Facts
- A mortgagee sought possession of a house (on unregistered land) after a mother’s sons defaulted on mortgage payments
- The mother had contributed to the purchase price of the house
Issue
- Was the mother’s interest overreached?
Decision
- Yes
Reasoning
- The decision in City of London Building Society v Flegg [1988], which provided that interests such as the mother’s would be overreached, was applicable even after the enactment of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.
- The Human Rights Act 1998 had not been enacted at the time of the initial hearing, so no defence could be made on this ground to prevent overreaching taking place
- This case distinguished between ‘family’, ‘commercial’ and ‘residual’ equitable interests for the purpose of the title deeds conveyancing process
