Q&As

Does the doctrine of unity of seisin apply as between two parcels of land held under one title (residential part and retained part) where—a owns the whole property and transfers the beneficial interest in the residential part to B under a lifetime trust? A and C jointly own the whole property and transfer the beneficial interest in residential part to B under a lifetime trust, A and C retain the legal interest in the residential part and A retains sole legal and beneficial interest in the retained part?

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Published by a LexisNexis Property expert
Published on: 05 June 2018
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The ‘unity of seisin’ rule dictates that easements and profits cannot exist where the dominant and servient land are in common ownership and occupation. Therefore, if the land was in the common ownership and occupation of A, the easements and profits would be extinguished and all acts carried out on the land are referable to A’s ownership of the land and not to the former right that he had as an easement.

Therefore, it follows that if A (or A and C) transfer(s) the beneficial ownership of the residential parcel of land to B under

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Beneficial interest definition
What does Beneficial interest mean?

The holder of a beneficial interest is entitled to enjoy the use of the property in issue although not necessarily being the legal owner of the property.

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