Property Law: Analyzing Easements, Covenants, and Mortgage Disputes

This assignment delves into various aspects of property law, beginning with an explanation of easements and restrictive covenants, highlighting their creation, enforcement, and differences. It further differentiates between retail and commercial leases, emphasizing the regulatory frameworks governing them. The assignment then analyzes a scenario involving mortgage default, outlining the rights of the property owner (Paula Ryan) and the distribution of sale proceeds. A property line dispute is examined, offering steps for resolution, including communication, surveying, and potential mediation. Finally, the assignment addresses co-ownership of property, specifically joint tenancy and tenancy in common, and explores legal recourse in cases of forgery and illegal property sales. Desklib provides this and many other solved assignments for students.

Running head: PROPERTY LAW 1
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Running head: PROPERTY LAW 2
Property Law
Part A
An easement refers to a property right for the making use of land belonging to
someone else without really occupying it. Creation of easements enables land to be provided
with access to permanent essential services, utilities and passing over of communications
through or under neighbouring land. Restrictive covenants refer to property rights which
restrict the manner in which land may be utilised. These covenants begin as agreements
between each lot’s purchaser and the developer, but can later be enforceable against all the
occupiers and owners that follow for a period of time which is unlimited. They act as private
land usage tools and they do not fit with the policies of public planning.
Under the prescription rule provided by the common law, there is the possibility of an
individual who has been enjoying another individual’s land for almost 20 years to get an
easement over the said land without having to pay compensation. This rule aids in dispute
reduction and maintaining expectations that are long standing and that can enable a person to
rely on. Easements are a property right which runs with land and their enforcement can be
against the successive landowners. This is unlike covenants because it is only restrictive
covenants which impose land restrictions. Positive covenants impose obligations on a
purchaser to do something on the property such as repairs or contributions towards the
maintenance of the property. Easements and covenants must be recorded either by deed or in
the Title Register so as to avoid the many potential and actual disputes involving the
property. The purchaser is not bound by any tenancy arrangement by the vendor that exists
but does not contain the buyer’s or seller’s name.
Retail leases are different from commercial leases because of the different regulatory
frameworks. A commercial lease applies to premises which are usually used as warehouses,

Running head: PROPERTY LAW 3
commercial building offices without retail activity or as industrial sites. A retail lease on the
other hand provides a permit for the sale of goods in the business premises (Retail Leases Act
2003). This therefore means that the Retail Leases Act may protect the retail leases but not all
the commercial leases because this is beyond its scope.
Part B
1 (a) Paula’s rights to object the sale of her property
Paula Ryan has certain rights to object to the sale of the farm property, being the owner of
the property (Kulkarni, 2016). These rights include the right to ample notice whereby the
mortgagee, Quickie Finance is legally bound to give Paula enough grace period to organize
herself and clear the farm before it is sold to another party. The notice period should be at
least 60 days. She also has the right of ensuring fair value to the property in question,
following the assessment of by the bank experts. She has the right to object to the sale if the
property has been undervalued. The contract of sale offered to Robyn Andrews of $ 970000
is below the purchase price of $1.2 million that was incurred by Paula. She can base her
objection on this variance. Paula also has the rights to be heard and to humane treatment. She
may make her representation to Quickie Finance to the effect that the only reason she has
been unable to repay her mortgage is because of the accident which she was involved in and
which has left her weak and continually ill. However, this may be encountered by her
mortgagee who may strongly hold that they do not have any other option in such a case but to
sell her farm so as to repay the loan of $950000 that she had borrowed.
b) Distribution of Sale Proceeds after Mortgage Default
The mortgaged property would be sold to the highest bidder, in this scenario, being
Robyn Andrews. The paid amount is distributed in the following manner: The costs of the

Running head: PROPERTY LAW 4
debts owed to the mortgagee get to be paid first and in full; the remaining amount is
distributed to those owning junior interests in their priority orders in accordance with the
creation of the interests; the mortgager, in this case Paula can keep any amount of money
which is the remainder after the junior interests have been paid (Romero).
2. Dealing with a Property Line Dispute
Tim Tam being interested in the purchase of a property offered by Hazel Nut in Nestle
town wishes to reposition the fence so as to include the cabin which had previously escaped
her notice., the owner of the property, was not aware of the fence that had been built by Cara
Mello who is a neighbour. For the easy resolution of the potential dispute, Tim Tam, with the
help of Hazel Nut may rely on the help of a few steps which include staying civil in the
matter and the main objective should be the fair, quick and calm resolution of the issue
without having to witness provocations or confrontations. Another step should be the hiring
of a surveyor so as to secure a documented proof. Tim Tam may encourage Hazel Nut to
check her community’s laws whereby she would have to go back and make reference to the
idea of the cabin having been brought by Bertie Beetle, a previous friend who had died
twenty years ago. Another major step may be to reach out to Cara Mello, the neighbour so
that they can be able to reach an agreement. If need be, then Tim may seek the help of a
mediator or file a lawsuit if the matter gets out of hand (Arag).
Part C
Question 1
The owners of a property can have the ownership to the property either tenants in
common or as joint tenants. In a joint tenancy, there is equal ownership of the property and if
one of the parties wanted to quit, then the other party must agree so that the selling of the

Running head: PROPERTY LAW 5
property can take place or to buy out the co-owner. Again, if one party dies, then sole
ownership remains with the other party. This is the position that the siblings by the names
Harry and Horace Rumpole are in with regards to their investment property. If Harry wishes
to bring in his life partner into the investment project, then the best way to carry this out
would be to introduce tenancy in common. This would have the effect of each party having a
separate share which they can take of independently. Therefore Harry would be responsible
for both his shares and those of Henry, the partner.
Question 2
Michael Cricket may file a lawsuit for forgery his signature by Brendan’s assistant,
Larah and the illegal sale of his land by Lions Lawyers to Shano. Filing the lawsuit will
enable the court to determine the lawful owner of the property and effect the cancellation of
the deed showing the transfer of interest by Mr. Michael to Shano. Michael would have to
record a Notice of Legal Action to show that he is claiming ownership, failure to which
Shano will be considered a good faith purchaser because he would not have known of the
claim made by Michael without the notice. The fact that Larah rewarded Shano with the land
as a gift for getting back her diamond ring from the sewerage is immaterial because Larah is
not the legal owner of the land. Brendan on the other hand, will also be held liable for the
actions of his assistant, Larah, because she is an employee of Lions Lawyers legal firm.

Running head: PROPERTY LAW 6
References
Arag. Dealing with a property line dispute: Don’t fence me in or out, Retrieved from
https://www.araglegal.com.
Kulkarni, P. (2016). Five rights of loan defaulters. Retrieved from
https://m.economictimes.com.
Retail Leases Act 2003.
Romero, A, How the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are distributed. Retrieved from
https://www.dummies.com.