Does George Have An Interest In The Property Or Is He Merely A Licencee?

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Issue

The issue is whether Paul can evict George at will i.e. Does George have an interest in the property? Or is he merely a licencee?

It is evident that George has no legal interest in the property, as his name is not on the title deed, and the house is registered only in Rose and Paul’s names as joint tenants.

Since Rose has died, the legal title now solely belongs to Paul as the Right of Survivorship (‘Jus Accresendi’) applies.

Rules/ Principles

Equitable interest is when an occupier whose name does not appear on the title deed i.e. appears “off the land register” still have some rights. In law, equity is a concept of fairness, justice and good conscience.

Trust is a legal device/ mechanism where the trustee, who is typically …show more content…

Licence is mere permission to be on the land.

There are four different types of licences namely- contractual licence, licence by way of estoppel, licence coupled with an interest and lastly bare licence.

A contractual licence is the most powerful, and it is a permission to use or occupy land based on an express or implied contract.

Licence by way of estoppel is a verbal agreement, which consists of promise, reliance, detriment loss, and unfairness.
Estoppel occurs when a party “reasonably relies on the promise of another party, and because of that reliance is injured or damaged.”

Licence coupled with an interest is a licence that grants an interest in land or in personal property, i.e. when a person mortgages his house to the bank.

Bare licence is the weakest among all four types of licences. Specific to property law, bare licence refers to permission given to a person to enter another’s property for that person’s benefit, and this permission can be retracted at any time. …show more content…

It is highly probable that George’s financial contribution from the sale of his flat has directly increased the value of Paul’s house. [William & Glyns Bank v Boland (1981)] [Lloyds Bank v Rosset (1989)]

In the case of William & Glyns Bank v Boland (1981), a husband was the registered sole legal owner of the matrimonial home. His wife had made contributions to the purchase, but she had failed to register her rights in equity as a minor interest.

However, the court ruled that her interest in the property was still protected as an overriding interest due to the fact that she had both equitable interest in the property and was also an occupant in the property.

In the case of Lloyds Bank v Rosset (1991), Mr Rosset purchased solely in his name a house that needed renovation.

Mrs Rosset and the builders shared the work, which started prior to the completion. Mrs Rosset claimed an overriding interest in the house, based on the fact that she had equitable interest and was an actual occupant in the house. However, she had difficulty proving these

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