Question
Last month, Bob Stewart completed the purchase of Mayfield, a freehold property registered with title absolute at the Land Registry, from Mary Jennings, who was
Last month, Bob Stewart completed the purchase of Mayfield, a freehold property registered with title absolute at the Land Registry, from Mary Jennings, who was moving into a retirement home. He was mainly attracted to the large amounts of land surrounding the property, which he intended to use to make a pool and a tennis court.
Since the purchase, the following claims have come to light:
- His neighbour, Jeff Clinton, claims that Ms Jennings gave him the right to use a driveway over her property to reach his house. He used to have his own driveway but, after obtaining permission from Ms Jennings to use hers, he built a conservatory across his own. He shows Mr Stewart a written agreement, dated 21 December 2015 and signed by Ms Jennings and Mr Clinton, stating that the right to use the Mayfield driveway has been granted to Mr Clinton 'as long as he lives next door'.
- When his neighbour on the other side, Rachel Madison, drops in to welcome Mr Stewart, she tells him that one of the reasons this is such a nice place to live is that there are covenants on all the properties forbidding the carrying out of any trade or business on the land.
- The man who lives to the rear of his property, Ben Porter, says he was granted a three-year lease of the land behind Mayfield in August 2018. He shows you a letter, signed by both Ms Jennings and Mr Porter, setting out the terms of the lease. He has not used the land but says he obtained the lease in order to ensure that nothing was built on it which could spoil his view.
- A man arrives at the house who turns out to be Ms Jennings's brother, Fred Jennings. He tells Mr Stewart that he had contributed half of the purchase price of the property but that it had been transferred into Ms Jennings' sole name for tax reasons. He says he lived in it with her until a year ago, when he went on a year-long cruise. He says he had no idea she had sold it and had not received any of the proceeds of sale. Mr Stewart says he saw no sign of any occupation by anyone other than Mary Jennings when he viewed the property. Fred Jennings wants to move back into Mayfield as he has nowhere else to go.
Explain the nature of the interests claimed, and advise Bob Stewart whether, and if so why, he might be bound by these interests and what this means.
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