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LAND LAW — LAWS2383

Problem Question Notes

Concepts of Land Law & Estates .......................................................................................................................................................... 2

Basic Concepts in Land Law ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Native Title.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Establishing Native Title ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Nature and content of native title rights ............................................................................................................................................................ 8
Extinguishment of native title rights .................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Statutory Land Rights .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Indefeasibility, The Torrens System and Priorities Disputes .............................................................................................. 18
Torrens System and Basic Principles ................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Indefeasibility ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Exceptions to indefeasibility ................................................................................................................................................................................. 21
Competing Equitable Interests ......................................................................................................................................................... 31
Failure to caveat .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Notice and equitable priorities ............................................................................................................................................................................ 33
Leases ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Categorisation of leases ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Formation of leases.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Covenants implied at Common Law .................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Covenants by necessary implication to give effect to lease ................................................................................................................... 41
Covenants by express agreement ....................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Enforceability of Leases After Assignment..................................................................................................................................................... 45
Remedies for breach of lease ................................................................................................................................................................................ 48
Co-Ownership ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Principles of Co-Ownership ................................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Severance of joint tenancies .................................................................................................................................................................................. 56
Termination of co-owned property ................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Mortgages ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 60
Basic principles of mortgages ............................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Priorities disputes with mortgages.................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Methods of enforcement of mortgages ............................................................................................................................................................ 61
Power of sale ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 62
Easements ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 68
Introduction + Formal requirements for easements................................................................................................................................. 68
Substantive requirements for easements ....................................................................................................................................................... 68
Extent of rights granted under easements ..................................................................................................................................................... 75
Creation of easements .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 77
Easement exception to indefeasibility by misdescription ...................................................................................................................... 78
Extinguishment and modification of easements ......................................................................................................................................... 78
Freehold Covenants .............................................................................................................................................................................. 81
Requirements for equitable freehold covenants ......................................................................................................................................... 81
Enforceability of covenants ................................................................................................................................................................................... 82

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Concepts of Land Law & Estates
3.3-3.20; 3.29-3.35, Moodle Extracts

Basic Concepts in Land Law

Doctrine of estates
 Doctrine of estates: Multiple parties can have the same interest in land at the same
point in time, just varying types of interests.

Types of estates
There are limited types of estates in land, due to the numerus clausus principle. Landowners are
not entitled to customise interests in land beyond defined categories, so it maximises the uses of
land and reduces complexities for third parties.
Freehold Estates
 Fee simple: Largest interest anyone can have in land. Entitles owner to possession of
the land indefinitely, subject only to government acquisition and planning by laws.
 Fee tail: Estate given to a person and then to specified descendants, only to last for a
specific line of descendants insofar as they continued to live.
 Life estate: Created when an interest is given to a person for life.

Leasehold estates
 Leasehold estates: A time-limited interest in land. Lessees are entitled to possession to
the exclusion of everyone else including the landlord. The landlord still owns the fee
simple, but has carved out a smaller interest in the land to give to another. The
landlord’s interest is the reversionary interest.
o Lease for period of fixed term of years: Lease for a fixed period
o Periodic tenancy: Lease that does not terminate until appropriate notice is
given
o Tenancy at will: May be determined by either party subject to a ‘packing up’
period in appropriate cases
o Tenancy at sufferance: Arises where tenant takes possession of land lawfully
pursuant to a lease, but continues wrongfully in possession after termination fo
the lease.

Interests in the land

There are several other types of interest in the land:
 Mortgages: The owner of the land (the mortgagor) receives a loan from the bank (the
mortgagee) and puts the land down as security. In exchange for the loan, the bank
receives an interest in the land if they are not paid back.
 Easements: Rights to do something on someone elses land that benefits the enjoyment
of your land (eg right of way easement). The easements run with the land.
 Freehold covenants: Rights to stop people from doing something on their own land,
that affects more than one piece of land, however covenants usually burden multiple
parcels of land.
 Profit à prendre: Right to take goods or minerals from another’s land.
 Lien or charge: Little interest in land equivalent to an amount of money owed to the
owner of the lien. It is similar to a mortgage but does not include a power of sale. If the
land is sold, the owner of a lien has a right to be paid directly out of the proceeds of sale.

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Possession
Possession is a technical concept, that means they are entitled to be in control of the land and to
use and occupy the land.
 Possession is title, except for someone who can demonstrate better title: Asher v
Whitlock
 Individuals can adversely possess land, which means that unoccupied land becomes
theirs in possession, after 12 years: Limitation Act (1969)

Property and contract

The fundamental difference between property and contracts is that property rights give you
rights enforceable against the world (rights in rem) and contractual rights give you rights
enforceable against people (rights in personam).
 Licences are not proprietary rights and cannot be enforced against future owners
neither can trespass actions be sought: Georgeski v Owners Corporation.
 Often in land law where a lease is invalid or there is some breach of a promise, there will
be a contractual right to sue against the former owner but no proprietary right to
enforce it against the new owner.

Contracts, property and equity

Getting a legal interest in land
 Writing: Under s 54A Conveyancing Act 1919, contracts for the sale or disposition of
land interests must meet requirements to be in writing (can include a ‘memorandum or
note thereof’), alongside normal contractual requirements. This does not give you an
interest yet, it gives you on settlement/exchange, as it is merely a promise to do
something after performance.
 Equitable interest upon signing contracts: If the contract is specifically enforceable,
ie the conduct under the contract is capable of being ordered by a court, then upon
signing of valid contracts under s 54A, the purchaser gets an equitable interest. This is
because equity regards as done what ought to have been done
o Legally complete contract + in writing + specifically enforceable =
purchaser gets interest
o Specifically enforceable contract to sell someone fee simple gives them the
equitable fee simple: Bunny Industries
o Specifically enforceable agreement to grant someone a lease gives them an
equitable lease: Walsh v Lonsdale.
o Note: Don’t get an equitable interest just because V intends to dispose of the
interest, it is because the contract is specifically enforceable etc.

Chattel and fixtures

Chattels are property that are not annexed to land.
 Doctrine of fixtures: Property can start out as chattel and end up part of land (eg bricks
and mortar) under the tests:
o Part 1: Degree of annexation test: If chattel is fixed to land to any extent by any
other means than its own weight it is prima facie a fixture (Belgrave Nominees)
o Part 2: Object of annexation test: Look at the surrounding circumstances eg
character of object, relationship of the parties, and subjective intention of the
affixer (Belgrave Nominees)

Doctrine of tenure

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 Doctrine of tenure: The crown is the owner of all land, and if you have land it is
through a grant from the Crown grant of land.
o Subinfeudation: The process of creating tenures out of tenanted land, which
was ended in 1260.
o Incidences: Rights conferred on the lord over the tenant’s land or person that
arose in certain circumstances, eg incident of wardship: if you pass away and
your next of kin, then heir pays a fee.
o Services: Obligations a person has in relation to the land, eg tenant has services
owed to a mesne lord and vice versa.
 Tenure in Australia: Land is still from the crown under the ‘legal fiction’ however
incidences and services have been replaced.
 Allodial title: Absolute ownership rather than owning land of the crown. Native title is
an example of allodial title.

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Native Title
Moodle Extracts, 3.75-3.83, 3.98-3.104

Establishing Native Title

Mabo v Queensland (No 2)
Facts Plaintiffs were Murray Islanders who commenced proceeding in response to
the Queensland (Aboriginal and Islander Land Grants) Amendment Act 1982,
establishing system of land grants which the murray islanders refused to
accept. It was brought as a test case to determine the Meriam peoples’ legal
rights on islands of Murray Island and others. They had a strong sense of
relationship to the land, Moynihan J of SC Queensland made findings of fact of
their horticultural lifestyle that had continued.
The plaintiffs sought declarations inter alia that the Meriam people were
entitled to the Murray Islands as ‘owners, possessors, occupiers or persons
entitled to use and enjoy said islands.’
Held  Historical origins
(Brennan J) o Doctrine of tenure expands to Australia, it is a skeleton principle of
the common law and cannot be abolished.
 Foundation of native title
o Crown acquired a radical or ultimate title to the land, but they did
not acquire absolute beneficial ownership over the land when the
crown acquired sovereignty.
o If the land were deserted the Crown would take absolute beneficial
ownership, as there is no other proprietor – in this case there is
another proprietor.
o As the land is occupied by indigenous people, the radical title
acquired with acquisition of sovereignty cannot confer absolute
beneficial title to occupied land.
o Doctrine of tenure applies to every Crown grant of an interest in
land, but not to rights and interests which do not owe their
existence to a crown grant
 Nature and incidences of native title
o “Native title has its origin in, and is given its content by, the
traditional laws and customs of indigenous inhabitants” and the
incidents of native title must be ascertained by reference to that
(i) Descendants only: Unless there are pre-existing laws of a
territory that the Crown acquires sovereignty over which
provide for alienation of interests in land to strangers,
native title can only be possessed by indigenous
inhabitants and their descendants. Cannot be acquired by
group/member unless they observe customs/acknowledge
laws.
(ii) Continuing connection: When the tide of history has
washed away any real acknowledgment of traditional law
and any real observance of traditional customs, foundation
of native title has disappeared.
(iii) Expiry: Once native title expires, Crown’s radical title
expands to full beneficial title, for then there is no other

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proprietor than the crown. Native Title may be
surrendered on purchase or voluntarily.
(iv) Extinguishment: Can be extinguished by an inconsistent
crown grant which includes freehold/leasehold. An
exercise in extinguishment must reveal a clear and plain
intention to do so.
Held  Nature and incidences of native title
(Deane and o Traditional law and custom is not frozen at the moment of
Gaudron JJ) establishment of colony; subsequent developments and variations
do not extinguish the title in relation to that land
o Enjoyment of rights are a personal right, they are not assignable
outside of the native title system.
o They can be extinguished voluntarily or by surrender, or by
abandonment of connection with the land
 Extinguishment
o Native Title is extinguished by an unqualified grant of an
inconsistent estate in the land by the Crown or terminated by
other inconsistent dealings with the Crown.
Note  Compensation: Majority in Mabo said compensation was not available,
but was only relevant up to the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) as it
would be unlawful if traditional owners were treated less favourably than
non-indigenous interest holders. If they were not compensated when
rights were extinguished or not afforded procedural rights after the RDA,
they may acquire compensation.

The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)

Definition of S 223 – Definition of Native Title
native title (1) The communal, group or individual rights and interests of Aboriginal
peoples or Torrest Strait Islanders in relation to land or waters, where:
(a) the rights and interests are possessed under the traditional
laws and customs of the ATSI peoples; and
(b) the Aboriginal peoples or Torres Strait Islanders, by those laws
and customs, have a connection with the land or waters; and
(c) the rights and interests are recognised by the common law of
Australia
Compensation Provides for compensation for all native title extinguished by Acts of the
Cth after 1975
Extinguishment To extinguish native title in the future, the indigenous people must agree
to extinguishment or their property must be acquired under compulsory
acquisition legislation: s 20

The requirement to prove a ‘continuing connection to land’

Yorta Yorta Aboriginal Community v Victoria (2002) 214 CLR 422
Facts Primary judge native title to not exist in relation to the ‘areas of land and
waters’ identified in the schedule. The group had re-adopted many traditional
laws and customs that had ceased to be acknowledged because of the
dispersal of society. By the late 1800s, the group were no longer in possession
of their tribal lands and had, by force of the circumstances, ceased to observe
the laws and customs. Question was over what s 223’the rights and interests
recognised by the common law of Australia’ meant