Questions 1

‘The decision in Jones v Kernott [2011] 3 WLR 1121 has brought much needed clarity to the law regarding trusts of the family home’.

Discuss

Word Limit: 3500, excluding footnotes, case list, and bibliography. However, don’t abuse the footnotes, as final discretion on word limit rests with the markers!

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Question 2

Five years ago, Lesley bought a house on a private estate, the latter having originally been built in 1990 by a land developer. The entry on the Land Register drew her attention to a schedule of covenants, which includes the following:

1. The owner must paint the front door every five years using oil-based paint manufactured by the Harrod’s Company in the colour ‘deepest blue’;
2. The owner must maintain the fences to the front and rear of the property;
3. No trees may be cut down, unless there is a justified emergency affecting the health of inhabitant(s) and/or the structural integrity of the house.
4. The house is to be used for residential purposes only.

Lesley recently painted the front door for the first time since acquiring the house. Since Harrod’s no longer manufactures its own paints, she bought the paint at Homebase. The shop assistant sold her a water-based paint that they claimed to be ‘as good as’ oil-based paint. Lesley chose ‘deep blue’ because she liked the colour better. Her neighbours have asked her to repaint the door as it looks different from theirs.

When she first moved into the house, Lesley planted a lilac tree at the front of the house as it was a tradition in her family. She thought it was a dwarf variety but it has actually grown so large that its roots have knocked over the front fence. She now wants to cut it down.

A month ago Lesley suffered a terrible industrial accident and is unable to work. When she was made redundant she begun, on the advice of her friend Joanne, to sell decorative pots and jugs on a website called Etsi.com (which specialises in amateur craft-artists and enables them to sell small quantities of products each month). To facilitate the making of the pots and jugs, Lesley has installed a kiln fired pottery oven on her back patio.

Advise Lesley about who might be able to enforce the covenants against her, and whether they are likely to be successful in doing so.

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