Elements of Land Law

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Authors: Kevin Gray & Susan Gray

Price: £37.99

Edition: 5th Edition (November 2008)

ISBN: 978-0-19-921972-8

Buy from OUP: Click Here

For many years, Kevin and Susan Gray's Elements of Land Law has been considered an authoritative and indispensible text for anyone studying land law.  This fifth edition, being the second after the introduction of the Land Registration Act 2002, has been thoroughly and expertly restructured to reflect the actual and likely changes to land law.

Written by two leading property lawyers, Elements of Land Law is split into eleven parts: fundamental concepts; possession and title; freehold ownership; leasehold ownership; easements and profits à prendre; security interests in land; beneficial ownership; dealings and their effect; other modes of acquisition; privacy, access and exclusion; and public regulation in land.  For my part, the impact of the restructuring is most evident in the considerable improvement the text's accessibility: this is critical for a text spanning 1400 pages!

Like previous editions, Elements of Land Law is superbly written and the reorganisation has also improved its readability.  The material continues to be laid out in a logical and accessible way.  Each chapter is sub-divided into numerous distinct paragraphs (each having its own paragraph number) allowing the relevant material to be quickly found.  The authors have also placed greater emphasis on registered property issues like registered conveyancing and registered leases: this is an excellent idea given the Land Registry's move towards electronic conveyancing.  It also includes commentary on the regulation of business tenancies and mortgages; these topics are often overlooked in student texts but important in practice.

For many undergraduates and, indeed, practitioners, this new edition of Elements of Land Law is extremely welcome.  Its restructuring has made what was once an authoritative but fragmented text into a thoroughly accessible and authoritative account on land law principles.  For those of us who struggle with land law but are prepared to invest the time by delving into a more academically stimulating and detailed text, there is no better option than Kevin and Susan Gray's Elements of Land Law.

Reviewed on 12 April 2009

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