Family home legally owned by company controlled by one of the spouses
Introduction Section 6 of the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Ordinance (‘MPPO’) empowers the court, in divorce proceedings, to require the transfer of the property of one party (A) to the other...
View ArticleMisrepresentation: misleading descriptions of a flat
A contract can be set aside if the purchaser was induced to enter into it by a misleading description of the property to be sold. The false statement may be made either by the seller or the seller’s...
View ArticleSatisfying the equity in proprietary estoppel
Moore v Moore In Moore v Moore ([2018] EWCA Civ 2669) a father (Roger) and son (Stephen) carried on a farming business in partnership; each owned one half of the business. Roger assured Stephen that...
View ArticleRight of way and lost modern grant
Introduction In Yik Wai Pong v Yick Pak Kin the Court of First Instance was asked to consider whether the plaintiff had acquired a right of way over an access road on the defendant’s land under the...
View ArticleRegency Villas: the validity of a recreational easement
The issue In Regency Villas Title Ltd v Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd ([2018] UKSC 57) the UK Supreme Court had to consider the validity of a recreational easement. The question was whether the right of...
View ArticleBrexit and the doctrine of frustration
Introduction In Canary Wharf (BP4) T1 Ltd v European Medicines Agency ([2019] EWHC 335) Marcus Smith J considered the claim of the European Medicines Agency (‘the EMA’) that Brexit (should it occur)...
View ArticleFrustration of leases: Brexit and illegality
Introduction This is the second post about Canary Wharf (BP4) T1 Ltd v European Medicines Agency ([2019] EWHC 335) in which Marcus Smith J considered the claim of the European Medicines Agency (‘the...
View ArticleEstoppel where the family home is owned by a company
The inference of a trust when the family home is owned by a company controlled by a spouse In Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd the UK Supreme Court established that English family law (specifically...
View ArticleForfeiture: is immoral user by a sub-tenant always an irremediable breach of...
Introduction When, and how, should a tenant’s rights be affected if a subtenant uses the property for immoral purposes in breach of a head-lease covenant? These were the questions considered by the...
View ArticleFundamental importance of the right to apply for relief from forfeiture:...
In Golding v Martin ([2019] EWCA Civ 446), the tenant of a long lease of a flat failed to pay a service charge reserved as rent. The landlord brought forfeiture proceedings and was awarded possession....
View ArticlePipikos v Trayans: part performance and the unequivocal referability test
Introduction Section 26 of the Law of Property Act (SA) is in substantially the same terms as section 3(1) of Hong Kong’s Conveyancing and Property Ordinance: ‘No action shall be brought upon any...
View ArticleTinsley v Milligan still applies in Hong Kong
In Patel v Mirza, the UK Supreme Court abandoned the Tinsley v Milligan reliance test in deciding whether or not to enforce agreements tainted by illegality. In Hong Kong, this question has frequently...
View ArticlePriority as between unwritten equitable interest and lender supplying funds...
Where A supplies part of the purchase price of property conveyed into B’s name then A is very likely to have an equitable interest under a common intention constructive trust or a presumed resulting...
View ArticleDetermining the extent of an easement by prescription
Introduction In Lynn Shellfish Ltd v Loose ([2016] UKSC 14) M had an exclusive prescriptive right to take shellfish from a stretch of foreshore on the South East coast of England. M granted a lease of...
View ArticleAdverse possession: what is the limitation period when time began to run...
Section 7 of the Limitation Ordinance provides that the limitation period (other than for land owned by the Government) is twelve years. Section 38A of the Limitation Ordinance provides, in effect,...
View ArticleEquitable accounting: is an ouster necessary before an occupation rent...
In Murphy v Gooch ([2007] EWCA Civ 603), a co-habiting couple bought a 25% stake in a shared ownership property. The relationship between the couple broke down and Ms Murphy left the property. Ms...
View ArticleOccupation rent: joint tenant’s trustee in bankruptcy
What principles govern an application for occupation rent by a joint tenant’s trustee in bankruptcy? The facts In Davis v Jackson ([2017] EWHC 698 (Ch)) Mr and Mrs Jackson were legal and equitable...
View ArticleWhen does the proprietary estoppel right arise?
In Walden v Atkins ([2013] EWHC 1387) the court held that a proprietary estoppel claim arises when there is promise, reliance and detriment and not when the maker of the representation goes back on it....
View ArticleDeveloper retains exclusive right to use the external walls. Are they common...
Introduction In Kong Wai Hsien v Tai Wai Glamour Garden (IO) ([2019] HKCA 1229) the Court of Appeal had to consider whether the external walls of a building were common parts even though the DMC...
View ArticleEquitable subrogation: Filby v Mortgage Express (No 2)
Introduction In Filby v Mortgage Express (No 2) Ltd ([2004] EWCA Civ 759) the English Court of Appeal (May LJ giving the judgment) explained the circumstances in which a lender who supplies funds to...
View Article