Proprietary estoppel and disputes concerning ownership of land and buildings

Proprietary estoppel disputes arise where promises about property are relied on to a person’s detriment and later withdrawn. Our team advises claimants and defendants on disputes concerning ownership of land and buildings, including overlapping claims involving resulting or constructive trusts.

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CONTENTS

What is proprietary estoppel?
Remedies available in proprietary estoppel claims
When proprietary estoppel applies
Ownership of land and beneficial interests
Trusts arising from ownership disputes

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What is proprietary estoppel?

We are regularly instructed in relation to ownership of land and buildings. Proprietary estoppel arises in situations where:

A property owner has made a promise or given assurances that they will give their property (or deal with it in a way that is favourable) to another person or leave it to them when they die;
The other person then relies on that promise or assurance to their detriment e.g. by incurring costs, changing their circumstances or giving up other opportunities; and,
The property owner then goes back on the promise or assurance so as to create an unfair or ‘unconscionable’ result.

In such circumstances, the court may find that an ‘estoppel’ arises which prevents the property owner from going back on their promise.

Remedies available in proprietary estoppel claims

The court can then satisfy the claim by either ordering that the promise be fulfilled and the property in question be transferred to the claimant or providing some other form of compensation to the claimant e.g. a money award or a lesser interest in the property.

We regularly see such claims in the agricultural sector, but proprietary estoppel is a flexible remedy that can arise in many situations.

It often arises on the death of the property owner if their will does not reflect promises or assurances made during their lifetime or if they die without having made a will. It can also be used when the promisor is still alive.

When proprietary estoppel applies

The core of proprietary estoppel is unfairness. There must be a sufficiently clear promise or understanding and the claimant must have reasonably relied on it to their detriment in some substantial way.

Not every situation will give rise to an estoppel and we have significant experience in helping defendants deal with unmeritorious claims as well as helping claimants.

Ownership of land and beneficial interests

Proprietary estoppel is not the only way of establishing an interest in land. All land in England and Wales (which includes the buildings on that land) has legal owners and beneficial owners.

Most of the time, the legal owners and the beneficial owners are one in the same e.g. a married couple who are both registered proprietors of their family home and purchased the property as ‘joint tenants’ will be both the legal and beneficial owners.

However, there are situations where the legal owners may not be the only beneficial owners or may not be beneficial owners at all.

Trusts arising from ownership disputes

In such cases, the legal owners hold the property on trust for the beneficial owners and are subject to various duties.

Beneficial interests in land and buildings can arise in the following circumstances:

Where a person has contributed directly to the purchase price of a property e.g. by providing the deposit or making mortgage repayments and it was not a gift;
Where there is an agreement, usually between co-habiting couples, that a property owned, legally, by one of them should be shared beneficially coupled with detrimental reliance on the part of the non-legal owner e.g. paying towards property improvements, maintenance and outgoings; or
Where a ‘common intention’ can be inferred from the conduct of co-habitees that the non-legal owner should have some beneficial interest in the property coupled with detrimental reliance such as payments towards mortgage instalments.

The above situations can give rise to a resulting or constructive trust in the claimant’s favour.

There can be significant overlap between proprietary estoppel cases and constructive trust claims.

Please see our FAQs below or get in touch with a member of the team today.

Frequently asked questions

We have answered some of the more frequently asked questions we receive. If you have a question that is not answered below, please contact Jason Oliver.

When I was 18 I had a place at university to study engineering. My parents were not keen on this idea. They persuaded me to leave school just before my ‘A’ levels to work on the family farm for very low pay on the promise that the farm would be mine after they die. That is the only job I’ve ever had. I am now in my fifties and have no qualifications, own no property and have no savings and no pension. My mother died a few years ago and my father recently remarried. I have heard that he intends to leave the farm to his new wife. What can I do?

This is a classic proprietary estoppel case. As your father is still alive you should try to have a calm discussion with him about his promise to give the farm to you. On the strength of that promise you gave up the chance to have a well-paid career as an engineer.

If you had followed that route you could have expected by this stage of your life that you would be comfortably off and probably own a property and have a pension in place. If you cannot resolve things with your father then we can help you with negotiations or court proceedings and would be confident of achieving a favourable outcome for you.

My father died a couple of years ago. He owned a house with his brother as tenants in common, and left his share of the property to me, subject to a right of occupation in favour of my uncle. My uncle died over a year ago and the house is empty. I am not a beneficiary of his estate. His executor has done nothing about selling the house and will not speak to me and has ignored all of my requests to progress matters. What can I do?

Your uncle’s executor is now the sole legal owner of the house, and will hold your father’s share of the proceeds of sale on trust for his estate. You cannot make any complaint about them as executor as you are not a beneficiary of your uncle’s estate.

However, you are a beneficiary of the trust of land of which the executor is trustee, and they are subject to some quite onerous duties as a result. If they will not get on with the sale then you could apply to remove them as trustee and appoint someone else (usually a neutral professional) to carry out that role, sell the house and distribute the proceeds between the two estates. We can help you with this.

How we’ve helped our clients

“Jason’s expertise helped us confidently navigate a difficult will dispute. We are grateful for his efficiency, and empathy throughout this process. Thank you Jason for getting us a resolution allowing us to move forward with our lives.”

Shari Gallop – Contentious Probate Client

“Responsive progress when required; felt advice given was appropriate and helpful without emotional bias (which was much appreciated In the difficult circumstances I was put in). I felt that Jason Oliver was ‘going the extra mile’ for my mother and myself.”

Client – Contentious Trust & Probate

“Jason quickly analysed correspondence I shared, together with background from our phone discussion, to prepare a very relevant and helpful response to a letter of claim in connection with my role as an executor. Definitely gave me confidence and put my mind at rest.”

Contentious Trust Client

“It is over a year now that I was faced with trying to resolve the matter and I can’t thank yourself, and in particular Oliver enough for bringing this to a happy conclusion after many unpredictable shifts and turns.”

A Client in a Probate Dispute Case

“When a distant relative died, unexpectedly I found myself as executor of her will. It was being administered by the solicitors who had been holding the Will. Annoyingly, the Will had been badly written and contained mistakes and ambiguities. It became obvious to me that those dealing with it were incapable of resolving the situation and were wrongly pursuing pointless and expensive lines of investigation. I mentioned this to a friend who told me that while dealing with Paris Smith he had learnt that they had a man who specialises in bad wills. I approached Paris Smith and Jason Oliver said that he could help me. Jason considered all the facts and immediately stopped the administering solicitors from proceeding further. With his expertise he was able to resolve the complex issues while keeping me fully informed at all times. He guided me through Zoom meetings, dealings with barristers and High Court procedures. Best of all, the estate was finally divided as originally intended. I was very impressed with the professionalism of Jason Oliver and would recommend him to anyone requiring legal advice and guidance. ”

Gerry Burnell

“I used Paris Smith in a family situation that I was finding immensely stressful. Jason listened carefully, and gave the time required to understand the problem. He followed up the initial meeting with some very sound advice, and had a great knack of cutting through the emotion to work out the issues. I remain very grateful for his pragmatic and level-headed approach.”

“As we discussed at the beginning, it was never about the small cash inheritance but more of the injustice of being unrecognised as equals. Finally we have peace of mind. Therefore we would like to again thank you for your continued support, expertise and professionalism throughout. We couldn’t have done it without you!”

Clients with a probate dispute

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