Land Law

Publisher: Palgrave

Author: Mark Davys

Price: £22.99

Edition: 8th Edition (June 2013)

ISBN: 978-1-137-28148-7

Buy from Palgrave: Click Here

Even though land law is a compulsory undergraduate module, it continues to be perceived as a difficult area of law with its mixture of common law and statute law.  It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that there are a number of recent cases from the Court of Appeal of Supreme Court involving land law principles.  For students or lawyers, a thorough understanding of land law is essential as its principles can be found (or applied) in other areas of law.  Land Law by Mark Davys is an excellent introduction to this difficult topic and provides a perfect solution to this perceived problem.

Now in its eighth edition, Land Law is split into five parts: introduction; the estates and interests; sharing interests in land; acquiring interests in land; and priorities.  Each part is then sub-divided into a number of chapters.  For example, Part II on estates and interests includes chapters on: freehold land; the leasehold estate; leasehold covenants; mortgages; easements and profits; and covenants in freehold land.  Part IV, dealing with acquiring interests in land, has chapters on: the formal acquisition of interests in land; adverse possession; and implied trusts and proprietary estoppel.  Part V, dealing with priorities, separately deals with registered and unregistered titles (and unregistered titles continue to have an important role to play in land law).

Each chapter adopts a similar approach.  Firstly, an overview of the chapter is clearly set out (using a 'mind map').  Secondly, the key principles are explained shortly and succinctly.  Thirdly, those principles are repeated in an excellent summary.  Fourthly, a list of further reading is provided.  Fifthly, some exercises are suggested (which will be available from the companion website at http://www.palgrave.com/law/davys8e/ but, at the time of this review, the website is not available).  This is an excellent approach because it really drives home the key principles of land law: this is a considerable achievement.  If, like the last edition, the companion website includes a number of updates and suggested answers then these will be invaluable.

For anyone struggling to understand the basics of land law, I have no hesitation in recommending Land Law by Mark Davys.  Its price, combined with the companion website which has been promised (and based on my experience of the last edition's companion website), means it provides excellent value for money.  It is also impressively written; conveying even the most complex of land law principles (of which there are many) in short, accessible and manageable segments.  It also usefully includes extracts from many of the leading judgments which may help students obtain those precious extra marks, or help practitioners to make their points more compelling to their opponents.

Reviewed on 19 October 2013

© Student Law Journal, 2001 - All Rights Reserved

Home | News | Academic Articles | Practitioner Articles | Editorial Board | Article Submission | Contact | Links | Book Reviews | Legal Information