Module SXL-3111:
Land Law

Module Facts

Run by School of History, Law and Social Sciences

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser: Dr Gwilym Owen

Overall aims and purpose

The aim of this module is to enable students to state and apply the rules of English and Welsh land law accurately. Students will be expected to develop a critical understanding of the key concepts of English and Welsh land law, particularly the distinctions – and the resulting consequences of the distinctions – between legal and equitable rights, personal and proprietary interests and registered and unregistered land. Students will be required to develop a critical appreciation of the particular circumstances – political, social, cultural and financial – in which English and Welsh land law has developed, particularly in relation to the major property legislation of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and in relation to substantive matters including the ownership of family property, the regulation of leases and the law of mortgages.

Course content

The module will allow the student to study English and Welsh land law, including the nature of land, the development of land law, the law relating to land registration and the distinction between registered and unregistered land, title to land, settlements of land, trusts of land and co-ownership, the law relating to freehold and leasehold estates in land, adverse possession, easements and profits a prendre, freehold covenants, the regulation of mortgages, the regulation of leases, licences and proprietary estoppel.

Assessment Criteria

excellent

Excellent: A- to A* (70+%) An outstanding answer containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in a clear, logical, critical argument with little room for improvement. An answer which demonstrates a complete mastery of the subject.

good

Good: B- to B+ (60-69%) High Standard: A comprehensive answer, containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in an argument which, while clear, logical and critical, leaves room for improvement in its construction and presentation. An answer which shows complete competence in the subject.

C- to C+

C- to C+: C- to C+ (50-59%) An answer which, while always in the main accurate and correct, fails to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant material and is lacking in criticism. An answer which while reliable with regard to correctness is either not comprehensive or not entirely pertinent.

threshold

Threshold: D- to D+ (40-49%) An answer which, while predominantly correct in its presentation of material, contains a significant level of error and is therefore not entirely reliable.

Learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the ways in which rights and interests in land are protected both at law and in equity, and in relation to registered and unregistered land;

  2. Critically relate the principal historical and contemporary characteristics of English and Welsh land law to their political, social, economic and cultural context, including an exploration into the relationship between land law and human rights in relevant topic areas.

  3. Critically explain the reasoning behind, and the practical implications of key twentieth and twenty-first century legislation relating to English land law – including the reforms of 1925, the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 and the Land Registration Act 2002;

  4. Apply a detailed knowledge of English and Welsh land law to complex actual or hypothetical factual scenarios;

  5. Show familiarity with the research and literature related to English and Welsh land law;

  6. Undertake independent legal research in relation to English and Welsh land law.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
ESSAY Written assignment

40% of the assessment for this module will comprise of a 3,000 word essay. The word limit excludes footnotes and bibliography.

 40.00
EXAM Final Exam

60% of the assessment for this module will comprise of a 2 hour exam.

 60.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Lecture

There will be a 2 hour lecture per week.

 40
Private study

Students will be expected to carry out private study. During this time, students will carry out background reading and research.

 154
Tutorial

Students will meet in groups to discuss the Tutorial questions and the answers that they have prepared in advance of the session.

 6

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Subject specific skills

  • Develop the ability to interpret legal rules and employ techniques of legal reasoning competently and efficiently in order to offer a range of solutions and conclusions to actual or hypothetical complex legal problems, all supported by relevant academic literature, jurisprudence and legislative research. Such solutions will be clearly communicated and presented
  • Develop the ability to analyse complex legal issues, set against the background of the political, social, economic or cultural contexts in which they may arise
  • Develop those skills which are necessary for scholarship and research in legal subjects, namely the ability to identify relevant primary and secondary legal sources and to retrieve accurate legal information using paper and electronic sources

Resources

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/sxl-3111.html

Reading list

CORE TEXT: C Bevan, Land Law (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2020)

Pre- and Co-requisite Modules

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: