act) expressed to be supplemental to a previous instrument, shall, as far as may be, be read and have effect as if the supplemental instrument contained a full recital of the previous instrument, but this section does not operate to give any right to an abstract or production of any such previous instrument, and a purchaser may accept the same evidence that the previous instrument does not affect the title as if it had merely been mentioned in the supplemental instrument.

59 Conditions and certain covenants not implied.E+W

(1)An exchange or other conveyance of land made by deed after the first day of October, eighteen hundred and forty-five, does not imply any condition in law.

(2)The word “give” or “grant” does not, in a deed made after the date last aforesaid, imply any covenant in law, save where otherwise provided by statute.

60 Abolition of technicalities in regard to conveyances and deeds.E+W

(1)A conveyance of freehold land to any person without words of limitation, or any equivalent expression, shall pass to the grantee the fee simple or other the whole interest which the grantor had power to convey in such land, unless a contrary intention appears in the conveyance.

(2)A conveyance of freehold land to a corporation sole by his corporate designation without the word “successors” shall pass to the corporation the fee simple or other the whole interest which the grantor had power to convey in such land, unless a contrary intention appears in the conveyance.

(3)In a voluntary conveyance a resulting trust for the grantor shall not be implied merely by reason that the property is not expressed to be conveyed for the use or benefit of the grantee.

(4)The foregoing provisions of this section apply only to conveyances and deeds executed after the commencement of this Act:

Provided that in a deed executed after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, it is sufficient—

(a)In the limitation of an estate in fee simple, to use the words “in fee simple,” without the word “heirs”;

F13(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F13(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F13S. 60(4): paras. (b) and (c) of the proviso repealed (1.1.1997) by 1996 c. 47, s. 25(2), Sch. 4 (with ss. 24(2), 25(4)); S.I. 1996/2974, art. 2

61 Construction of expressions used in deeds and other instruments.E+W

In all deeds, contracts, wills, orders and other instruments executed, made or coming into operation after the commencement of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

(a)“Month” means calendar month;

(b)“Person” includes a corporation;

(c)The singular includes the plural and vice versa;

(d)The masculine includes the feminine and vice versa.

62 General words implied in conveyances. E+W

(1)A conveyance of land shall be deemed to include and shall by virtue of this Act operate to convey, with the land, all buildings, erections, fixtures, commons, hedges, ditches, fences, ways, waters, water-courses, liberties, privileges, easements, rights, and advantages whatsoever, appertaining or reputed to appertain to the land, or any part thereof, or, at the time of conveyance, demised, occupied, or enjoyed with, or reputed or known as part or parcel of or appurtenant to the land or any part thereof.

(2)A conveyance of land, having houses or other buildings thereon, shall be deemed to include and shall by virtue of this Act operate to convey, with the land, houses, or other buildings, all outhouses, erections, fixtures, cellars, areas, courts, courtyards, cisterns, sewers, gutters, drains, ways, passages, lights, watercourses, liberties, privileges, easements, rights, and advantages whatsoever, appertaining or reputed to appertain to the land, houses, or other buildings conveyed, or any of them, or any part thereof, or, at the time of conveyance, demised, occupied, or enjoyed with, or reputed or known as part or parcel of or appurtenant to, the land, houses, or other buildings conveyed, or any of them, or any part thereof.

(3)A conveyance of a manor shall be deemed to include and shall by virtue of this Act operate to convey, with the manor, all pastures, feedings, wastes, warrens, commons, mines, minerals, quarries, furzes, trees, woods, underwoods, coppices, and the ground and soil thereof, fishings, fisheries, fowlings, courts leet, courts baron, and other courts, view of frankpledge and all that to view of frankpledge doth belong, mills, mulctures, customs, tolls, duties, reliefs, heriots, fines, sums of money, amerciaments, waifs, estrays, chief-rents, quitrents, rentscharge, rents seck, rents of assize, fee farm rents, services, royalties jurisdictions, franchises, liberties, privileges, easements, profits, advantages, rights, emoluments, and hereditaments whatsoever, to the manor appertaining or reputed to appertain, or, at the time of conveyance, demised, occupied, or enjoyed with the same, or reputed or known as part, parcel, or member thereof.

For the purposes of this subsection the right to compensation for manorial incidents on the extinguishment thereof shall be deemed to be a right appertaining to the manor.

(4)This section applies only if and as far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the conveyance, and has effect subject to the terms of the conveyance and to the provisions therein contained.

(5)This section shall not be construed as giving to any person a better title to any property, right, or thing in this section mentioned than the title which the conveyance gives to him to the land or manor expressed to be conveyed, or as conveying to him any property, right, or thing in this section mentioned, further or otherwise than as the same could have been conveyed to him by the conveying parties.

(6)This section applies to conveyances made after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

63 All estate clause implied. E+W

(1)Every conveyance is effectual to pass all the estate, right, title, interest, claim, and demand which the conveying parties respectively have, in, to, or on the property conveyed, or expressed or intended so to be, or which they respectively have power to convey in, to, or on the same.

(2)This section applies only if and as far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the conveyance, and has effect subject to the terms of the conveyance and to the provisions therein contained.

(3)This section applies to conveyances made after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

64 Production and safe custody of documents.E+W

(1)Where a person retains possession of documents, and gives to another an acknowledgment in writing of the right of that other to production of those documents, and to delivery of copies thereof (in this section called an acknowledgment), that acknowledgment shall have effect as in this section provided.

(2)An acknowledgment shall bind the documents to which it relates in the possession or under the control of the person who retains them, and in the possession or under the control of every other person having possession or control thereof from time to time, but shall bind each individual possessor or person as long only as he has possession or control thereof; and every person so having possession or control from time to time shall be bound specifically to perform the obligations imposed under this section by an acknowledgment, unless prevented from so doing by fire or other inevitable accident.

(3)The obligations imposed under this section by an acknowledgment are to be performed from time to time at the request in writing of the person to whom an acknowledgment is given, or of any person, not being a lessee at a rent, having or claiming any estate, interest, or right through or under that person, or otherwise becoming through or under that person interested in or affected by the terms of any document to which the acknowledgment relates.

(4)The obligations imposed under this section by an acknowledgment are—

(i)An obligation to produce the documents or any of them at all reasonable times for the purpose of inspection, and of comparison with abstracts or copies thereof, by the person entitled to request production or by any person by him authorised in writing; and

(ii)An obligation to produce the documents or any of them at any trial, hearing, or examination in any court, or in the execution of any commission, or elsewhere in the United Kingdom, on any occasion on which production may properly be required, for proving or supporting the title or claim of the person entitled to request production, or for any other purpose relative to that title or claim; and

(iii)An obligation to deliver to the person entitled to request the same true copies or extracts, attested or unattested, of or from the documents or any of them.

(5)All costs and expenses of or incidental to the specific performance of any obligation imposed under this section by an acknowledgement shall be paid by the person requesting performance.

(6)An acknowledgment shall not confer any right to damages for loss or destruction of, or injury to, the documents to which it relates, from whatever cause arising.

(7)Any person claiming to be entitled to the benefit of an acknowledgment may apply to the court for an order directing the production of the documents to which it relates, or any of them, or the delivery of copies of or extracts from those documents or any of them to him, or some person on his behalf; and the court may, if it thinks fit, order production, or production and delivery, accordingly, and may give directions respecting the time, place, terms, and mode of production or delivery, and may make such order as it thinks fit respecting the costs of the application, or any other matter connected with the application.

(8)An acknowledgment shall by virtue of this Act satisfy any liability to give a covenant for production and delivery of copies of or extracts from documents.

(9)Where a person retains possession of documents and gives to another an undertaking in writing for safe custody thereof, that undertaking shall impose on the person giving it, and on every person having possession or control of the documents from time to time, but on each individual possessor or person as long only as he has possession or control thereof, an obligation to keep the documents safe, whole, uncancelled, and undefaced, unless prevented from so doing by fire or other inevitable accident.

(10)Any person claiming to be entitled to the benefit of such an undertaking may apply to the court to assess damages for any loss or destruction of, or injury to, the documents or any of them, and the court may, if it thinks fit, direct an inquiry respecting the amount of damages, and order payment thereof by the person liable, and may make such order as it thinks fit respecting the costs of the application, or any other matter connected with the application.

(11)An undertaking for safe custody of documents shall by virtue of this Act satisfy any liability to give a covenant for safe custody of documents.

(12)The rights conferred by an acknowledgment or an undertaking under this section shall be in addition to all such other rights relative to the production, or inspection, or the obtaining of copies of documents, as are not, by virtue of this Act, satisfied by the giving of the acknowledgment or undertaking, and shall have effect subject to the terms of the acknowledgment or undertaking, and to any provisions therein contained.

(13)This section applies only if and as far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the acknowledgment or undertaking.

(14)This section applies to an acknowledgment or undertaking given, or a liability respecting documents incurred, after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C17S. 64 applied by Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (c. 88), s. 10(6)

S. 64 applied (with modifications) (24.7.1996) by 1996 c. 55, s. 131(4), Sch. 5 para. 4(3)(b)

S. 64 applied (12.1.2000) by 1999 c. 29, s. 412(14)(b) (with Sch. 12 para. 9(1)); S.I. 1999/3434, art. 2

s. 64 applied (with modifications) (1.2.2001) by 2000 c. 38, s. 63, Sch. 6 para. 12(2)(b) (with ss. 105(2)(5), 106(4)); S.I. 2001/57, art. 3, Sch. 2 Pt. I (with transitional provisions in Sch. 2 Pt. II)

C19S. 64: power to apply conferred (1.12.1991) by Water Industry Act 1991 (c. 56, SIF 130), ss. 10, 23(4), 223(2), Sch. 2 para. 3(5)(b)

S. 64: power to apply conferred (1.4.1994) by 1993 c. 43, ss. 59, 150(1)(c)(m), Sch. 7 para. 3(4)(b); S.I. 1994/571, art. 5

S. 64: power to apply conferred (28.7.1995 in part and 12.10.1995 otherwise) by 1995 c. 25, ss. 3(8), 22(9), Sch. 2 para. 5(2)(b) (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117); S.I. 1995/1983, art. 2; S.I. 1995/2649, art. 2

S. 64: power to apply conferred (31.1.2005 for certain purposes, otherwise prosp.) by Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 (c. 23), s. 68(3), Sch. 3 para. 1(6)(b); S.I. 2005/71, art. 2(1), Sch.

65 Reservation of legal estates.E+W

(1)A reservation of a legal estate shall operate at law without any execution of the conveyance by the grantee of the legal estate out of which the reservation is made, or any regrant by him, so as to create the legal estate reserved, and so as to vest the same in possession in the person (whether being the grantor or not) for whose benefit the reservation is made.

(2)A conveyance of a legal estate expressed to be made subject to another legal estate not in existence immediately before the date of the conveyance, shall operate as a reservation, unless a contrary intention appears.

(3)This section applies only to reservations made after the commencement of this Act.

66 Confirmation of past transactions.E+W

(1)A deed containing a declaration by the estate owner that his estate shall go and devolve in such a manner as may be requisite for confirming any interests intended to affect his estate and capable under this Act of subsisting as legal estates which, at some prior date, were expressed to have been transferred or created, and any dealings therewith which would have been legal if those interests had been legally and validly transferred or created, shall, to the extent of the estate of the estate owner, but without prejudice to the restrictions imposed by this Act in the case of mortgages, operate to give legal effect to the interests so expressed to have been transferred or created and to the subsequent dealings aforesaid.

(2)The powers conferred by this section may be exercised by a tenant for life or statutory owner, [F14trustee of land] or a personal representative (being in each case an estate owner) as well as by an absolute owner, but if exercised by any person, other than an absolute owner, only with the leave of the court.

(3)This section applies only to deeds containing such a declaration as aforesaid if executed after the commencement of this Act.

[F15(4)The county court has jurisdiction under this section where the land which is to be dealt with in the court does not exceed [F16£30,000] in capital value F17 . . .]

Textual Amendments

F14Words in s. 66(2) substituted (1.1.1997) by 1996 c. 47, s. 25(1), Sch. 3 para. 4(12) (with ss. 24(2), 25(4)); S.I. 1996/2974, art. 2

F16Words in s. 66(4) substituted (1.7.1991) by S.I. 1991/724, art. 2(8), Sch. Pt. I (with art. 12)

F17Words in s. 66(4) omitted (1.7.1991) by virtue of S.I. 1991/724, art. 2(8), Sch. Pt. I (with art. 12)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C20S. 66 extended (1.7.1991) by S.I. 1991/724, art. 2(3)(a) (with art. 12)

67 Receipt in deed sufficient.E+W

(1)A receipt for consideration money or securities in the body of a deed shall be a sufficient discharge for the same to the person paying or delivering the same, without any further receipt for the same being indorsed on the deed.

(2)This section applies to deeds executed after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

68 Receipt in deed or indorsed evidence.E+W

(1)A receipt for consideration money or other consideration in the body of a deed or indorsed thereon shall, in favour of a subsequent purchaser, not having notice that the money or other consideration thereby acknowledged to be received was not in fact paid or given, wholly or in part, be sufficient evidence of the payment or giving of the whole amount thereof.

(2)This section applies to deeds executed after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

69 Receipt in deed or indorsed authority for payment to solicitor. E+W

(1)Where a solicitor produces a deed, having in the body thereof or indorsed thereon a receipt for consideration money or other consideration, the deed being executed, or the indorsed receipt being signed, by the person entitled to give a receipt for that consideration, the deed shall be a sufficient authority to the person liable to pay or give the same for his paying or giving the same to the solicitor, without the solicitor producing any separate or other direction or authority in that behalf from the person who executed or signed the deed or receipt.

(2)This section applies whether the consideration was paid or given before or after the commencement of this Act.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

70 Partial release of security from rentcharge.E+W

(1)A release from a rentcharge of part of the land charged therewith does not extinguish the whole rent charge, but operates only to bar the right to recover any part of the rentcharge out of the land released, without prejudice to the rights of any persons interested in the land remaining unreleased, and not concurring in or confirming the release.

(2)This section applies to releases made after the twelfth day of August, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.

71 Release of part of land affected from a judgment.E+W

(1)A release from a judgment (including any writ or order imposing a charge) of part of any land charged therewith does not affect the validity of the judgment as respects any land not specifically released.

(2)This section operates without prejudice to the rights of any persons interested in the property remaining unreleased and not concurring in or confirming the release.

(3)This section applies to releases made after the twelfth day of August, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.

72 Conveyances by a person to himself, &c.E+W

(1)In conveyances made after the twelfth day of August, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, personal property, including chattels real, may be conveyed by a person to himself jointly with another person by the like means by which it might be conveyed by him to another person.

(2)In conveyances made after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, freehold land, or a thing in action, may be conveyed by a person to himself jointly with another person, by the like means by which it might be conveyed by him to another person; and may, in like manner, be conveyed by a husband to his wife, and by a wife to her husband, alone or jointly with another person.

(3)After the commencement of this Act a person may convey land to or vest land in himself.

(4)Two or more persons (whether or not being trustees or personal representatives) may convey, and shall be deemed always to have been capable of conveying, any property vested in them to any one or more of themselves in like manner as they could have conveyed such property to a third party; provided that if the persons in whose favour the conveyance is made are, by reason of any fiduciary relationship or otherwise, precluded from validly carrying out the transaction, the conveyance shall be liable to be set aside.

73. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F18E+W

Textual Amendments

74 Execution of instruments by or on behalf of corporations.E+W

[F19(1)In favour of a purchaser an instrument shall be deemed to have been duly executed by a corporation aggregate if a seal purporting to be the corporation's seal purportsto be affixed to the instrument in the presence of and attested by—

(a)two members of the board of directors, council or other governing body of the corporation, or

(b)one such member and the clerk, secretary or other permanent officer of the corporation or his deputy.]

[F20(1A)Subsection (1) of this section applies in the case of an instrument purporting to have been executed by a corporation aggregate in the name or on behalf of anotherperson whether or not that person is also a corporation aggregate.]

[F21(1B)For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a seal purports to be affixed in the presence of and attested by an officer of the corporation, in the case of an officer which is not an individual, if it is affixed in the presence of and attested by an individual authorised by the officer to attest on its behalf.]

(2)The board of directors, council or other governing body of a corporation aggregate may, by resolution or otherwise, appoint an agent either generally or in any particular case, to execute on behalf of the corporation any agreement or other instrument [F22which is not a deed] in relation to any matter within the powers of the corporation.

(3)Where a person is authorised under a power of attorney or under any statutory or other power to convey any interest in property in the name or on behalf of a corporation sole or aggregate, he may as attorney execute the conveyance by signing the name of the corporation in the presence of at least one witness [F23who attests the signature], F24. . . and such execution shall take effect and be valid in like manner as if the corporation had executed the conveyance.

(4)Where a corporation aggregate is authorised under a power of attorney or under any statutory or other power to convey any interest in property in the name or on behalf of any other person (including another corporation), an officer appointed for that purpose by the board of directors, council or other governing body of the corporation by resolution or otherwise, may execute the [F25instrument by signing it] in the name of such other person [F26or, if the instrument is to be a deed, by so signing it in the presence of a witness who attests the signature]; and where an instrument appears to be executed by an officer so appointed, then in favour of a purchaser the instrument shall be deemed to have been executed by an officer duly authorised.

(5)The foregoing provisions of this section apply to transactions wherever effected, but only to deeds and instruments executed after the commencement of this Act, except that, in the case of powers or appointments of an agent or officer, they apply whether the power was conferred or the appointment was made before or after the commencement of this Act or by this Act.

(6)Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, any mode of execution or attestation authorised by law or by practice or by the statute, charter, [F27articles], deed of settlement or other instrument constituting the corporation or regulating the affairs thereof, shall (in addition to the modes authorised by this section) be as effectual as if this section had not been passed.

Textual Amendments

F27Word in s. 74(6) substituted (1.10.2009) by The Companies Act 2006 (Consequential Amendments, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order (S.I. 2009/1941), art. 2(1), {Sch. 1 para. 4} (with art. 10)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

[F2874AExecution of instrument as a deedE+W

(1)An instrument is validly executed by a corporation aggregate as a deed for the purposes of section 1(2)(b) of the Law of Property (MiscellaneousProvisions) Act 1989, if and only if—

(a)it is duly executed by the corporation, and

(b)it is delivered as a deed.

(2)An instrument shall be presumed to be delivered for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section upon its being executed, unless a contraryintention is proved.]

Textual Amendments

75 Rights of purchaser as to execution.E+W

(1)On a sale, the purchaser shall not be entitled to require that the conveyance to him be executed in his presence, or in that of his solicitor, as such; but shall be entitled to have, at his own cost, the execution of the conveyance attested by some person appointed by him, who may, if he thinks fit, be his solicitor.

(2)This section applies to sales made after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

CovenantsE+W

F2976. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E+W

Textual Amendments

F29S. 76 repealed (1.7.1995) by 1994 c. 36, ss. 10, 11, 13, 21(2)(3), Sch.2 (with s. 20); S.I. 1995/1317, art. 2

77 Implied covenants in conveyances subject to rents. E+W

(1)In addition to the covenants implied under [F30Part I of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994], there shall in the several cases in this section mentioned, be deemed to be included and implied, a covenant to the effect in this section stated, by and with such persons as are hereinafter mentioned, that is to say:—

(a)In a conveyance for valuable consideration, other than a mortgage, of the entirety of the land affected by a rentcharge, a covenant by the grantee or joint and several covenants by the grantees, if more than one, with the conveying parties and with each of them, if more than one, in the terms set out in Part VII. of the Second Schedule to this Act. Where a rentcharge has been apportioned in respect of any land, with the consent of the owner of the rentcharge, the covenants in this paragraph shall be implied in the conveyance of that land in like manner as if the apportioned rentcharge were the rentcharge referred to, and the document creating the rentcharge related solely to that land:

(b)In a conveyance for valuable consideration, other than a mortgage, of part of land affected by a rentcharge, subject to a part of that rentcharge which has been or is by that conveyance apportioned (but in either case without the consent of the owner of the rentcharge) in respect of the land conveyed:—

(i)A covenant by the grantee of the land or joint and several covenants by the grantees, if more than one, with the conveying parties and with each of them, if more than one, in the terms set out in paragraph (i) of Part VIII. of the Second Schedule to this Act;

(ii)A covenant by a person who conveys or is expressed to convey as beneficial owner, or joint and several covenants by the persons who so convey or are expressed to so convey, if at the date of the conveyance any part of the land affected by such rentcharge is retained, with the grantees of the land and with each of them (if more than one) in the terms set out in paragraph (ii) of Part VIII. of the Second Schedule to this Act:

F31(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F31(d). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F32(2)Where in a conveyance for valuable consideration, other than a mortgage, part of land affected by a rentcharge is, without the consent of the owner of the rentcharge, expressed to be conveyed subject to or charged with the entire rent, paragraph (B)(i) of subsection (1) of this section shall apply as if, in paragraph (i) of Part VIII of the Second Schedule to this Act—

(a)any reference to the apportioned rent were to the entire rent; and

(b)the words “(other than the covenant to pay the entire rent)” were omitted.

F32(2A)Where in a conveyance for valuable consideration, other than a mortgage, part of land affected by a rentcharge is, without the consent of the owner of the rentcharge, expressed to be conveyed discharged or exonerated from the entire rent, paragraph (B)(ii) of subsection (1) of this section shall apply as if, in paragraph (ii) of Part VIII of the Second Schedule to this Act—

(a)any reference to the balance of the rent were to the entire rent; and

(b)the words “, other than the covenant to pay the entire rent,” were omitted.]

(3)In this section “conveyance” does not include a demise by way of lease at a rent.

(4)Any covenant which would be implied under this section by reason of a person conveying or being expressed to convey as beneficial owner may, by express reference to this section, be implied, with or without variation, in a conveyance, whether or not for valuable consideration, by a person who conveys or is expressed to convey as settlor, or as trustee, or as mortgagee, or as personal representative of a deceased person, . . . F33 or under an order of the court.

(5)The benefit of a covenant implied as aforesaid shall be annexed and incident to, and shall go with, the estate or interest of the implied covenantee, and shall be capable of being enforced by every person in whom that estate or interest is, for the whole or any part thereof, from time to time vested.

(6)A covenant implied as aforesaid may be varied or extended by deed, and, as so varied or extended, shall, as far as may be, operate in the like manner, and with all the like incidents, effects and consequences, as if such variations or extensions were directed in this section to be implied.

(7)In particular any covenant implied under this section may be extended by providing that—

(a)the land conveyed; or

(b)the part of the land affected by the rentcharge which remains vested in the covenantor; F34. . .

F34(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

shall, as the case may require, stand charged with the payment of all money which may become payable under the implied covenant.

(8)This section applies only to conveyances made after the commencement of this Act.

Textual Amendments

F30Words in s. 77(1) substituted (1.7.1995) by 1994 c. 36, ss. 21(1), 22(2), Sch. 1 para. 1 (with s. 20); S.I. 1995/1317, art. 2

F31S. 77(1)(C)(D) repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 30, ss. 14(a), 30(2), Sch. 2, (with saving in s. 30(3)(a) and with ss. 1(1), 2(2), 26(1)(2)); S.I. 1995/2963, art. 2

F32S. 77(2)(2A) substituted (1.1.1996) for s. 77(2) by 1995 c. 30, s. 30(1), Sch. 1 para.2 (with savings in s. 30(3)(a) and with ss. 2(2), 26(1)(2)); S.I. 1995/2963, art. 2

F34S. 77(7)(c) and preceding word repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 30, s. 30(2), Sch.2 (with savings in s. 30(3)(a) and with ss. 2(2), 26(1)(2)); S.I. 1995/2963, art.2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C27S. 77 superseded for certain purposes as regards land affected by a rentcharge created after 22.7.1977 by Rentcharges Act 1977 (c. 30, SIF 98:1), s. 11

78 Benefit of covenants relating to land.E+W

(1)A covenant relating to any land of the covenantee shall be deemed to be made with the covenantee and his successors in title and the persons deriving title under him or them, and shall have effect as if such successors and other persons were expressed.

For the purposes of this subsection in connexion with covenants restrictive of the user of land “successors in title” shall be deemed to include the owners and occupiers for the time being of the land of the covenantee intended to be benefited.

(2)This section applies to covenants made after the commencement of this Act, but the repeal of section fifty-eight of the M2Conveyancing Act, 1881, does not affect the operation of covenants to which that section applied.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C28S. 78 excluded (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 30, s. 30(4)(a) (with ss. 2(2), 26(1)(2)); S.I. 1995/2963, art.2

Marginal Citations

79 Burden of covenants relating to land. E+W

(1)A covenant relating to any land of a covenantor or capable of being bound by him, shall, unless a contrary intention is expressed, be deemed to be made by the covenantor on behalf of himself his successors in title and the persons deriving title under him or them, and, subject as aforesaid, shall have effect as if such successors and other persons were expressed.

This subsection extends to a covenant to do some act relating to the land, notwithstanding that the subject-matter may not be in existence when the covenant is made.

(2)For the purposes of this section in connexion with covenants restrictive of the user of land “successors in title” shall be deemed to include the owners and occupiers for the time being of such land.

(3)This section applies only to covenants made after the commencement of this Act.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C29S. 79 extended by Coal Act 1938 (c. 52), s. 19(3); applied with modifications by Countryside Act 1968 (c. 41), s. 15(4)

C30S. 79 excluded (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 30, s. 30(4)(a) (with ss. 2(2), 26(1)(2)); S.I. 1995/2963, art.2

80 Covenants binding land.E+W

(1)A covenant and a bond and an obligation or contract [F35made under seal after 31st December 1881 but before the coming into force of section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 or executed as a deed in accordance with that section after its coming into force], binds the real estate as well as the personal estate of the person making the same if and so far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the covenant, bond, obligation, or contract.

This subsection extends to a covenant implied by virtue of this Act.

(2)Every covenant running with the land, whether entered into before or after the commencement of this Act, shall take effect in accordance with any statutory enactment affecting the devolution of the land, and accordingly the benefit or burden of every such covenant shall vest in or bind the persons who by virtue of any such enactment or otherwise succeed to the title of the covenantee or the covenantor, as the case may be.

(3)The benefit of a covenant relating to land entered into after the commencement of this Act may be made to run with the land without the use of any technical expression if the covenant is of such a nature that the benefit could have been made to run with the land before the commencement of this Act.

(4)For the purposes of this section, a covenant runs with the land when the benefit or burden of it, whether at law or in equity, passes to the successors in title of the covenantee or the covenantor, as the case may be.

Textual Amendments

81 Effect of covenant with two or more jointly.E+W

(1)A covenant, and a contract under seal, and a bond or obligation under seal, made with two or more jointly, to pay money or to make a conveyance, or to do any other act, to them or for their benefit, shall be deemed to include, and shall, by virtue of this Act, imply, an obligation to do the act to, or for the benefit of, the survivor or survivors of them, and to, or for the benefit of, any other person to whom the right to sue on the covenant, contract, bond, or obligation devolves, and where made after the commencement of this Act shall be construed as being also made with each of them.

(2)This section extends to a covenant implied by virtue of this Act.

(3)This section applies only if and as far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the covenant, contract, bond, or obligation, and has effect subject to the covenant, contract, bond, or obligation, and to the provisions therein contained.

(4)Except as otherwise expressly provided, this section applies to a covenant, contract, bond, or obligation made or implied after the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one.

[F36(5)In its application to instruments made after the coming into force of section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 subsection (1) above shall have effect as if for the words “under seal, and a bond or obligation under seal,” there were substituted the words “bond or obligation executed as a deed in accordance with section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989”.]

Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C31S. 81 applied (1.7.1995) by 1994 c. 36, s. 8(2) (with s. 20); S.I. 1995/1317, art.2

82 Covenants and agreements entered into by a person with himself and another or others.E+W

(1)Any covenant, whether express or implied, or agreement entered into by a person with himself and one or more other persons shall be construed and be capable of being enforced in like manner as if the covenant or agreement had been entered into with the other person or persons alone.

(2)This section applies to covenants or agreements entered into before or after the commencement of this Act, and to covenants implied by statute in the case of a person who conveys or is expressed to convey to himself and one or more other persons, but without prejudice to any order of the court made before such commencement.

83 Construction of implied covenants.E+W

In the construction of a covenant or proviso, or other provision, implied in a deed or assent by virtue of this Act, words importing the singular or plural number, or the masculine gender, shall be read as also importing the plural or singular number, or as extending to females, as the case may require.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C32S. 83 applied (1.7.1995) by 1994 c. 36, s. 8(2) (with s. 20); S.I. 1995/1317, art.2

84 Power to discharge or modify restrictive covenants affecting land.E+W

(1)[F37The [F38Upper Tribunal]] shall (without prejudice to any concurrent jurisdiction of the court) have power from time to time, on the application of any person interested in any freehold land affected by any restriction arising under covenant or otherwise as to the user thereof or the building thereon, by order wholly or partially to discharge or modify any such restriction F39. . . on being satisfied—

(a)that by reason of changes in the character of the property or the neighbourhood or other circumstances of the case which [F37the [F38Upper Tribunal]] may deem material, the restriction ought to be deemed obsolete, or

[F40(aa)that [F41in a case falling within subsection (1A) below] the continued existence thereof would impede [F37some reasonable user] of the land for public or private purposes F42. . . or, as the case may be, would unless modified so impede such user; or]

(b)that the persons of full age and capacity for the time being or from time to time entitled to the benefit of the restriction, whether in respect of estates in fee simple or any lesser estates or interests in the property to which the benefit of the restriction is annexed, have agreed, either expressly or by implication, by their acts or omissions, to the same being discharged or modified; or

(c)that the proposed discharge or modification will not injure the persons entitled to the benefit of the restriction:

[F43and an order discharging or modifying a restriction under this subsection may direct the applicant to pay to any person entitled to the benefit of the restriction such sum by way of consideration as the Tribunal may think it just to award under one, but not both, of the following heads, that is to say, either—

(i)a sum to make up for any loss or disadvantage suffered by that person in consequence of the discharge or modification; or

(ii)a sum to make up for any effect which the restriction had, at the time when it was imposed, in reducing the consideration then received for the land affected by it.]

F39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F44(1A)Subsection (1) (aa) above authorises the discharge or modification of a restriction by reference to its impeding some reasonable user of land in any case in which the [F38Upper Tribunal] is satisfied that the restriction, in impeding that user, either—

(a)does not secure to persons entitled to the benefit of it any practical benefits of substantial value or advantage to them; or

(b)is contrary to the public interest;

and that money will be an adequate compensation for the loss or disadvantage (if any) which any such person will suffer from the discharge or modification.]

[F44(1B)In determining whether a case is one falling within subsection (1A) above, and in determining whether (in any such case or otherwise) a restriction ought to be discharged or modified, the [F38Upper Tribunal] shall take into account the development plan and any declared or ascertainable pattern for the grant or refusal of planning permissions in the relevant areas, as well as the period at which and context in which the restriction was created or imposed and any other material circumstances.]

[F45(1C)It is hereby declared that the power conferred by this section to modify a restriction includes power to add such further provisions restricting the user of or the building on the land affected as appear to the [F38Upper Tribunal] to be reasonable in view of the relaxation of the existing provisions, and as may be accepted by the applicant; and the [F38Upper Tribunal] may accordingly refuse to modify a restriction without some such addition.]

(2)The court shall have power on the application of any person interested—

(a)To declare whether or not in any particular case any freehold land is [F46or would in any given event be] affected by a restriction imposed by any instrument; or

(b)To declare what, upon the true construction of any instrument purporting to impose a restriction, is the nature and extent of the restriction thereby imposed and whether the same is [F46or would in any given event be] enforceable and if so by whom.

[F47Neither subsections (7) and (11) of this section nor, unless the contrary is expressed, any later enactment providing for this section not to apply to any restrictions shall affect the operation of this subsection or the operation for purposes of this subsection of any other provisions of this section.]

(3) The [F38Upper Tribunal] shall, before making any order under this section, direct such enquiries, if any, to be made of any [F46government department or] local authority, and such notices, if any, whether by way of advertisement or otherwise, to be given to such of the persons who appear to be entitled to the benefit of the restriction intended to be discharged, modified, or dealt with as, having regard to any enquiries notices or other proceedings previously made, given or taken, [F48the [F38Upper Tribunal]] may think fit.

[F49(3A)On an application to the [F50Upper Tribunal] under this section the [F50Upper Tribunal] shall give any necessary directions as to the persons who are or are not to be admitted (as appearing to be entitled to the benefit of the restriction) to oppose the application, and no appeal shall lie against any such direction; but [F51Tribunal Procedure Rules] shall make provision whereby, in cases in which there arises on such an application (whether or not in connection with the admission of persons to oppose) any such question as is referred to in subsection (2) (a) or (b) of this section, the proceedings on the application can and, if the rules so provide, shall be suspended to enable the decision of the court to be obtained on that question by an application under that subsection, F52. . . or otherwise, as may be provided by those rules or by rules of court.]

F53(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)Any order made under this section shall be binding on all persons, whether ascertained or of full age or capacity or not, then entitled or thereafter capable of becoming entitled to the benefit of any restriction, which is thereby discharged, modified, or dealt with, and whether such persons are parties to the proceedings or have been served with notice or not F54. . .

(6)An order may be made under this section notwithstanding that any instrument which is alleged to impose the restriction intended to be discharged, modified, or dealt with, may not have been produced to the court or the [F38Upper Tribunal], and the court or [F48the [F38Upper Tribunal]] may act on such evidence of that instrument as it may think sufficient.

(7)This section applies to restrictions whether subsisting at the commencement of this Act or imposed thereafter, but this section does not apply where the restriction was imposed on the occasion of a disposition made gratuitously or for a nominal consideration for public purposes.

(8)This section applies whether the land affected by the restrictions is registered or not F55. . .

(9)Where any proceedings by action or otherwise are taken to enforce a restrictive covenant, any person against whom the proceedings are taken, may in such proceedings apply to the court for an order giving leave to apply to the [F38Upper Tribunal] under this section, and staying the proceedings in the meantime.

F53(10). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(11)This section does not apply to restrictions imposed by the Commissioners of Works under any statutory power for the protection of any Royal Park or Garden or to restrictions of a like character imposed upon the occasion of any enfranchisement effected before the commencement of this Act in any manor vested in His Majesty in right of the Crown or the Duchy of Lancaster, nor [F56subject to subsection (11A) below] to restrictions created or imposed—

(a)for Naval, Military or Air Force purposes,

[F57(b)for civil aviation purposes under the powers of the Air Navigation Act 1920, of section 19 or 23 of the Civil Aviation Act 1949 or of section 30 or 41 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.]

[F58(11A)Subsection (11) of this section—

(a)shall exclude the application of this section to a restriction falling within subsection (11)(a), and not created or imposed in connection with the use of any land as an aerodrome, only so long as the restriction is enforceable by or on behalf of the Crown; and

(b)shall exclude the application of this section to a restriction falling within subsection (11)(b), or created or imposed in connection with the use of any land as an aerodrome, only so long as the restriction is enforceable by or on behalf of the Crown or any public or international authority.]

(12)Where a term of more than [F59forty] years is created in land (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) this section shall, after the expiration of [F59twenty-five] years of the term, apply to restrictions affecting such leasehold land in like manner as it would have applied had the land been freehold:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to mining leases.

F53(13). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F37Words substituted by Law of Property Act 1969 (c. 59), s. 28(1)(a)(2)(b)

F39Words and proviso repealed by Law of Property Act 1969 (c. 59), s. 28(3)

F40So much of s. 84(1)(a) as follows words “obsolete, or” amended and incorporated in para. (aa) by Law of Property Act 1969 (c. 59), s. 28(1)(a)

F48Words substituted by Law of Property Act 1969 (c. 59), s. 28(1)(a)(7)

F53S. 84(4)(10)(13) repealed by Lands Tribunal Act 1949 (c. 42), Sch. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C38Functions of Commissioners of Works now exercisable by Secretary of State by S.R. & O. 1945/991 (Rev. XV, p. 232: 1945 I, p. 1414), S.I. 1962/1549 and S.I. 1970/1681