Co-Ownership of Land: The Aqcuisition of Rights and the Quantification of Shares

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Current English land law on the co-ownership of interests of land has developed quite a contentious history pertaining to the relationship between the acquisition of rights and the quantification of the shares. In terms of co-ownership, there are huge variances and legal consequences when legal ownership is in one person’s name compared to two. These differences can be seen in various landmark cases which have created precedent and developed refined principles such as Lloyds Bank plc v Rosset and the Stack v Dowden. For the courts, it has often been relatively complex to distinguish between constructive and resulting trusts and to decide on the procedure to be used for the quantification of equitable entitlement once the decision to impute has been established. The quantification of resulting trusts is carefully considered in both, Midland Bank v Cooke and Stack v Snowden. In many co-ownership cases dealing with the acquisition of rights and the quantification of shares, the outcomes aren’t always proportionate. Reasons can include the ambiguities in the identification and changes of common intention and contributions types. In speaking to this issue, Baroness Hale stated in Stack v Dowden that “each case will turn on its own facts” and furthermore elaborated on the conditions for a common intention construct arising. It is furthermore important to critically discuss the repercussions these cases have for the future of co-ownership law to reconcile existing sources of confusion.

In order to address the existing complexities in respect to the acquiescence of co-ownership beneficial interests in land, it is important to identify their differences. A co-ownership beneficial in an interest of land can be established thro...

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...owden' [2007] CONVPL 83, 86

M. Pawlowski, 'Imputed intention and joint ownership - a return to common sense: Jones v Kernott (Case Comment)' [2012] CPL 149, 158

P. O'Hagan, 'Quantifying Interests Under Resulting Trusts' [1997] MLR 420, 427

S. Gardner, 'Quantum in Gissing v Gissing constructive trusts' [2004] LQR 541, 548

S. Panesar, 'Quantifying beneficial interest in joint ownership disputes: is the constructive trust changing?' [2012] CONVPL. L.J 59, 67

W. Swadling, 'Explaining resulting trusts' [2008] LQR 72, 102

Cases

Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17

Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53

Legislation

Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 s 15(1)(a)

Law Commission Papers

Law Commission, Cohabitation: The Financial Consquences of Relationship Breakdown (Law Com No 307, 2007)

Law Commission, Sharing Homes (Law Com, 2002)

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