Blackstone's Statutes Series 
Caddell & Johnson: Media Law 2eBlackstone's Statutes Series
Current issues
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This page contains material on some current issues in property law.
Sharing Homes
Trustee Exemption Clauses
Termination of Tenancies for Tenant Default
Capital and Income in Trusts: Classification and Apportionment
The Forfeiture Rule and the Law of Succession
Easements, Covenants, and Profits à Prendre
Marital Property Agreements
Intestate Succession and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
Sharing Homes
The present law which determines whether a person who shares a house with the owner should acquire rights in that property is complicated, at times unfair, and not governed by statute. The Law Commission published a Discussion Paper on the subject.
The Law Commission Sharing Home. A Discussion Paper (Law Com No 278):
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/lc278.pdf
The legal status of occupiers who are sharing homes that are rented is considered in a separate document, the Law Commission, Rent Homes – 1: Status and Security (2002) Consultation Paper No 162:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp162.pdf
Trustee Exemption Clauses
The Law Commission in its Consultation Paper No 171, Trustee Exemption Clauses examines the problems caused by the widespread use of trustee exemption clauses. The Court of Appeal in the decision of Armitage v Nurse [1998] Ch 241, held that an exemption clause could exclude the trustee from liability for loss or damage to the trust property "no matter how indolent, imprudent, lacking in diligence, negligent or wilful he may have been, so long as he has not acted dishonestly." The court in such a case has to construe the words of the exemption clause in light of the conduct complained of and decide if liability has successfully been excluded by the clause.
Text of Consultation Paper:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp171.pdf
Termination of Tenancies for Tenant Default
The Law Commission published a Consultation Paper on 20 January 2004, entitled Termination of Tenancies for Tenant Default (No 174). In the paper the Law Commission examines whether the current law of forfeiture and the doctrine of re-entry should be abolished and be replaced by a statutory scheme for the termination of a tenancy in situations where there is a default on the part of the tenant.
The text of the executive summary can be found at:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp174sum.pdf
The text of the Consultation Paper can be found at:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp174.pdf
Capital and Income in Trusts: Classification and Apportionment
The Law Commission published a Consultation Paper on 12 July 2004, entitled Capital and Income in Trusts: Classification and Apportionment (No 175). In this paper the Law Commission considers;
the rules relating to the classification of trust receipts as income or capital
the rules requiring the conversion of the original trust property or apportionment between capital and income accounts
how these rules relate to charities
The text of the executive summary can be found at:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp175sum.pdf
The text of the Consultation Paper can be found at:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp175.pdf
The Forfeiture Rule and the Law of Succession
The Law Commission published its report into the forfeiture rule and the law of succession in July 2005. The Report is a response to the decision in Re DWS (deceased) [2001] Ch 568 (CA), where a person killed both his parents, both of whom died intestate. Under the forfeiture rule the killer is not allowed to inherit the estates. The court decided that the killer's son was also prevented from inheriting the estate.
The Report discusses the responses to the Consultation Paper on the issue published in October 2003 (No 172, The Forfeiture Rule and the Law of Succession) and sets out the recommendations together with a draft Bill.
The text of the Report can be found at;
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/lc295_Final.pdf
Easements, Covenants and Profits à Prendre
The Law Commission published its Consultation Paper in March 2008. The paper provisionally proposed the following;
The various prescriptive methods of acquiring an easement should be abolished, and replaced with a single new prescriptive method
The law relating to the extinguishment of easements be rationalized
That a new interest in land (the land obligation) be created to replace positive and restrictive covenants
That the manner in which restrictive covenants are discharged and modified be modernized.
The text of the paper can be found at:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp186.pdf
Marital Property Agreements
The Law Commission will towards the end of 2009 be examining the status of enforceability of agreements made between spouses or civil partners (or those contemplating marriage or civil partnership) concerning their property and finances.
The background to this project can be found at:
www.lawcom.gov.uk/marital_property.htm
Intestate Succession and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
The Law Commission has begun work on this project in October 2008, and a report is expected in late 2011.
The project involves a review of the law of intestacy, and will also consider the operation of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
The background to this project can be found at:
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