Posted: December 31st, 2022

Land Law

Land Law
The terms of licensing or leasing a property determine the rights and obligations of both the tenant and the landlord. The arrangements between the landlord and tenant form the lease or licensing agreement that determines forms a contract between the landlord and the tenant who wishes to have temporary possession of a property. The agreement contains the rules and terms to be observed in the course of the tenancy and action to be taken if they are violated in any way. In this case, Mr and Mrs Smith an elderly couple converted their stable block into a self-contained accommodation to be used by their housekeeper. The “live in” housekeeper would live in the stable block and would be part of the employment package. The stable block would be serviced, all meals provided and rubbish taken weekly. In this regard, part of the housekeeper wages would be kept for rent after the six months of the service. Mary accepted the offer and begun taking care of the smiths who were becoming frail by day. In the course of the stay and working, he experienced problems with defective stairs that went unrepaired despite due to the forgetfulness of Mr Smith.
Over time, Mary decided to look for a job in another place and continued taking care of the Smiths. However, in 2017 Mr and Mrs Smith died and their property was inherited by their daughter who decided to sell it. Smith daughter argued that Mary had the license to stay in the stable block as part of the employment and thus she needed to vacate the premises despite Mary wanting to continue with payment of rent. This action by the Smith daughter raises questions on the type of agreement and arrangement between The Smith and Mary and the right action that need to be taken regarding the agreement.
Whether Mary has a license or a lease for the stable block
The establishment if Mary was servicing a license or a lease will enable her to establish her rights and obligation as well as those of the landlord. The lease and license are legal concepts with different rights and duties in the contract for the landlord and the tenant. In this case, a lease entails the agreement between the landlord and tenant that makes the tenant acquire exclusive interests over a property. The license entails permission from the owner to a licensee to conduct something on the landlord’s property . Therefore, Mary was in a lease agreement and arrangement with the Smiths.
Different characteristics define a lease from a license. First, a lease requires an oral or written agreement as opposed to the license. In the lease, the tenant has a right to use the property in their way in line with the conditions of the agreement . The Smiths made an oral agreement with Mary and the same can be evidenced by the newspaper advert explaining the terms of their lease agreement. Consequently, a lease gives rise to interest in the real property as opposed to the license. The lease gives the tenant ownership rights of the property as agreed on the property. In this case, the Smiths gave Mary a right to their property and asked her to stay on their premises as much as she wanted. Mary went a step further to seek employment elsewhere and continued to stay in the Smiths stable block. Furthermore, a lease agreement makes the property easily transferable as opposed to the license agreement.
Mary was free to transfer the property to anyone or sublet as long as she was meeting the conditions of the agreement. This fact is made possible because Mary has exclusive rights over the stable block and thus could give it to a relative or any other party. Mary paid rent and other dues to the property and have a right to use it within the set conditions by the tenant. Moreover, a lease cannot be revocable before its time as opposed to the license that can be revoked at any time. The tenant has the right to use the property till the end of their lease or by an agreement between the landlord and the tenant. Mary has exclusive rights from Mr Smith to stay in their stable block as long as she wanted thus qualifying their agreement as a lease.
Whether she has a possible claim under proprietary estoppel?
The aspects of the proprietary estoppel in vital in the case of the Smith daughter and Mary to decide on the rights to use the property and make special consideration in the course of the transfer. As a legal term Estoppel precludes an individual from alleging facts that are contrary to previous claims or actions . Therefore, the legal principle of estoppel prevents a person from arguing something contrary to a claim made by the person previously. In this case, Mary has a possibility of making claims under the proprietary estoppel since Smith daughter was disregarding and ignoring the agreements made between Mary and his parents.
Claiming the estoppel proprietary ensures that Mary rights and benefits within the property of interest do not fade off with the death of the Smiths who she had entered into is lease agreement on the said property. This approach means that the agreements between the Smiths and Mary will be enforced to the end in the interest of Mary the tenant. Therefore, Mary will be forced to wait for the elapse of the lease agreement before he can place her parent’s property to the market. The claim by estoppel proprietary establishes earlier facts of the case to determine in the initial agreement where a lease or license agreement . Smith daughter argued that Mary and her parents had entered into a license agreement in the interest of evicting her from their premises and thus selling the house without considering the conditions of Mary.
On the contrary, Mary had entered in to lease agreements with the Smiths thus giving her rights and an interest in their property. Having a lease arrangement and agreement will ensure that her rights are observed and respected in the till the end of the lease period. Therefore, the estoppel proprietary makes it possible to restore earlier facts and agreement thus upholding her rights within the property. Furthermore, estoppel proprietary is effective in eliminating false representation in a case or a court of law. This gives the tenant an upper over the landlord who owns the property and can evict them at any time. It also ensures that earlier, agreements and arrangements are not changed despite the situation at the expense of any party within the tenancy agreement . Therefore, May needs to claim an estoppel proprietary to ensure that her rights and any other facts on the property are maintained until the end of the tenancy period.
If she is allowed to stay, can she enforce a claim to have the stairs repaired under the terms of the accommodation agreement?
Issue
Mary is in a tenancy agreement or arrangement with Mr and Mrs Smith. Mary is employees by the smiths as a housekeeper and is given a stable block which is part of the employment package. She pays rents and meets other obligation to the rented space. In the course of her stay, a staircase becomes defective and asks request Mr Smith for it to be repaired. Mr Smith agrees to repair it but keep on forgetting till his death. Therefore, the question arises if her daughter who takes control of the property can be legally compelled to repair the staircase.
Rule
Legally, the landlord has the duty to make repairs and maintenances of their property . It is the responsibility of the landlord to ensure that his tenants live in a habitable property and thus they need to make regular repairs and maintenances.
Analysis
Landlords need to ensure that their property observes the building codes to ensure that they are habitable. This rule means that the landlord needs to correct defects within their premises but conducting repairs and maintenances. The landlord has a duty to ensure that general building safety is enhanced, plumbing inspections, electrical inspections and fire inspections. The repairs and maintenances within the property need to be reasonable and are those on the landlord side. This approach ensures that tenants are comfortable and safe in the landlord property as it is appropriately habitable
Conclusion
It is appropriate for Mary to enforce the repair and maintenances of the staircase as it lies within the duties and obligations of the landlord. The tenant needs to live in a habitable environment where basic amenities are in supply and their safety is prioritized. The fact that the defective staircase has made her shift rooms means that the environment is not habitable. Additionally, Mr Smith was committed to making repairs before he died and thus his daughter who runs the property should follow suit. Therefore, it is the right of Mary as a tenant to have the staircase repaired to its proper shape.
Conclusion
Lease and license agreements give different rights and obligations to both the tenant and the landlord. Therefore, tenants and landlord need to establish if they are in a license or lease agreement to know their rights and agreements in the contract. Mary had entered into a lease agreement with the Smiths as she had exclusive rights over the property as long as she maintained the set conditions. Mary has a right to claim the estoppel proprietary after the death of the smith as their daughter was misrepresenting facts and disregarding the earlier made agreement. Finally, Mary has a right to have the staircase repaired as it is the duty and responsibility of the landlord to ensure his premises is habitable.

References
Crosby, Neil, Virginia Gibson, and Sandi Murdoch. “UK commercial property lease structures: landlord and tenant mismatch.” Urban Studies 40, no. 8 (2003): 1487-1516.
Bright, Susan, and B. E. N. McFARLANE. “Proprietary estoppel and property rights.” The Cambridge Law Journal 64, no. 2 (2005): 449-480.
Crosby, Neil, Virginia Gibson, and Sandi Murdoch. “UK commercial property lease structures: landlord and tenant mismatch.” Urban Studies 40, no. 8 (2003): 1487-1516.
Garner, Simon, and Alexandra Frith. A practical approach to landlord and tenant. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Sloan, Brian D. “Proprietary estoppel: recent developments in England and Wales.” SAcLJ 22 (2010): 110.

land law 7
The terms of licensing or leasing a property determine the rights and obligations of both the tenant and the landlord. The arrangements between the landlord and tenant form the lease or licensing agreement that determines forms a contract between the landlord and the tenant who wishes to have temporary possession of a property. The agreement contains the rules and terms to be observed in the course of the tenancy and action to be taken if they are violated in any way. In this case, Mr and Mrs Smith an elderly couple converted their stable block into a self-contained accommodation to be used by their housekeeper. The “live in” housekeeper would live in the stable block and would be part of the employment package. Additionally, the stable block would be serviced, all meals provided and rubbish taken weekly. In this regard, part of the housekeeper wages would be kept for rent after the six months of the service. Mary accepted the offer and begun taking care of the smiths who were becoming frail by day. In the course of the stay and working, he experienced problems with defective stairs that went unrepaired despite due to the forgetfulness of Mr Smith. Over time, Mary decided to look for a job in another place and continued taking care of the Smiths. However, in 2017 Mr and Mrs Smith died and their property was inherited by their daughter who decided to sell it. Smith daughter argued that Mary had the license to stay in the stable block as part of the employment and thus she needed to vacate the premises despite Mary wanting to continue with payment of rent. This acti9on by the Smith daughter raises questions on the type of agreement and arrangement between The Smith and Mary and the right action that need to be taken regarding the agreement.
Whether she has a license or a lease for the stable block?
The establishment if Mary was servicing a license or a lease will enable her to establish her rights and obligation as well as those of the landlord. The lease and license are legal concepts with different rights and duties in the contract for the landlord and the tenant. In this case, a lease entails the agreement between the landlord and tenant that makes the tenant acquire exclusive interests over a property. On the other hand, the license entails permission from the owner to a licensee to conduct something on the landlord’s property (Baker, 2019). Therefore, Mary was in a lease agreement and arrangement with the Smiths. Different characteristics define a lease from a license. First, a lease requires an oral or written agreement as opposed to the license. In the lease, the tenant has a right to use the property in their way in line with the conditions of the agreement. The Smiths made an oral agreement with Mary and the same can be evidenced by the newspaper advert explaining the terms of their lease agreement. Consequently, a lease gives rise to interest in the real property as opposed to the license. The lease gives the tenant ownership rights of the property as agreed on the property. In the case of Street v. Mountford the court evaluated the facts of the agreement and gave a decision that their agreement was based on a lease agreement as opposed to the license agreement (Bright, 2006). Street had granted Mountford the right to have two room s in his house , an exclusive possessions and weekly rent payment. The tenant and landlord made an agreement of a licences and not a lease. Later Mountford sought a clarification from the court on their agreement.The license was overturned on the resoning that there was a grant of exclusive possession for a term, the agreement signed was a lease disghused as a license. Therefore, court made a decision that the arrangement was a lease agreement and the Mountford was entitled to legislative protection as prescribed under landlord and tenant legislation.
Whether she has a possible claim under proprietary estoppel?
The aspects of the proprietary estoppel in vital in the case of the Smith daughter and Mary to decide on the rights to use the property and make special consideration in the course of the transfer. As a legal term Estoppel precludes an individual from alleging facts that are contrary to previous claims or actions (Bright and McFarlane, 2005). Therefore, the legal principle of estoppel prevents a person from arguing something contrary to a claim made by the person previously. In this case, Mary has a possibility of making claims under the proprietary estoppel since Smith daughter was disregarding and ignoring the agreements made between Mary and his parents. Claiming the estoppel proprietary ensures that Mary rights and benefits within the property of interest do not fade off with the death of the Smiths who she had entered into is lease agreement on the said property. This approach means that the agreements between the Smiths and Mary will be enforced to the end in the interest of Mary the tenant. Therefore, Mary will be forced to wait for the elapse of the lease agreement before he can place her parent’s property to the market. Consequently, the claiming of estoppel proprietary establishes earlier facts of the case to determine in the initial agreement where a lease or license agreement (Sloan, 2010). Smith daughter argued that Mary and her parents had entered into a license agreement in the interest of evicting her from their premises and thus selling the house without considering the conditions of Mary. On the contrary, Mary had entered in to lease agreements with the Smiths thus giving her rights and an interest in their property. Having a lease arrangement and agreement will ensure that her rights are observed and respected in the till the end of the lease period. In the case of Thompson v Thompson [2018] EWHC 1338 (Ch), Norman Thompson a farmer and his wife had four daugheter. However, Norman continued to have more children in seach of a son who was to be the heir of their farming business. Later, on he had a son called Gilbert. After school Gibert devoted his time to working with his father in the farm (Bogus, Barbara and Roger, 2019). Normam run his firm for sometime as a sole traderbefor implementing a partnership to regulate farming between Norman, Doreen, Gilbert and it was called Thompson and Son. Later the partnenrship was transferred to Doreen sole name to insulate the firm from debts.In 2012, Norman died resulting to dispute between Doreen and Gilbert inclining him to bring a proprietary estoppel claim against his mother. All the sister gave evidence two in supportof Gilbert,and one in support of the mother. Based on the contemporaneous documentary evidence from files of solicitors and accountants Gilbert proprietary estoppel succeeded. In this case, the proprietary estoppel succeeded in the interest of fulfilling the words and the desires of the deceased.
If she is allowed to stay, can she enforce a claim to have the stairs repaired under the terms of the accommodation agreement?
Issue
Mary is in a tenancy agreement or arrangement with Mr and Mrs Smith. Mary is employees by the smiths as a housekeeper and is given a stable block which is part of the employment package. She pays rents and meets other obligation to the rented space. In the course of her stay, a staircase becomes defective and asks request Mr Smith for it to be repaired. Mr Smith agrees to repair it but keep on forgetting till his death. Therefore, the question arises if her daughter who takes control of the property can be legally compelled to repair the staircase.
Rule
Legally, the landlord has the duty to make repairs and maintenances of their property (Garner and Firth, 2010). It is the responsibility of the landlord to ensure that his tenants live in a habitable property and thus they need to make regular repairs and maintenances.
Analysis
Landlords need to ensure that their property observes the building codes to ensure that they are habitable. This rule means that the landlord needs to correct defects within their premises but conducting repairs and maintenances. The landlord has a duty to ensure that general building safety is enhanced, plumbing inspections, electrical inspections and fire inspections. Additionally, the repairs and maintenances within the property need to be reasonable and are those on the landlord side. This approach ensures that tenants are comfortable and safe in the landlord property as it is appropriately habitable
Conclusion
It is appropriate for Mary to enforce the repair and maintenances of the staircase as it lies within the duties and obligations of the landlord. The tenant needs to live in a habitable environment where basic amenities are in supply and their safety is prioritized. The fact that the defective staircase has made her shift rooms means that the environment is not habitable. Additionally, Mr Smith was committed to making repairs before he died and thus his daughter who runs the property should follow suit. Therefore, it is the right of Mary as a tenant to have the staircase repaired to its proper shape.
Conclusion
Lease and license agreements give different rights and obligations to both the tenant and the landlord. Therefore, tenants and landlord need to establish if they are in a license or lease agreement to know their rights and agreements in the contract. In this regard, Mary had entered into a lease agreement with the Smiths as she had exclusive rights over the property as long as she maintained the set conditions. Consequently, Mary has a right to claim the estoppel proprietary after the death of the smith as their daughter was misrepresenting facts and disregarding the earlier made agreement. Finally, Mary has a right to have the staircase repaired as it is the duty and responsibility of the landlord to ensure his premises is habitable.

References
Bogusz, B., & Sexton, R. (2019). Complete Land Law: Text, Cases, and Materials. Complete.
Bright, S. (2006). Street v Mountford Revisited. Susan Bright, LANDLORD AND TENANT LAW: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, Hart Publishing.
Baker, S. (2019). To Lease or License: That Is the Question. Ct. Uncourt, 6, 2.
Bright, S., & McFARLANE, B. E. N. (2005). Proprietary estoppel and property rights. The Cambridge Law Journal, 64(2), 449-480.
Crosby, N., Gibson, V., & Murdoch, S. (2003). UK commercial property lease structures: landlord and tenant mismatch. Urban Studies, 40(8), 1487-1516.
Garner, S., & Frith, A. (2010). A practical approach to landlord and tenant. Oxford University Press.

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Tags: Land Law