Part 1Preliminary

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Law of Property Act 1936. 4—Repeal The Acts mentioned in Schedule 1 of this Act are repealed to the extent shown in that Schedule. 5—Savings Any alteration, by this Act, of the law, whether by the repeal of an enactment, or otherwise, shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by this Act affect— (a) any right accrued, or obligation incurred, before the commencement of this Act under the law so altered; or (b) the validity or invalidity, or any operation, effect or consequence of any instrument executed or made, or of anything done or suffered before the commencement of this Act; or (c) any action, proceeding or thing then pending or uncompleted and every such action, proceeding and thing may be carried on and completed as if the enactment had not been repealed, or the law otherwise altered. 6—Application of Act to land under Real Property Act 1886 Except as in this Act expressly provided, this Act, so far as inconsistent with the Real Property Act 1886 shall not apply to land which is under the provisions of that Act. 7—Interpretation In this Act unless inconsistent with the context or subject-matter or some other meaning is clearly intended— bankruptcy includes insolvency and liquidation by arrangement and also any other act or proceeding in law having under any law for the time being in force effects or results similar to those of bankruptcy; building purposes includes the erecting and improving of and the adding to, and the repairing of buildings; and a building lease is a lease for building purposes or purposes connected therewith; conveyance includes a mortgage, charge, lease, assent, vesting declaration, disclaimer, release, surrender, extinguishment and every other assurance of property or of an interest therein by any instrument, except a will; convey has a corresponding meaning; court means— (a) the Supreme Court; or (b) the District Court; or (c) if the proceedings involve property with a value not exceeding the amount by reference to which the jurisdictional limit of the Magistrates Court is fixed for actions to obtain or recover title to, or possession of, real or personal property—the Magistrates Court; disposition includes a conveyance and also a devise, bequest, or an appointment of property contained in a will; and dispose of has a corresponding meaning; income includes rents and profits; incumbrance includes a legal or equitable mortgage and a trust for securing money, and a lien, and a charge of a portion, annuity, or other capital or annual sum; and incumbrancer has a meaning corresponding with that of incumbrance, and includes every person entitled to the benefit of an incumbrance, or to require payment or discharge thereof; instrument includes deed and will but does not include a statute, unless the statute creates a settlement; interest in property means a legal or equitable interest; land includes land of any tenure, and mines and minerals whether or not held apart from the surface, buildings or parts of buildings (whether the division is horizontal, vertical or made in any other way) and other corporeal hereditaments; also a rent and other incorporeal hereditaments, and an easement, right, privilege, or benefit in, over, or derived from the land and also an undivided share in land; and mines and minerals include any strata or seam of minerals or substances in or under any land, and powers of working and getting the same; limitation includes a trust; mentally incapacitated person has the same meaning as in the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993; mining lease means a lease for mining purposes, that is the searching for, winning, working, getting, making merchantable, carrying away, or disposing of mines and minerals, or purposes connected therewith, and includes a grant or licence for mining purposes; mortgage includes any charge or lien on any property for securing money or money's worth; mortgage money means money or money's worth secured by a mortgage; mortgagor includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original mortgagor or entitled to redeem a mortgage according to his estate interest or right in the mortgaged property; mortgagee includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original mortgagee; and mortgagee in possession is, for the purposes of this Act, a mortgagee who, in right of the mortgage, has entered into and is in possession of the mortgaged property; and right of redemption includes an option to repurchase only if the option in effect creates a right of redemption; notice includes constructive notice; personal representative means the executor, original or by representation, or administrator for the time being of a deceased person; possession includes receipt of rents and profits or the right to receive the same (if any); property includes any thing in action, and any interest in real or personal property; purchaser means a purchaser in good faith for valuable consideration and includes a lessee, mortgagee or other person who for valuable consideration acquires an interest in property except that where so expressly provided purchaser means a person only who acquires an interest in or charge on property for money or money's worth; and where the context so requires purchaser includes an intending purchaser; purchase has a meaning corresponding with that of purchaser; and valuable consideration includes marriage but does not include a nominal consideration in money; registered land means land which is subject to the Real Property Act 1886; and registrar means the Registrar-General under that Act; rent includes a rent service or a rent charge, or other rent toll, duty, royalty, or annual or periodical payment in money or money's worth, reserved or issuing out of or charged upon land, but does not include mortgage interest; rent charge includes a fee farm rent; fine includes a premium or foregift and any payment consideration, or benefit in the nature of a fine, premium or foregift; lessor includes an under-lessor and a person deriving title under a lessor or under-lessor; and lessee includes an under-lessee and a person deriving title under a lessee or under-lessee, and lease includes an under-lease or other tenancy; representative means an executor or administrator, and includes the Public Trustee in cases where the Supreme Court shall have authorised him to administer the estate of a deceased person; sale means a sale properly so called; securities include stocks, funds and shares; trust for sale in relation to land, means an immediate binding trust for sale, whether or not exercisable at the request or with the consent of any person, and with or without a power at discretion to postpone the sale; trustees for sale means the persons (including a personal representative) holding land on trust for sale; and power to postpone a sale means power to postpone in the exercise of a discretion; vest, in relation to property, means to vest in interest or possession. Example— For example, an interest in remainder vests in interest when— (a) the persons who are to take the interest are ascertainable; and (b) the vesting in possession of the interest is dependent only on the determination of prior interests and no other contingency.