LAND LAW - 2023/4

Module Overview

This module introduces learners to the principles of law regulating real property in England and Wales. It will orient learners towards understanding how legal and beneficial title to land is obtained and evidenced and how other legal and equitable rights in land are created and exercised. This module will introduce learners to the fundaments of the land registration system and explore key aspects of the mortgagor and mortgagee relationship and also that of the landlord tenant relationship in regard to the leasehold estate. This module will also consider the key general legislative and policy framework governing land planning.
This module builds on and develop the following key academic and professional skills gained during Year 1 of the LLB: case reading, statutory interpretation, problem solving, critical analysis, legal research and time management.

Module provider

Surrey Law School

Module Leader

THANAPAL Vickie (Law)

Number of Credits: 30

ECTS Credits: 15

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Considering the corporeal and incorporeal nature of real property  Conceptualising ownership of land (historical origins and modern significance including estates in land)  Acquisition of title to land and the creation of legal and equitable rights in land  Distinguishing between personal and proprietary rights in land  Regulation of and resolution of dispute arising in trusts of land  Structuring co-ownership of legal and beneficial title to land  Understanding the leasehold estate and regulation of the landlord and tenant relationship  Consider reciprocal burdens and benefits in land in context of easements and covenants  Conceptualising the equity of redemption and understanding the relationship between mortgagor and mortgagee  Introduction to the creation and development of the land registration system under LRA 2002 (including a brief overview of the unregistered system and the registered system under LRA 1925)  Understanding how title and third party rights are recorded, enforced and protected in the land registration system under LRA 2002  Understanding the key legislative provisions and policy ideals underpinning planning law

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have achieved the module learning outcomes and, by association, developed employability skills, digital capabilities, sustainability awareness and resourcefulness and resilience in addition to the other stated module attributes.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A timed (2 hour) online examination where students will have to answer one problem-based question from a choice of two. The questions will be designed to test students on material covering key initial concepts of Land Law such as the acquisition and mediation of title, either solely or in co-ownership, creation and enforcement of third-party rights in land and the landlord and tenant relationship. This assessment will also allow students a chance to develop their problem solving and practical application skills and to receive formative feedback in preparation for the next summative assessment.


• A timed (4 hour) online examination where students will have to answer two problem-based questions. One question will be a compulsory question designed to test students on the crucial aspects of the Land Registration system which forms a significant part of conveyancing operation in professional practice. The other question will be selected from a choice of three and is designed to test students on other key aspects of land law not previously tested.

Formative assessment: - Informal formative assessment consisting of tutor and peer feedback is conducted throughout the module during the workshops when students have the opportunity to engage in presenting their prepared solutions to the workshops problem tasks. The first summative assessment will also serve as a vehicle for formative feedback directed towards the final summative. Students will also be set one additional formal formative assessment prior to the final summative assessment. The formal formative assessment is intended to allow students to reflect on the informal feedback received during workshops and feedback and feedforward from their first summative assessment and to engage that information in improving their work and meeting advanced criteria stated in the grade descriptors.

Feedback: - Informal tutor and peer feedback provided during workshops - Formal written feedback and provisional mark provided by tutors for formative assessment - Formal written feedback provided by tutors for the first summative exam - Verbal feedback provided by a member of module teaching team by appointment for further clarification of feedback

Module aims

• To consider and critically examine the rules of law (comprising both the common law principles and the legislative provisions) which have developed to form the main framework of the land registration system regulating title and interests affecting land in England and Wales
• To form a clear understanding of how title to land can be obtained and transferred
• To form a clear understanding of how key third party rights in land may be created, enforced and protected
• To consider and critically examine the considerations of policy which impact the nature of legal reasoning, regulation, and development of different rights in land
• To introduce planning law and policy
• To enable learners to effectively apply the rules of law in reaching reasoned response and solutions when presented with problem solving tasks

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Ensure that students achieve the stated module learning outcomes and develop competencies through their learning that will enhance the University's core educational objectives of employability, digital capabilities, global and cultural intelligence, sustainability and resourcefulness and resilience. The learning and teaching methodology is designed around large group lectures and smaller group workshops. Lectures will introduce the topics by presenting systematically the key concepts and giving a general overview of the fundamental legal principles of each topic. The lectures are structured around a narrative and give guidance on how to analyse the law and in some instances give specific examples of how the law is applied and its effect. The lectures will be supplemented by captured content and some lectures will require students to attend having prepared by engaging with pre-recorded conceptual material that will form the framework for their understanding of the live session. The lectures will not give a full description of, or appreciation of, the law and will be complemented by workshop sessions.

The workshop sessions are reserved for active learning and will enhance understanding by allowing students to learn in greater breadth and depth to satisfy the learning outcomes. Students will be expected to exercise a level of ownership over their learning appropriate to their level of study and to display an appropriate level of resourcefulness and resilience in mapping out the knowledge from the lectures and essential reading into structured and applied legal solutions to assigned problem-based tasks. Prior to the workshops, students are expected to conduct independent legal study and to construct outline briefs of possible solutions to the hypothetical scenarios provided in advance. Using the key foundational legal skills acquired during Level 4, students are expected to demonstrate initiative, resourcefulness, and resilience in obtaining the required sources (through organized and purposeful navigation of digital and physical legal sources) which will assist in preparing their outline briefs. Pre-workshop preparation of outline briefs will be instrumental in facilitating students to reflect on the feedback they receive from tutors and peers during the session and will enable through practice, the development and refinement of ability to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in their learning. During the workshops, students will discuss problem-based questions of some complexity and present solutions, supported with reasoned authority and critical analysis of the law. The workshops provide a crucial space for students to apply their learning in a practical way and ask and develop directed questions to aid their understanding of the subject matter and receive feedback on their learning. Using a series of hypothetical scenarios, the workshops will facilitate students in practising and refining their ability to read and interpret facts, identify the possible legal issues arising and to conduct analyses to problem solve.

Through active participation activities such as presentations, group work and debate, students will develop and demonstrate their ability to apply their knowledge and critical understanding of the key legal principles to legal issues and to construct sound reasoning supported by appropriate legal sources. Typically, the workshop groups will each contain c.25 students, who will work in small groups to research the law and present answers, demonstrating self-direction and originality, of both approach and resolution. In these sessions students are expected to demonstrate their knowledge of the module content, their ability to present a coherent argument and assess the validity of arguments presented by others, and to facilitate their critical understanding of the legal rules and principles studied by applying them to hypothetical problems based on practical disputes that they may encounter in professional practice. Students should be prepared to field questions during their presentations and discussions, either from their tutor or from fellow students, and to follow up the presentations with discussion and feedback. Presentations may be required in any form, including advocacy for a specific party in a problem question or argument for or against a specific proposition. The workshops are intended to be active learning sessions which will allow students to develop key transferable professional skills (presentation and communication technique, teamwork, confidence in public speaking, constructing feedback and fostering independence and ownership). Students are further provided with weekly guided learning in the form of recommended reading. These readings are classified as essential reading which is mandatory for minimum understanding and basic workshop participation, and further reading which will aid deeper and more critical understanding and enhance students' ability to participate in the workshops at an advanced level.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: LAW2100

Other information

Other Information: The School of Law is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability: The module provides students with core knowledge of the law of real property and the framework and operation of the land registration system in England and Wales. Issues in land law and planning law are core areas of most practices and knowledge of key concepts of property law are regarded as part of foundational professional knowledge of legal practice internationally. Students are expected to develop and refine their problem solving skills and to engage in structuring their advice and analyses in a practical way to a professional standard with clear reference and support from primary and secondary legal sources.

Digital Capabilities: As with all modules, students are expected to engage with material online through effective navigation of the Surreylearn VLE and online legal databases provided by the University library. Students will use digital technology to prepare their and submit their assessment and may use digital technology in aiding their preparations and presentations during the workshop sessions.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: While the module content focusses on English and Welsh Land law, the global nature of the common law system allow for the principles developed to apply to a wide range of jurisdictions internationally. Some fundamental concepts such as adverse possession, mortgages and the landlord and tenant relationship are understood and operate internationally and have the capability to impact the lived experiences of students and their families even outside of professional practice. The workshops sessions require students to collaborate and engage effectively to evaluate and provide feedback to each other's work and will allow them the space and opportunity to interact, communicate and build relationships with peers from diverse backgrounds and in a way that respects and promotes the interests of cultural groups and individual rights.

Sustainability: The students will learn the key policy underpinning much of land law subscribes to the ideal of making land as alienable as possible. As land is a scarce and finite resource, ability to make full and effective use of land will ensure that land is utilised to its maximum potential to contribute to the economic and social benefit of the State. Students will also learn about the ways in which the law seeks to ensure that land is not used in a manner that harms or destroys the value of it through regulation of planning and acquisition. This will ensure that students understand that title to land may be impacted by laws and policies which seeks to ensure that land remain sustainable and economically and environmentally viable for future generations.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: The learning teaching and assessment strategy for this module has been designed to encourage active learning through participation, community building, peer support and reflective practice. Students will draw on individual and collective resourcefulness to design practical and critically reasoned solution to the challenges raised by the legal issues within the workshop problem tasks. Students are encouraged to reflect on feedback and feedforward and to engage with constructive comments and to take ownership of their learning. Formative assessment and feedback provide an opportunity for students to fail in a safe environment and to learn from experience and practical application building confidence and self-efficacy. The formative and summative assessments in this module require students to develop and apply techniques that feedforward to assessments within the module and to future modules within the programme with a problem solving component.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.