is an

English contract law English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the Industrial Revolution, it shares a heritage with countries ...

and

English land law English land law is the law of real property in England and Wales. Because of its heavy historical and social significance, land is usually seen as the most important part of English property law. Ownership of land has its roots in the feudal sy ...

judicial decision of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

concerning

agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus (disambiguation), a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of ...

and the right to

specific performance Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, in which a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of a contract. It is typically available in the sale of land law, b ...

of an assurance that is relied on.

Facts

Mr Errington in 1936 bought a house in Milvain Avenue,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, for his son and daughter in law, paying £250, and the remaining £500 coming from a mortgage, paid off with 15 s a week by the newly weds. Mr Errington promised them they could stay in occupation as long as they paid the mortgage and that when all the instalments were paid it would be theirs. He gave her the building society book and said, ‘Don't part with this book. The house will be your property when the mortgage is paid.’ He died and the son left to move in with his mother. The mother sought possession from the daughter in law. The judge dismissed the claim for possession.

Judgment

The three-judge panel in the Court of Appeal unanimously held that the daughter in law did not have to move out of the house, because she was entitled to stay and pay off the mortgage as part of a binding agreement with the father, for varying reasons. Somervell LJ gave the initial (first read) judgment of the panel.

Denning LJ Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning, (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999), was an English barrister and judge. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when he w ...

held this was no mere

tenancy at will A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a lea ...

; the father could not have revoked his promise once the couple had begun performing the act of paying off the mortgage instalments. The promise would only cease to bind him if they left their part of the promise incomplete and unperformed. The 15 s a week was not rent, they were not bound to pay it, the father could only refuse to transfer them the house. The couple were licensees, but they acquired an

equitable right An equitable right is a legal right guaranteed by equity as opposed to a legal right which derives authority from a legal source. An example of an equitable right could be seen in Land law, where mention is made of a beneficial interest i.e. vest ...

to remain as long as they paid instalments, which would mature into a good

equitable title In property law, title is an intangible construct representing a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different part ...

once the mortgage was paid. The father made a

unilateral contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more Party (law), parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, Service (economics), services, money, or pr ...

, which could not be revoked once they began performance, but would cease to bind him if they did not perform their side. Although they had exclusive possession, they were licensees because they only have a mere personal privilege to remain, with no right to assign or sub let. But they were not bare licensees, rather than contractual licensees. He said there was no need to imply an obligation to complete the payments. The limit is where the daughter stops paying, and the father’s estate has to pick up the bill. Then she would lose her right to stay. The couple were on a licence, short of a tenancy but a contractual, or at least equitable right to remain, which would grow into good equitable title as soon as the mortgage was paid. The rule that a licence could always be revoked at will was ‘altered owing to the interposition of equity.’ His judgment continued: Hodson LJ gave a short concurring judgment.

References

{{reflist English contract case law English land case law Lord Denning cases 1955 in case law 1955 in British law Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases

Facts

Judgment

See also

References