Sharing Joint Tenancy

• What is the L.P of Antoniades V Villiers? (where the agreement was held to be a lease & was a sham designed to avoid the provisions of the Rents Act as looking at the circumstances, it would be ridiculous for the landlord to live with the husband & wife)

  L.P: In order to determine whether a person had either a lease or a license, the agreement has to be interpreted to examine the surrounding circumstances

  L.P: If specific terms in an accommodation agreement can be a pretence (or sham), the agreement is not valid
• What test did the case of Antoniades v Villiers establish to help determine if the terms in an agreement are a pretence?

  States that one must examine the surrounding circumstances (e.g. the course of negotiations, the intended and actual use of the premises, etc.).
• What is the L.P of AG Securities V Vaughan? (where the landlord was able to find new residents for a flat owned by four men when one of the residents left)

  L.P: held that if the landlord was able to pick new residents, it could mean that those residents would have a license & also not a joint tenancy as they do not have exclusive possession of the land

  L.P: residents would be shown to not have joint tenancy if it was proven that they did not sign the agreement at the same time
• What are the Four requirements for joint tenancy?

  1. Unity of possession: each joint tenant must be entitled to possession of every part of the co-owned land.
  2. Unity of interest: each joint tenant’s interest in the estate must be the same in extent, nature, and duration.
  3. Unity of title: each joint tenant must derive their title to the estate from the same act e.g the same document
  4. Unity of time: the interest of each joint tenant must normally vest at the same time.
• What questions are asked to determine joint tenancy when occupants have separate accommodation agreements?

  1. Do the agreements require the signatories to become joint tenants with others?
  2. What would happen if one of the tenants died? If the answer is that the landlord would move someone else in, and the other tenants would have no power to prevent this, then they cannot have a joint tenancy
  3. Are the four unities present?
• What is the L.P of Westminister City Council V Clarke? (where a homeless man argued that as he had a lease, the judge would be the one to evict him & not the Council)

  
  

  L.P: If councils/landlords had a statutory duty, the residents would be held to hold a licence as the landlord can evict or enter their premises to uphold that duty
• What were the reasons why residents who are homeless and are living in premises owned by the Council were granted a licence?

  • Because of the landlord's statutory duty, it would be highly undesirable for the council to grant an occupier a room of exclusive possession because that would stop their ability to exercise their statutory obligations to vulnerable people
  • Exclusive possession would be a contradiction with their need to exercise their statutory obligations to the homeless
• What is the L.P of Bruton V London Quadrant? (where a homeless resident claimed that they had a lease because he could claim repairs under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985?

  L.P: Held that a homeless resident could be considered as having a lease but only for the purposes of the Act that they claimed under (a non-proprietory lease)
• What is a non-proprietory lease?

  Where a resident is able to obtain rights under a Statute providing a lease but it is not enough to create a property interest
• What is the meaning of Property Guardians?

  • Are buildings that belong to someone who is not currently using them
  • Finds residents (“property guardians”) for unused premises that they normally don’t own, for the purpose of securing and safeguarding the property.
• In the case of Camelot Guardian Management Ltd v Khoo, how can we determine whether there is a license or a lease?

  1. Consider the words used by reference to the subject matter and any other relevant circumstances known to the parties at the time of the agreement e.g if they had negotiations for certain rights
  2. Are the terms of the agreement a sham, device or pretence to disguise the grant of a tenancy?