Legislation
- Mining Leases Act 1723
- The Incumbered Estates Ireland Act 1849
- The Settled Land Acts 1882 to 1890
The primary aim of this legislation was as Lord Halsbury stated in Bruce v Ailesbury 1862 AC "to release the land from the fetters of the settlement – to render it a marketable article not withstanding the settlement".
The legislation achieved this by giving the tenant for life statutory powers to deal with the land which far exceeded the powers he had previously under common law. The most important of these powers was the power of the tenant for life to sell the fee simple interest in the land and not just a life estate pur autre vie.
Second aim of the legislation was to protect the interests of the beneficiaries under the settlement. Their interests were overreached i.e. they detached from the land and became attached to the proceeds of sale instead, their interests shifted to the money – i.e. the settlement now applied to the proceeds of sale.
The Acts apply whenever there is a settlement.
A settlement is defined by s2(1) of the 1882 Act as "any land or any estate or interest in land, which stands for the time being limited to or in trust for any persons by way of succession".
Basically whenever a document creates a succession of interests in land the Settled Land Acts will apply.
Generally there must be an element of succession. Section 59 creates one situation of settled land where there is no element of succession – where an infant is entitled in possession to land it is deemed to be settled land even though it may not be limited by way of succession i.e. he might he entitled to a fee simple. This was to ensure the commerciability of land owned by a minor as a purchaser would be reluctant to sign a contract with him given that it was voidable once the minor reached the age of majority.
Generally it is the tenant for life who exercises the powers created by the Acts
The Acts ensures that the powers created are available whenever there is a settlement by designating in every possible case one person to be the tenant for life.
Section 25 of the 1882 Act defines the tenant for life as "the person who is for the time being, under a settlement, beneficially entitled to possession of settled land, for his life…" - usually the person entitled to the life estate in possession or entitled to the fee tail in possession.
Read more about this topic: Settled Land Acts
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