ABSTRACT
Land law is a subject steeped in history. It has its first origins in the feudal reforms imposed on England by William the Conqueror after 1066 and many of the most fundamental concepts and principles of land law spring from the economic and social changes that began then. However, while these concepts and the feudal origins of land law should not, and cannot, be ignored, we must remember that we are about to examine a system of law that is alive and well in the twenty-first century. It would be easy to embark on an historical survey of land law, but not necessarily entirely profitable. Of course, the concepts and principles that were codified and refined in the years leading up to 1 January 1926 – the effective date of the first wave of great legislative reforms1 – were themselves the products of decades of development, and every student of the subject must come to grips with the unfamiliar terminology and substance of the common law. Yet, the purpose of this book is to present land law as it is today without obscuring the concepts and principles it is built upon. Indeed, as we move speedily forward in our electronic age, there is no doubt that the system of land law that came into effect on 1 January 1926 is itself creaking with the strain of absorbing all that has happened to society since then. It too has had to grow and develop in response to these changes. Consequently, although the substance of modern land law remains governed by the structure established by the Law of Property Act 1925, over 80 years of social and economic changes, far-reaching judicial pronouncements and further legislation have all played a part in moulding the substantive law to the needs of the modern age. In this respect, the most significant legislative change in recent times is the Land Registration Act 2002 (hereafter, LRA 2002). This came into force on 13 October 20032 and replaced entirely the Land Registration Act 1925. It heralded a new era for the law of real property, and its full effect has not yet been felt.
