Law of Property (Amendment) Act 1924

Conveyances over-reaching certain equitable interests and powers.

1 The following section shall be substituted for section three of the principal Act:—

“(1) A conveyance to a purchaser of a legal estate in land overreaches any equitable interest or power affecting that estate, whether or not he has notice thereof, if—

(i) the conveyance is made under the powers conferred by the Settled Land Acts, or the powers conferred by a settlement, and the equitable interest or power is capable of being overreached thereby, and the statutory requirements respecting the payment of capital money arising under the settlement are complied with;

(ii) the conveyance is made by trustees for sale and the equitable interest or power is at the date of the conveyance capable of being overreached by such trustees under the provisions of subsection (2) of this section or independently of that subsection, and the statutory requirements respecting the payment of capital money arising under a disposition upon trust for sale are complied with;

(iii) the conveyance is made by a mortgagee or personal representative in the exercise of his paramount powers and the equitable interest or, power is capable of being overreached by such conveyance, and any capital money arising from the transaction is paid to the mortgagee or personal representative;

(iv) the conveyance is made under an order of the court and the equitable interest or power is bound by such order and any capital money arising from the transaction is paid into or in accordance with the order of the court.

(2) Where the legal estate affected is not, when the equitable interest or power is created, subject to a trust for sale or a settlement, then, if the estate owner, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, disposes of his estate to trustees upon trust for sale, and at the date of a conveyance made, after such commencement, under the disposition upon trust for sale the trustees (whether original or substituted) are either—

(a) two or more individuals or the successors in office of two or more individuals approved or appointed by the court; or

(b) a trust corporation ;

such equitable interest or power shall, notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary, be overreached by the conveyance, and shall, according to its priority, take effect as if created or arising by means of a primary trust affecting the proceeds of sale and the income of the land until sale.

(3) The following equitable interests and powers are excepted from the operation of subsection (2) of this section, namely—

(i) Any equitable interest protected by a deposit of documents relating to the legal estate affected;

(ii) The benefit of any covenant or agreement restrictive of the user of land;

(iii) Any easement, liberty, or privilege over or affecting land and being merely an equitable interest (in this Act referred to as an “equitable easement ”);

(iv) The benefit of any contract (in this Act referred to as an ' estate contract') to convey or create a legal estate, including a contract conferring either expressly or by statutory implication a valid option to purchase, a right of pre-emption, or any other like right;

(v) Any equitable interest protected by registration under the Land Charges Acts, other than—

(a) an annuity within the meaning of the Judgments Act, 1855;

(b) a limited owner's charge or a general equitable charge within the meaning of the Land Charges Acts.

(4) Subject to the protection afforded by this section to the purchaser of a legal estate, nothing contained in this section shall deprive a person entitled to an equitable charge of any of his rights or remedies for enforcing the charge.

(5) (5) So far as regards the following interests, created before the commencement of this Act (which accordingly are not within the provisions of the Land Charges Acts), namely—

(a) the benefit of any covenant or agreement restrictive of the user of the land;

(b) any equitable easement;

(c) the interest under a puisne mortgage within the meaning of the Land Charges Acts, unless and until acquired under a transfer made after the commencement of this Act;

(d) the benefit of an estate contract, unless and until the same is acquired under a conveyance made after the commencement of this Act;

a purchaser of a legal estate only takes subject thereto if he has notice thereof, and the same are not overreached under the provisions contained or in the manner referred to in this section.”