Law of Property (Amendment) Act 1924

PART I Amendments

Meaning of “settlement ”.

1 The following definition shall be substituted for the definition of settlement in subsections (1) and (2) of section two of the Act of 1882 :—

“(1) Any deed, will, agreement for a settlement, or other agreement, Act of Parliament, or other instrument, or any number of instruments, whether made or passed before or after, or partly before and partly after, the commencement of this Act, under or by virtue of which instrument or instruments any land, after the commencement of this Act, stands for the time being—

(i) limited in trust for any persons by way of succession; or

(ii) limited in trust for any person in possession—

(a) for an entailed interest whether or not capable of being barred or defeated;

(b) for an estate in fee simple or for a term of years absolute subject to an executory limitation, gift, or disposition over on failure of his issue or in any other event;

(c) for a base or determinable fee or any corresponding interest in leasehold land;

(d) being an infant, for an estate in fee simple or for a term of years absolute; or

(iii) limited in trust for any person for an estate in fee simple or for a term of years absolute contingently on the happening of any event; or

(iv) limited to or in trust for a married woman of full age in possession for an estate in fee simple or for a term of years absolute with a restraint on anticipation; or

(v) charged, whether voluntarily or in consideration of marriage or by way of family arrangement, and whether immediately or after an interval, with the payment of any rentcharge for the life of any person, or any less period, or of any capital, annual, or periodical sums for the portions, advancement, maintenance, or otherwise for the benefit of any persons (with or without any term of years for securing or raising the same);

creates or is for the purposes of this Act a settlement and is in this Act referred to as a settlement, or as the settlement, as the case requires:

Provided that where land is the subject of a compound settlement, references in this Act to the settlement shall be construed as meaning such compound settlement, unless the context otherwise requires.

(2) Where an infant is beneficially entitled to land for an estate in fee simple or for a term of years absolute and by reason of an intestacy or otherwise there is no instrument under which the interest of the infant arises or is acquired, a settlement shall be deemed to have been made by the intestate, or by the person whose interest the infant has acquired.

(3) An infant shall be deemed to be entitled in possession notwithstanding any subsisting right of dower (not assigned by metes and bounds) affecting the land; and such right of dower shall be deemed an interest comprised in the subject of the settlement, and coming to the dowress under or by virtue of the settlement:

Provided that where dower has been assigned by metes and bounds the letters of administration or probate granted in respect of the estate of the husband of the dowress shall be deemed the settlement.

(4) An estate or interest not disposed of by a settlement, and remaining in or reverting to the settlor, or any person deriving title under him, is for the purposes of this Act an estate or interest comprised in the subject of the settlement, and coming to the settlor or such person under or by virtue Of the settlement.

(5) Where—

(a) a settlement creates an entailed interest which is incapable of being barred or defeated, or a base or determinable fee (whether or not the reversion or right of reverter is in the Crown) or any corresponding interest in leasehold land; or

(b) the subject of a settlement is an entailed interest, or a base or determinable fee (whether or not the reversion or right of revertor is in the Crown) or any corresponding interest in leasehold land;

the reversion or right of reverter upon the cesser of the interest so created or settled shall be deemed to be an interest comprised in the subject of the settlement, and limited by the settlement.

This subsection and the last preceding subsection bind the Crown.”

Acquisition of land to be settled.

2 (1) The following provisions shall be substituted for sub-paragraphs (2) to (7) of paragraph 2 of the Fifth Schedule to the principal Act relating to the procedure on the acquisition of land, namely :—

“(1) Where after the commencement of this Act land is acquired with capital money arising under a settlement or in exchange for settled land, or a rentcharge is reserved on a grant of settled land, the land shall be conveyed to, and the rentcharge by virtue of this Act shall become vested in, the tenant for life or statutory owner, and such conveyance or grant is in this Act referred to as a subsidiary vesting deed:

Provided that where an instrument is subsisting at the commencement of this Act, or is made or comes into operation after such commencement, by virtue of which any money or securities are liable under the Settled Land Acts, or under a trust or direction contained in such instrument, to be invested in the purchase of land to be conveyed so as to become settled land, but at the commencement of this Act or when such instrument is made or comes into operation after such commencement (as the case may be), there is no land in respect of which a principal vesting deed is capable of being executed, the first deed after the commencement of this Act by which any land is acquired as aforesaid shall be a principal vesting deed and shall be framed accordingly.

(2) A subsidiary vesting deed executed on the acquisition of land to be made subject to a settlement shall contain the following statements and particulars, namely :—

(a) Particulars of the last or only principal vesting instrument affecting land subject to the settlement:

(b) A statement that the land conveyed is to be held upon and subject to the same trusts and powers as the land comprised in such last or only principal vesting instrument:

(c) The names of the persons who are the trustees of the settlement:

(d) The name of any person for the time being entitled to appoint new trustees of the settlement.

(3) A subsidiary vesting deed reserving a rentcharge on a grant of settled land shall contain the following statements and particulars :—

(a) A statement that the rentcharge is vested in the grantor and is subject to the settlement which, immediately before the grant, was subsisting with respect to the land out of which it was reserved:

(b) Particulars of the last or only principal vesting instrument affecting such land.

(4) A subsidiary vesting deed shall not be invalidated by reason only of any error in any of the statements or particulars by this Act required to be contained therein.

(5) The acquisition of the land shall not operate to increase or multiply charges or powers of charging.”

Meaning of " tenant for life. "

3 The following definition shall be substituted for the definition of tenant for life in subsections (5), (6) and (7) of section two of the Act of 1882:—

“(5) The person of full age who is for the time being, under a settlement, beneficially entitled to possession of settled land for his life is for the purposes of this Act the tenant for life of that land, and the tenant for life under that settlement.

(6) If, in any case, there are two or more persons of full age so entitled as joint tenants, they together constitute the tenant for life for the purposes of this Act.

(7) If in any case there are two or more persons so entitled as joint tenants and they are not all of full age, such one or more of them as is or are for the time being of full age is or (if more than one) together constitute the tenant for life for the purposes of this Act, but this subsection does not affect the beneficial interests of such of them as are not for the time being of full age.

(7A) A person being tenant for life within the foregoing definitions shall be deemed to be such notwithstanding that, under the settlement or otherwise, the settled land, or his estate or interest therein, is incumbered or charged in any manner or to any extent, and notwithstanding any assignment by operation of law or otherwise of his estate or interest under the settlement, whether before or after it came into possession, other than an assurance which extinguishes such estate or interest.”

Procedure on appointment or discharge of a trustee.

4 The following provisions as to procedure on the appointment or discharge of a trustee of the settlement shall have effect as if inserted at the end of the Fifth Schedule to the principal Act :—

“14 (1) Whenever a new trustee for the purposes of the Settled Land Acts is appointed of a trust instrument, or a trustee thereof for the purposes aforesaid is discharged from the trust without a new trustee being appointed, a deed shall be executed supplemental to the last or only principal vesting instrument containing a declaration that the persons therein named, being the persons who after such appointment or discharge (as the case may be) are the trustees of the trust instrument for the purposes aforesaid are the trustees of the settlement for those purposes; and a memorandum shall be endorsed on or annexed to the last or only principal vesting instrument in accordance with the Trustee Act, 1893, as amended.

(2) Such deed shall, if the trustee was appointed or discharged by the court, be executed by such person - as the court may direct, and, in any other case, shall be executed by—

(i) the person (if any) named in such principal vesting instrument as the person for the time being entitled to appoint new trustees of the settlement, or if no person is so named, or such person is dead or unable or unwilling to act, the persons who if such principal vesting instrument had been the only instrument constituting the settlement would have had power to appoint new trustees thereof;

(ii) the persons named in the deed of declaration as the trustees of the settlement; and

(iii) any trustee who is discharged as aforesaid or retires.

(3) A statement contained in any such deed of declaration ' as mentioned in this section to the. effect that the person named in the principal vesting instrument as the person for the time being entitled to appoint new trustees of the settlement is unable or unwilling to act, or that a trustee has remained out of the United Kingdom for more than twelve months, or refuses or is unfit to act, or is incapable of acting, shall in favour of a purchaser of a legal estate, be conclusive evidence of the matter stated.”

Exchanges.

5 The following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph (iii) of section three of the Act of 1882 :—

“(iii) May make an exchange of the settled land, or any part thereof, or of any easement, right, or privilege of any kind, whether or not newly created, over or in relation to the settled land, or any part thereof, for other land, or for any easement, right or privilege of any kind, whether or not newly created, over or in relation to other land, including an exchange in consideration of money paid for equality of exchange.”

Sales.

6 (1) At the end of the first paragraph of subsection (1) of section forty-three of the principal Act, the words “or an adequate part thereof ” shall be inserted.

(2) The following proviso shall be inserted at the end of the said subsection (1) :—

“Provided that, unless the part of the terminable rent attributable to interest varies according to the amount of principal repaid, the trustees of the settlement shall, during the subsistence of the rent, accumulate the income of the said capital money in the way of compound interest by investing it and the resulting income thereof in securities authorised for the investment of capital money and add the accumulations to capital.”

Dedication of roads.

7 The following paragraph shall be inserted at the end of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section sixty of the principal Act :—

“(c) to consent to any such road as is mentioned in section thirty-six of the Highway Act, 1862, being declared a public highway.”

Compromises and licences.

8 (1) The following provision shall be inserted at the end of subsection (7) of section forty-five of the principal Act:—

“And in any case where section seventy-eight aforesaid has effect as amended and re-enacted by Part II of the Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act, 1923, a tenant for life may make any agreement authorised by section eighty-five a of the Railway Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, as enacted in the said Part II.”

(2) The following subsection shall be inserted at the end of section forty-five of the principal Act:—

“(10) Where land is or has been disposed of subject to any covenant requiring the licence, consent, or approval of the covenantee or his successors in title as to—

(a) the user of the land in any manner; or

(b) the erection construction or alteration of or addition to buildings or works of any description on the land; or

(c) the plans or elevations of any proposed buildings or other works on the land; or

(d) any other act, matter, or thing relating to the land, or any buildings or works thereon; or

(e) any assignment, underletting or parting with the possession of all or any part of the property comprised in any lease affecting the settled land;

and the covenant enures for the benefit of settled land (including, where the disposition is a lease, the reversion expectant on the determination thereof) the licence, consent or approval may be given by the tenant for life of the settled land affected.”

Bankruptcy.

9 The following paragraph shall be inserted at the end of the Fifth Schedule to the principal Act:—

“14 The legal estate in settled land shall not vest in the trustee in bankruptcy of an estate owner unless and until the estate owner becomes absolutely and beneficially entitled to the settled land free from all limitations, powers, and charges taking effect under the settlement.”

Purchases of life interests.

10 Sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 10 of the Fifth Schedule to the principal Act (relating to the acquisition of the beneficial interest of a tenant for life) shall take effect subject to the following provisions :—

“Provided that—

(a) where the conveyance or dealing is effected after the commencement of this Act, the purchaser shall not be entitled to the possession of the documents of title relating to the settled land, but shall have the same rights with respect thereto as if the tenant for life had given to him a statutory acknowledgment of his right to production and delivery of copies thereof, and a statutory undertaking for the safe custody thereof; and

(b) the tenant for life shall not deliver any such -documents to a purchaser of his beneficial interest who is not also a purchaser of the whole of the settled land to which such documents relate."”

Small dwellings.

11 Section eighteen of the Act of 1890 shall have effect as if the words “who earn their livelihood by wages or salaries ” were omitted.