ABSTRACT

Licences are permission given by the owner of land to another person, who may or may not own land themselves, to use the owner's land for some specific purpose. Although a licence to use land may be given for any lawful purpose, it is possible to classify licences according to the functions they serve, the circumstances in which they arise or the way in which they are created. In reality, the often temporary and transient nature of bare licences means that the licensee is hardly likely to contemplate continuing the activity when the land changes hands. A bare licence comprises permission to enter upon the land and carry out some activity there, given voluntarily by the owner, who receives nothing in return. The contractual licences are governed by the ordinary rules of the law of contract. The right conferred by a licence can be enforced only against the person who created it, sometimes using contractual remedies.