Month: July 2018

This new textbook on land law, written by Louise Glover and Kate Campbell-Pilling (both of whom have both academic and practitioner experience), is a welcome addition to an area of law which is notoriously complicated.  The aim of Land Law is simple: to allow students to understand the general scheme of land law and to become familiar with the source material.  This is an ambitious aim but Land Law easily achieves it by giving a practical and concise explanation of the law.

Land Law is split into fourteen chapters: introduction to land law; acquisition; unregistered land; registration of title; registered land priority rules; co-ownership and trusts of land; uses of leases, lease characteristics, formalities, licences and forms of lease; privity of contract and privity of estate, enforceability of covenants and the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995; lease clauses, breaches and ending a lease; mortgages: concept, creation and protection; mortgages: lender enforcement rights and borrower protection; setting aside a mortgage for undue influence or misrepresentation; easements; and covenants.

The topics covered, and the written style of Land Law, clearly draw upon the authors’ practical experience.  Land Law is concise and accessible while, at the same time, cross-referencing to relevant statutory provisions, guidance (including the Land Registry Practice Guides) and consultation papers (including the Law Commission’s Reports).  These are vital references for anyone wanting to properly understand land law and make this text ideal for both students and newly qualified lawyers.  The authors’ writing style is also clear and engaging; this allows the reader to quickly grasp the points being made.

This first edition of Land Law is extremely welcome.  Its focus on the practical issues of land law, which are vitally important to students when they start their practical training courses and their training, should mean Land Law will be kept close to hand during a lawyer’s early years.  For example, explaining what a lease is (and how it is structured) gives a fantastic context before learning the rules which apply to leases.  Land Law is also a great aide-memoire for more experienced lawyers (the cross-references alone are worth the text’s price).

Reviewed on 29 July 2018