Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

The Advanced Property Law course offers students the opportunity for in-depth study of a variety of topics in the law of property and trusts law of contemporary importance covering, indicatively, fixtures and chattels, trusts of land, proprietary estoppel, adverse possession and the criminalisation of squatting, and registration of commons. The course is intended to extend students' knowledge of the property law of England and Wales through doctrinal analysis of legislation and case law as well as engagement with theoretical frameworks, including insights from geography, on the nature and politics of property relationships.

Fifteen 2-hour seminars.

Passes in Law of Tort (LAW1029), Equity and Trusts (LAW2039), and Land Law (LAW2038) are required, or courses equivalent to them. If the course is oversubscribed places will be allocated according to grade point average performance.

None

None

The summative assessment will be comprised of two parts:

1. Coursework (30%)

2. Examination (70%)

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course is intended to complement and extend student knowledge of the law of equity and land law in England and Wales and their contemporary relevance. It aims to identify key concepts such as the distinction between legal and equitable rights in property and trusts law; to build upon doctrinal analysis of property and trusts law in selected areas, and to enable critical assessment of these rules.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Appraise relevant theoretical frameworks for understanding property relationships, and space;

■ Critically assess legal rules in light of the theoretical frameworks;

■ Outline and explain the central features of property and equity structures including topics such as adverse possession, mortgages, trusts of land, and the registration of commons;

■ Evaluate the operation of property and equity rules in their social and legal context;

■ Critically assess competing conceptions of equitable interests and the concept of 'property' as applied to the trust institution;

■ Critically assess contributions to the proprietary restitution debate

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.