Written Proof
Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009.
Contracts relating to land
Evidence in writing.
51.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), no action shall be brought to enforce any contract for the sale or other disposition of land unless the agreement on which such action is brought, or some memorandum or note of it, is in writing and signed by the person against whom the action is brought or that person’s authorised agent.
[SF 1695, s. 2]
(2) Subsection (1) does not affect the law relating to part performance or other equitable doctrines.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt, but subject to an express provision in the contract to the contrary, payment of a deposit in money or money’s worth is not necessary for an enforceable contract.
Passing of beneficial interest.
52.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), the entire beneficial interest passes to the purchaser on the making, after the commencement of this Chapter, of an enforceable contract for the sale or other disposition of land.
(2) Subsection (1) does not affect—
(a) the obligation of the vendor to maintain the land so long as possession of it is retained, or
(b) the liability of the vendor for loss or damage under any contractual provision dealing with such risk, or
(c) the vendor’s right to rescind the contract for failure by the purchaser to complete or other breach of the contract, or
(d) any provision to the contrary in the contract.
Abolition of the Rule in Bain v. Fothergill.
53.— (1) The rule of law restricting damages recoverable for breaches of contract occasioned by defects in title to land (known as the Rule in Bain v. Fothergill) is abolished.
(2) Subsection (1) applies only to contracts made after the commencement of this Chapter.
Order for return of deposit.
54.— Where the court refuses to grant specific performance of a contract for the sale or other disposition of land, or in any action for the return of a deposit, the court may, where it is just and equitable to do so, order the repayment of the whole or any part of any deposit, with or without interest.
Deeds and their operation
Conveyances by deed only.
62.— (1) Subject to section 63 , a legal estate or interest in land may only be created or conveyed by a deed.
[SU 1634] [RPA 1845, ss. 2 and 3]
(2) A deed executed after the commencement of this Chapter is fully effective for such purposes without the need for any conveyance to uses and passes possession or the right to possession of the land, without actual entry, unless subject to some prior right to possession.
(3) In the case of a voluntary conveyance executed after the commencement of this Chapter, a resulting use for the grantor is not implied merely because the land is not expressed to be conveyed for the use or benefit of the grantee.
(4) A bargain and sale, covenant to stand seised, feoffment with livery of seisin or any combination of these are no longer effective to create or to convey a legal estate or legal interest in land.
Exceptions to deeds.
63.— Section 62 (1) does not apply to—
(a) an assent by a personal representative,
(b) a surrender or other conveyance taking effect by operation of law,
(c) a disclaimer not required to be by deed,
(d) a grant or assignment of a tenancy not required to be by deed,
(e) a receipt not required to be by deed,
(f) a vesting order of the court or other competent authority, or
(g) any other conveyance which may be prescribed.
Formalities for deeds.
64.— (1) Any rule of law which requires—
(a) a seal for the valid execution of a deed by an individual, or
(b) authority to deliver a deed to be given by deed,
is abolished.
(2) An instrument executed after the commencement of this Chapter is a deed if it is—
(a) described at its head by words such as “Assignment”, “Conveyance”, “Charge”, “Deed”, “Indenture”, “Lease”, “Mortgage”, “Surrender” or other heading appropriate to the deed in question, or it is otherwise made clear on its face that it is intended by the person making it, or the parties to it, to be a deed, by expressing it to be executed or signed as a deed,
(b) executed in the following manner:
(i) if made by an individual—
(I) it is signed by the individual in the presence of a witness who attests the signature, or
(II) it is signed by a person at the individual’s direction given in the presence of a witness who attests the signature, or
(III) the individual’s signature is acknowledged by him or her in the presence of a witness who attests the signature;
(ii) if made by a company registered in the State, it is executed under the seal of the company in accordance with its Articles of Association;
(iii) if made by a body corporate registered in the State other than a company, it is executed in accordance with the legal requirements governing execution of deeds by such a body corporate;
(iv) if made by a foreign body corporate, it is executed in accordance with the legal requirements governing execution of the instrument in question by such a body corporate in the jurisdiction where it is incorporated,
and
(c) delivered as a deed by the person executing it or by a person authorised to do so on that person’s behalf.
(3) Any deed executed under this section has effect as if it were a document executed under seal.
(4) A deed, whenever created, has the effect of an indenture although not indented or expressed to be an indenture.
Escrows by corporate bodies.
65.— (1) Any rule of law to the effect that the affixing of a corporate seal to an instrument effects delivery by that body corporate is abolished.
(2) An instrument executed by a body corporate in accordance with section 64 (2)(b) is capable of operating as an escrow in the same circumstances and with the same consequences as an instrument executed by an individual.