LW2LND-Land Law

Module Provider: School of Law
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:5
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites: Restricted to LLB students
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Prof Rosemary Auchmuty
Email: R.Auchmuty@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

The module helps students understand how rights over property (particularly land) are created and transferred. It covers, for example, co-ownership of land, land registration, mortgages, and how courts enforce both legal and equitable obligations in relation to land.

Aims:

Completion of this module aims to provide students with a substantive understanding of the nature, scope, creation and the enforceability of rights – both legal and equitable – as these relate to property, and that which specifically concerns land. The module will help students explore the historical, social and philosophical context in which the modern law of property has developed and presently operates, focusing specifically on the laws concerning land in England and Wales, along with insights from other common law systems, as relevant.

Assessable learning outcomes:

Students who undertake this module should be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of legal and equitable property rights, and the significance and application of these to land specifically;


2. (demonstrate an understanding of the nature, scope, creation and enforceability of such rights;


3. (demonstrate an ability to evaluate the overarching and key concepts pertaining to land and property law more generally;


4. identify the relevant laws (statute, case law, and policy) and/or scholarship applicable to hypothetical factual patterns concerning disputes and concepts fundamental to the law of property and land in England and Wales, and the common law world more generally (as covered by the module), and;


5. apply the relevant law and scholarship, as applicable, to various fact patterns, using appropriate doctrinal and/or theoretical technique and understanding, such as so to be able to reach clear and well supported conclusions when addressing problem questions, essays and other modes of assessment. 

Additional outcomes:

Outline content:

The Land Law module will help students acquire an understanding of:

1. The historical and conceptual foundations of modern property law, focusing on land especially;


2. The creation and transfer of legal rights and interests in and over land, focusing on both freehold, leasehold, and other interests;


3. The acquisition, disposition, and the resolution of disputes – and thus remedies – in relation to registered land, and how the law addresses the perennial problem of unregistered estates and interests in land;


4. The land registration system in England and Wales;


5. The role and importance of mortgages;


6. The role and importance of overriding interests and overreaching in land law;


7. The legal and/or equitable effect of land obligations – such as easements, covenants, and other interests in relation to land;


8. The nature and effect of legal sole and co- ownership in land, and;


9. Legal and equitable property rights – for buyer and seller, owner, and occupant – and the significance and application of the Law of Property Act 1925, Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989; Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, and the Land Registration Act 2002, and the case law associated with these statutes. 

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

Overall, the Land Law module will comprise the following pattern of teaching, assessment, and preparation:

• Teaching: thirty lectures and six tutorials (fourteen hours in the Autumn Term, and fourteen hours across the Spring Term, and two hours in the Summer Term). There will be three tutorials in the Autumn and Spring Terms respectively. During the Autumn and Spring Term there will be a number of re-cap and revision lectures pertaining to the themes covered during that term, and a general revision lecture and mock exam in the Spring Term.


• Assessment: one piece of assessed summative course work, no more than four pages in length (30%), due during or after the Easter vacation, and an end of year examination (70%), to take place during the Summer Term. 


• Preparation: a number of re-cap lectures will be held after longer themed lectures (e.g., Mortgages, Easements, etc ). Additionally, students will have the opportunity to undertake a formative assessment ahead of completing their summative assessment. A practice mock exam question will be held at the end of the Spring Term or beginning of the Summer Term, to assist in the development of exam technique.

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures	14	14	2
Tutorials	3	3
Guided independent study:	82	82
Total hours by term	99	99	2
Total hours for module	200

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Written exam	70
Written assignment including essay	30

Summative assessment- Examinations:

• A two-and-a-half-hour end of year examination (70%). This will be supplemented by an earlier piece of assessed summative course work, which will make up for the remainder of the final mark (30 %).

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

• One piece of assessed summative course work, no more than four pages in length (30%): date to be confirmed in the Autumn term. This will be supplemented by a two-and-a-half-hour end of year examination, which will which will make up for the remainder of the final mark (70 %).

Formative assessment methods:

Students will have the opportunity to undertake a formative assessment before their summative assessment. In addition, a formative practice exam will be held at the beginning of the Summer Term, to assist in the development of exam technique. 

Penalties for late submission:

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

40% overall: 70% deriving from your end of year examination, and 30% derived from your assessed summative coursework, submitted before the examination.

Reassessment arrangements:

Resit examinations take place in August, before the start of the next academic year.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: 

2) Specialist equipment or materials: 

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: 

4) Printing and binding: 

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: 

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence: 

Last updated: 30 March 2023