Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v London Residuary Body

Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v London Residuary Body [1991] UKHL 10 is an English land law case, concerning leases.

Facts

Mr Nathan owned 263-265 Walworth Rd, Southwark, London before 1930, and the London City Council the road. It planned to widen it, encroaching on a strip of land separating his shop from the road. The LCC bought the freehold of the strip, but agreed he could use it until the project went ahead, and he would pay £30 a year in rent ‘until the strip of land is needed for road-widening’. But by 1988 the road had not been widened and the London Residuary Body, successor of the LCC held it. Prudential Assurance Ltd now held the strip and LRB wished to end Prudential’s right to use the strip. Valuers put the strip at £10,000 a year. Prudential argued it could not get possession because there was no road widening yet.

Millett J found in favour of Prudential. LRB used the leapfrog procedure to go directly to the House of Lords, as it wished to challenge the Court of Appeal cases, In re Midland Railway Co’s Agreement and Ashburn Anstalt v Arnold.

Judgment

Lord Templeman held the tenancy was too uncertain to be effective, and thus had not created a binding lease. Lord Browne-Wilkinson noted that any successor in title for Mr Nathan would not have land that faced onto the road. Nothing could be more unsatisfactory.^[1]

See also

• English land law
• English trusts law
• English property law

Notes

References

External links