Law for Surveyors: Analysis of Land Disputes and Lease Agreements

This report presents a detailed analysis of two key legal issues relevant to surveyors. The first part examines a case study involving a land purchase where the seller failed to disclose a boundary dispute, leading to potential breaches of contract. The analysis follows the IRAC method, identifying issues, outlining applicable rules and regulations (including CPSE 1), applying them to the case, and concluding with available remedies such as damages and specific performance. The second part delves into a lease case, where a tenant is late on rent, and the landlord seeks to regain possession. This section explores the rights of both landlords and tenants, relevant legislation, and potential actions the landlord can take, including serving notices and pursuing possession orders. The report emphasizes the importance of disclosure, adherence to legal procedures, and the available remedies for both parties involved in property transactions and lease agreements.

Legal Rule and LAW
Module Number-
[DATE]
Hewlett-Packard
[Company address]

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 1
Table of Contents
Part One.................................................................................................................................................1
Issue One:-.........................................................................................................................................1
Issue two:-.........................................................................................................................................4
Part two:-...............................................................................................................................................7

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 2
Law for Surveyors
Part One
This part shows the case study of purchase of land in which Arcadia Investments
Limited didn’t inform Dunelm Developments Limited about the long running boundary
dispute with a neighbouring land owner. This resulted to the issues in the contract made and
failure of party to disclose the required information to other concerned party of the contract.
This case has been taken by using the IRAC format in which issues will be identified. After
that rule will be followed to resolve the case in the best interest of the parties. Afterward,
application of the laws and regulation will be seen to come up with the judgement or
conclusion in this case.
Issue One:-
ISSUE
At the time of the purchase of land, Arcadia Investments Limited didn’t inform Dunelm
Developments Limited about the long running boundary dispute with a neighbouring land
owner. As per the Commercial properties standard enquiries 1 (version 3.6), Arcadia had
asked the buyer to rely on their own information and didn’t provide any information related
to disputes. After finding about the dispute, DDL wants to exercise their rights, if any.
RULE
After assessing the case, it is found that there are several rules and regulations which will be
applicable on the both parties to the contract. The document called CPSE 1 is used to make
enquiries. The following things are to be kept in mind (Austen-Baker, 2017):-
BOUNDARIES
1) The seller needs to answer if he knows of any discrepancy or alteration of the boundary
feature (Beale, Fauvarque-Cosson, Rutgers and Vogenauer, 2018)
2) If there is any discrepancy, the seller should know to whom the boundary feature belong to
undertaken property in the contract (Pound and DeRosa, 2017).
3) Information related to maintenance of the land should be provided (Smits, 2017)

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 3
4) Information on adjoining properties must also be shared with the buyer (Adriaanse, 2016).
5) The seller has to provide the buyer with all the important documents along with the enquiry
responses (Svantesson, 2016).
NOTE: It is found that this enquiry is concerned with verifying the extent of the property to
ensure that the description of the property matches the physical extent of the property. Party
to the contract is required to disclose the information of the property to be sold in the
contract. It also helps the buyer in knowing the person responsible for the maintenance of
boundary features and other concnered interest realted to the property sold in the contract.
DISPUTES
1) It is the duty of the seller to give details of any disputes, claims, actions, demands or
complaints to the buyer that:
a) relate to the property or any rights associated with the property
b) relate to the neighbouring property (De Franceschi, 2016)
NOTE: The buyer needs details of every dispute relating to the property so that
 Appropriate action can be taken
 Indemnity can be negotiated
 Liability to be borne is known beforehand
 Foresee potential obstacles that may arise with the use of the property
 The burden of the disputes can be transferred to the seller
In the case of Seeney and another v Gleeson Developments Ltd and another [2015] EWHC
3244 (TCC)( Graziano, 2019) it was held that the buyer needs to inspect the property on his
own and make all the relevant searches even after receiving replies on enquiries from the
sellers.

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 4
The claimants bought a house from the defendants which was later determined to be defective
so the defendant agreed to do a house-swap on receipt of extra 30,000 pounds.
APPLICATION
As seen in the case Seeney and another v Gleeson Developments Ltd and another [2015]
EWHC 3244 (TCC), the seller had to make arrangements for the buyer after the property
was found to be defective.
Similarly, in the case involving Dunelm Developments Limited, the seller i.e., Arcadia
Investments Limited should have provided the necessary information regarding the boundary
dispute in response to Question 1 and Question 20 of the CPSE 1 (version 3.6). This case
could be used as supporting statement for the case between case involving Dunelm
Developments Limited and Investments Limited.
Arcadia Investments Limited didn’t provide the all-important information relating to
the long running boundary dispute with the neighbouring land owner and left all the research
and survey work on DDL. They didn’t even discuss the matter before or at the time of sale
and hid these known details about the property from the buyer who too failed to gather any
information on the dispute matter due to which it is facing difficulties in setting up the
Coursework Development Site and resuming with its work. The dispute is hindering any
action on their part. As a result, they look for the rights and remedies they have against
Arcadia Investments Limited that can help them in resuming their operations.
Various remedial measures available to DDL:-
1) Damages : They can claim for damages for loss which are available as a right in case of
breach of contract
2) Termination for breach: It is often mentioned in the contract that if a contract is breached, the
contract will be terminated and as a result, it will be null and void.
3) Specific Performance: A party may be compelled to perform a decree of specific
performance that it had agreed to do.
4) Injection: It is used in cases where the party hasn’t agreed to do anything.

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 5
These remedial measures can be used by DDL to get justice. Like in the case mentioned
above, the seller may also agree for a swap-deal so DDL must be prepared to negotiate any
such offer in its best interests. These all the remedies could be used by the parties to contract
for performing the duties and applicable rules in the case.
CONCLUSION
The land sold by Arcadia Investments Limited to Dunelm Developments Limited was
facing boundary dispute since years with a neighbouring land owner. DDL got to know about
the issue after the sale transaction took place which caused problems. This shows that parties
to the contract need to disclose each and every information to each other before entering into
the contract. However, in this case, it is identified that it wasn’t able to smoothly carry its
operations so they look to seek remedy from the seller party i.e., Arcadia Investments
Limited. Various remedial measures have been mentioned above along with a case law. DDL
can exercise its contractual rights to resume their business operations.

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 6
Issue two:-
Another issue was found in lease case where creation of lease is justified or differentiated
with the licenses. A lease is a form of ownership that lasts for a specified period of time for a
rent unlike freehold ownership. Leases created before January, 1989 are protected by Rent
Act 1977 whereas tenancies created after 1989 come under the Housing Act 1988. Leases are
different from licenses as licenses offer limited protection.
ISSUE
In the given case, it is analysed that DDL has leased one of its warehouses to Lucas and Sons
Limited. The lease is due to expire in January 2021. But the DDL, which is expecting to
secure planning permission this year wants the vacant possession of the site as soon as
possible. Lucas and Sons Limited have been late in paying their rent for the last two payment
dates. Now, DDL wants to know the possible options that it has to take back the possession
of the site. This case will reveals the facts related to the possession of the site and actions
required to be taken against the same.
RULE
There are certain laws protecting the landlord and tenant. The following are some important
things to look at:-
Tenancy Rights (Huws, 2018)
1) Tenancy Agreements – A copy and explanation of the tenancy agreement has to be given to
the tenant which specifies the terms of tenancy (Robson, 2018).
2) Contact details – The tenants are provided with the contact number and address of their
landlords so that they are able to call them in case of any problem (Koch, 2018).
3) Repairs – Once they report a problem inside the property, they are entitled to immediate
action (Cooper, 2016).
4) Adequate Facilities – The tenant is entitled to suitable living conditions in the property.

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 7

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 8
Landlord’s Rights
1) Taking Possession – After following proper legal procedures, the landlord can take the
possession of the property if the tenant fails to pay the rent (Hearne, 2018).
2) Removal of goods – The landlord is under no obligation to return any leftover belongings of
the tenant and can keep it (Murray, 2017).
3) Inspection – The landlord can visit the property at any time provided a 24-hour notice is
given (Maxwell, 2018).
4) Overdue Payments – If rent is outstanding, the landlord can demand it any time by visiting
them.
These rights are very important for any landlord or tenant to protect them from each other and
can be exercised at any time.
International Drilling Fluids v Louisville Investments [1986] 1 EGLR 39
It protects the landlord from having his premises used in an undesirable way by an
undesirable tenant. This helps the landlord to protect his land from the trespass and other
legal acquisition by others. This case reflects the legal implication related to the actions taken
against the person who deliberately trespass the property.
APPLICATION
As seen in the case of International Drilling Fluids v Louisville Investments [1986] 1
EGLR 39
The landlord of the property can exercise his right to take back possession of his property
which is under a lease by following proper legal procedures.
In our case, since the tenant Lucas and Sons Limited failed to pay the rent on time twice on
two successive rent payment dates, the landlord can take action by giving a section 8 Notice
to the tenants as they failed to comply with the terms of the tenancy since they were late in
paying rent twice. The tenants will have to move on the completion of the notice period. If
they still don’t move out, then DDL will have to go to court and ask for a Standard
Possession Order. They can also apply for an Accelerated Possession Order which will be

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 9
quicker since it won’t require any court hearing. The tenant will then get a notice from the
court who will need to reply within 14 days. If the tenants still don’t leave the property, DDL
can apply for Warrant of Possession after which the bailiffs can remove the tenants from your
property. In this way the DDL can evict Lucas and Sons limited from their property. Though
DDL is not in a very strong position but it can use the aforesaid options to gain possession of
its property (Radin, 2017).
CONCLUSION
After evaluating the case and analysing the facts, it could be concluded that Dunelm
Developments Limited were hopeful of securing planning permission this year so they
wanted to secure vacant possession of their property which was leased out till 2021. The
tenants failed to pay their rent on time twice in the last two rent payment dates. So, in order to
evict the tenants Lucas and Sons Limited, they needed to review the lease to assess and
analyse DDL’s position against the tenants. All the possible options that could be used in the
eviction of the tenants were taken into account as it was important for them to take the
possession of land to use that for own purposes and also to prevent any misuse from the
tenants.

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 10
Part two:-
DESCRIPTION
In dealing with the two issues, I got to learn a lot by studying different laws relating to
both the issues. Both of them were really common issues that require the parties involved to
be aware of the corresponding laws and the surroundings. But, I found the first issue more
significant as it dealt with contractual laws and involved the sale of land. A sale transaction is
far bigger in terms of stakes involved than a lease agreement. That is one reason I’m biased
towards Issue 1. Also, the first issue covers a lot more topics than the second issue which
covers the lease agreement. I thought boundary disputes are very complicated and solving
them is a great challenge. Also, post sales remedial measures are very tricky and it is very
difficult to make the seller put in efforts for a property that he already sold (Friedman., 2016).
INTERPRETATION
The first Issue had such wide perspective but the most important aspect of the issue was that I
got to know about the various remedial measures available. I could look at that from different
sides:-
1) The Buyer - To justify his decision to purchase a given property, he can go legal anytime. I
can picture myself purchasing a property from my hard earned money only coming to know
about its legal complications. It would break me and leave me without any motivation. But
thank god we have laws in place to protect the innocent buyers from such malpractices
followed by some sellers.
2) The Seller - There are also cases when the seller unknowingly sells a disputed property, so
serving punishment for an unintentional act would be too harsh on anyone. If I put myself in
the shoes of such a person, I’ll definitely feel bad for being punished for a crime I didn’t even
know was one. But it is very fulfilling to know that we have laws in place for such a thing
also.
3) The Judiciary – If I look at it from the judiciary’s side, I feel amazing to know the amount
of trust people have on their judiciary. Whenever they face any problem, they don’t hesitate

Running head: LAW FOR SURVEYORS 11
to put their views forward in the court. And the judiciary also never fails to deliver justice to
the citizens.
After looking at the issue from the perspective of different parties involved, I can’t forget but
talk about the importance of different contracts and contract acts (Klopp, and Schmid, (2018).
Knowingly or unknowingly, contracts have become an indispensable part of our lives. We
enter into a contract at every second of our life. When we purchase vegetables, when we go
to watch a movie, when we purchase goods from the market, etc. We enter into different
types of contracts at every moment. The contract is a legal agreement between two or more
parties that binds them together and ensures that the rights and obligations of a contract are
honoured and the parties involved are provided with legal remedies. These contracts make it
possible for people to access the judiciary in case they feel their rights are violated. It gives
people a sense of confidence and assurance that whatever bad that has happened to them can
be fixed (Harrison, 2017).
OUTCOME
As I’ve said earlier, I got to learn a lot from this assignment. Both the issues made me dive
deep into legalities involved and helped me get insights from different cases. While working
on the first issue which was based on a scenario where the buyer was unaware of the
shortcomings of the property he had purchased and wasn’t informed by the seller also. So, I
had to look into different case laws that could help me get justice for him as he wasn’t wrong
on her part and did all the research he could before buying that piece of land. I believe I got
to study and learn a lot about the sales process and the different stages that come in the
completion of a sales transaction. The various stages are:-
i. Heads of terms agreed and circulated
ii. Pre Exchange
iii. Exchange of Contracts
iv. Completion
v. Post Completion (SDTL and Registration)