Exam 22: Interests in Land

Describe the types of, and rights attached to, estates in land, including in your answer a treatment of easements and restrictive covenants.

Gottlieb owned a cottage lot which had frontage on a lake. He later granted a 30-metre wide right of way to Baxter, who had a lot behind his, to enable Baxter to reach the lakeshore to launch his power boat. The next year, Baxter built a boathouse on the 30-metre strip in which to store his boat during the winter months. When Gottlieb discovered the boat house a few months later, he hired a bulldozer, and pushed the boathouse off the land, and into the lake. Baxter was not entitled to build a boathouse on the right of way.

Brady acquired a block of land in fee simple under a Crown Patent. He divided the block into two parcels: Whiteacre and Blackacre. He kept Whiteacre, but granted Blackacre to Drucker for life, then to Evans. Brady died possessed of Whiteacre, leaving the land to Crader. Evans is not entitled to possession of Blackacre until Drucker's death.

How is real property described on the electronic registration system?

The practice of the Crown in Western Canada is to grant land, but reserve unto itself

Mary was left her grandfather's interest in lands by his will. Her grandfather was a joint tenant with a third person. Mary decides to mortgage her interest in that land to the bank. The bank will give her the money.

Describe how a condominium development is operated, how the rights and obligations of unit owners are defined, and how the condominium deals with the problem of a unit owner who fails to pay his or her share of the operating expenses of the condominium.

A lease of 21 years where the tenant acts as an owner will create a claim of adverse possession for the tenant. For this reason, no single lease is permitted for a period greater than 20 years.

Colin operated an apartment building in which he had installed dishwashers in the kitchen cabinets. The dishwashers were attached by a flexible plastic hose to the copper plumbing system of the apartment and were plugged into the wall electrical wiring by means of a normal socket. As an express term of Colin's mortgage, all appliances in the apartments were considered to be fixtures. Colin soon ran into financial difficulties in his operation and found himself pressed by his creditors. The holder of the mortgage foreclosed on the building, and the local hydro utility obtained a judgment against Colin. The hydro company seized upon the appliances of the building, including among them, the dishwashers. The mortgage holder brought an action to recover the property and appliances, including the dishwashers. Discuss the issues raised with respect to fixtures, treating the situation of the dishwashers as well as other appliances. Discuss the issues that both creditors may raise in their argument and explain why the mortgage holder should not simply limit his argument to the provisions of the mortgage. Render a decision.

Where the roof of one person's home overhangs the lot line of the property of another person, a situation of possessory nuisance has been created.

Which of the following statements are true?

A person who crosses another's land which surrounds his own may be said to have a prescriptive right of covenant.

Describe the process by which possessory interests in land are created, and the ways in which they are defeated both in Registry and Land Titles Systems.

There is no true ownership of land in Canada. We are in the same position as the former Communist countries were, where without ownership, land was leased from the state. Discuss.

A residential water heater is a fixture in law.

In 1951, George purchased a piece of property in a cottage resort area. The property was subject to a restrictive covenant running with the land until August 1, 2050, that the property shall never be sold, assigned, transferred, or leased to any person born in the State of Israel. In January 2004, George entered into an agreement of purchase and sale with another individual. The purchaser through his solicitor submitted the following requisition on title: "in view of the fact that the purchaser herein was born in the State of Israel, I require a release from the restrictions imposed on the land, and that the restrictive covenant be struck out, voided and of no effect." George was only too happy to provide this release, however, an adjoining landowner wished to enforce the restrictive covenant. Together, George and his purchaser made an application to the courts to have the restrictive covenants struck down as against public policy. Discuss the issues raised in this case, from a perspective of the 1950s and the perspective of the 21^st century and render a reasoned decision. Regardless of your answer, if the covenant was upheld, suggest an alternative way this sale may be affected without violating the covenant. D.L.R. (Ont. H.C.) Re Drummond Wren, [1945] 4 D.L.R. 674 (not followed).

Andrew and Sanjiv purchase land as joint tenants. Sanjiv sells his interest to Antonetta. Subsequently, Andrew dies. Which of the following statements is correct?

Common elements in condominium law are

A riparian owner is a person who owns land

Gottlieb owned a cottage lot which had frontage on a lake. He later granted a 30-metre wide right of way to Baxter, who had a lot behind his lot, to enable Baxter to reach the lakeshore to launch his power boat. The next year, Baxter built a boathouse on the 30-metre strip in which to store his boat during the winter months. When Gottlieb discovered the boathouse a few months later, he hired a bulldozer, and pushed the boathouse off the land, and into the lake. Gottlieb is the owner of the land, subject only to Baxter's right of way on the 30-metre strip of property.