Part A
John purchased the registered title of Groveland in 2008. Groveland comprised two residential buildings set in extensive grounds. When John moved into Groveland he noticed that there was an uncultivated strip of land approximately 1 metre in width that ran the entire length of the border with the neighbouring property, Goodneighbours, the registered title to which belonged to Joshua. The previous owner of Groveland, Lawrence, had neglected the strip of land for a number of years. John decided to leave the strip of land uncultivated for a year to let it recover its fertility. He then began planting bushes along the entire length of the strip. He chose plants that he believed would deter Joshua’s cats from fouling the strip of land.
In March 2019, John, who had become obsessed with security and privacy, consulted his surveyor, Godwin, about the boundaries to Groveland. He was disturbed to discover that the strip of land had always formed part of the registered title to Goodneighbours. It seems that Godwin had known about this when John purchased Groveland in 2008, but he had forgotten to mention it to John at the time.
In December 2019, John decided to sell Westwing, a small cottage located on the main road at the western entrance to Groveland. After looking around Westwing, Grace emailed John with an offer to buy the cottage for £500,000. John replied saying he was happy to sell Westwing ‘on the terms you mention in your email’. He ended his email, as he did all correspondence, by adding his nickname, ‘The John’. He attached an architect’s drawing of Westwing, to his email. The drawing contained John’s signature. A week later Grace and John orally agreed that Grace would buy the gold curtains in the living room of Westwing for £550. Last week Grace emailed John to say that she had changed her mind about buying Westwing.
Advise John whether:
(a) he can claim ownership of the strip of land belonging to Goodneighbours; and, also,
(b) he can compel Grace to buy Westwing.
Part B
Groveland also consisted of a large house with a substantial garden, a swimming pool and a small woodland which Grace had also purchased from John. Always keen to do things herself, Grace ignored her friends’ advice and arranged the conveyance of Groveland without the assistance of a solicitor. When she moved in, however, she found that the following items had been removed by John:
a) A large observation balloon, which floated about 40 metres above the swimming pool. The balloon provided spectacular views over Groveland as well as the surrounding countryside in all directions. The balloon was anchored in place by three steel cables attached to concrete blocks resting on the ground. The balloon had been accessed by a rope ladder and serviced by electricity and water supplies.
b) The swimming pool diving board.
c) All the carpets in the house, including carpet tiles which had been glued to the floor in the downstairs bathroom; and
d) A 72-inch plasma TV which had rested on a tailor-made, wall-mounted bracket in the underground cinema room.
Explain to Grace the principles which will determine whether she is entitled to the items listed.
Part C
Last month, the local paintballing club approached Grace with a view to buying the woodland for their games. They offered her £100,000 which Grace agreed to. She and the head paint-baller, Amin, had shaken hands on the deal and to confirm their arrangement, Amin had written on the back of an old envelope:
‘This confirms what we agreed on 15th June 2019.’
Both Grace and Amin signed the back of the envelope.
The paint-ballers have since spent £20,000 digging trenches and erecting shooting platforms but now Grace has decided that she would rather not have a lot of noisy people running around the woodlands on Sunday mornings. She has informed Amin that he and the paint-ballers will no longer be able to use the woodland.
Discuss whether a valid land contract has been created in this case and if so if it is binding on Grace.
Part D
Before purchasing Groveland, Grace owned a two-bedroom house in Woodley near West End College. She decides to help her son, Ben, out of his current financial difficulties by letting him use the house to raise income. She gives him a ten-year licence of the house. Ben advertises the house on the notice board in the College bookshop. Thomas and Bella, who are about to start the second year of their fashion degree, sign identical ‘licence’ agreements to occupy the house. The agreement, which is stated to be for ‘two years or until the completion of your degree programme’, contains the following provisions:
a) Half of the total monthly licence fee of £2,000 is payable on the first day of each month;
b) Ben’s son, Tiger, may use the sofa bed in the lounge to stay overnight whenever he has to work late in the City;
c) Ben is to retain a set of keys to the house;
d) Ben will arrange for clean towels and bed linen to be delivered to the house once a week.
Ben does not realise that Thomas and Bella are a couple and assumes that they will occupy different bedrooms. In fact they share the same room. Before signing the agreement, Bella asks Ben how often Tiger is likely to need to use the sofa bed and why he (Ben) needs to retain a set of keys. Ben says that on the rare occasions that Tiger would need to stay, he would always ask Bella and Thomas first. He also explains that he is retaining a set of keys for the house just in case there is some domestic emergency.
Discuss whether Ben has created a lease or a licence in favour of Bella and Thomas.
