header-logo header-logo

Notes on a scandal: freeholders & medieval robber barons (Pt 2)

04 April 2019 / Rawdon Crozier
Issue: 7835 / Categories: Features , Property
printer mail-detail

Summing up his series on the unfairness of escalating ground rent, Rawdon Crozier proposes a way out of the dungeon

  • Could the Housing Act Trap render escalating ground rent a derogation from grant?

Part 1 of this speculative article explained the Housing Act Trap. Part 2 explores whether the trap might render escalating ground rent a derogation from grant and thus, as a matter of law, capable of being struck down.

Rule of law

Megarry & Wade (Law of Real Property, 5th edition) described derogation from grant as a free-standing and independent rule of law, an analysis endorsed by the Court of Appeal in Johnston & Sons Ltd v Holland [1988] 1 EGLR 264. It applies to all forms of grant and, while commonly associated with leases and other contracts relating to land, it is also encountered in contracts concerning:

  • Intellectual property, eg Gloucester Place Music Ltd v Le Bon [2016] EWHC 3091 (Ch) where the serving of notices by members of
  • If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
    If you are already a subscriber sign in
    ...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

    MOVERS & SHAKERS

    Hugh James—Phil Edwards

    Hugh James—Phil Edwards

    Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

    Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

    Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

    Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

    DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

    DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

    Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

    NEWS
    Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
    The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
    Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
    Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
    James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
    back-to-top-scroll