‘… a protected site is any land in respect of which a site licence is required under Part 1 of [the 1960 Act] ….not being land in respect of which the relevant planning permission or site licence – (a) is expressed to be granted for holiday use only; or (b) is otherwise so expressed or subject to such conditions that there are times of the year when no caravan may be stationed on the land for human habitation.’
‘(a) for restricting the occasions on which caravans are stationed on the land for the purposes of human habitation,…. . … (d) for securing the taking of any steps for preserving or enhancing the amenity of the land, including the planting and replanting thereof with trees and bushes.’
‘Lease issued is a) not worth paper written on as not signed by both parties b) is in breach of Head Lease, absolutely barred from issuing leases. Period of occupancy: tricky one. Head lease says may be used for storage only. Site licence says must not be occupied. Grey area. Cabins not sold on condition furniture storage only. Access allowed during day.’
‘While tenants know this is not a residential park, some cabins (at least 5 of which I am aware) were sold to us on the grounds that we could have access during the day, during ‘closed’ times, as long as we did not sleep there. … There is no way I would have bought a cabin on the Park if this had not been the case.’
“Oliver J (as he then was) stated the requirements of proprietary estoppel in a “common expectation” class of case in a well-known and often cited passage in Taylors Fashions Ltd v Liverpool Victoria Trustees Co. Ltd[1982] QB 133 at 144 “If A under an expectation created or encouraged by B that A shall have a certain interest in land, thereafter, on the faith of such expectation and with the knowledge of B and without objection by him, acts to his detriment in connection with such land, a Court of Equity will compel B to give effect to such expectation.”
“I have no hesitation in agreeing with what I take to be the views of Peter Gibson L.J., Neill L.J., and Morritt L.J., that the doctrine of estoppel may operate to modify (and sometimes perhaps even counteract) the effect of section 2 of the Act of 1989. The circumstances in which section 2 has to be complied with are so various, and the scope of the doctrine of estoppel is so flexible, that any general assertion of section 2 as a “no-go area” for estoppel would be unsustainable. Nevertheless the impact of the public policy principle to which Sir John Balcombe drew attention in Godden v. Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association does call for serious consideration. It is not concerned with illegality (some confusion may have arisen from the inadequate report or note shown to this court in Bankers Trust Co. v. Namdar) but with what Viscount Radcliffe in Kok Hoong v. Leong Cheong Kwent Miknes Ltd. [1964] A.C. 993, 1016, called a principle of general social policy. “to ask whether the law that confronts the estoppel can be seen to represent a social policy to which the court must give effect in the interests of the public generally or some section of the public, despite any rules of evidence as between themselves that the parties may have created by their conduct or otherwise.”
“A resulting, implied or constructive trust – and it is unnecessary for present purposes to distinguish between these three classes of trust – is created by a transaction between the trustee and the cestui que trust in connection with the acquisition by the trustee of a legal estate in land, whenever the trustee has so conducted himself that it would be inequitable to allow him to deny to the cestui que trust a beneficial interest in the land acquired. And he will be held so to have conducted himself if by his words or conduct he has induced the cestui que trust to act to his own detriment in the reasonable belief that by so acting he was acquiring a beneficial interest in the land.”
“The first and fundamental question which must always be resolved is whether, independently of any inference to be drawn from the conduct of the parties in the course of sharing the house as their home and managing their joint affairs, there has at any time prior to acquisition, or exceptionally at some later date, been any agreement, or arrangement to share in this sense can only, I think be based on evidence of express discussions between the partners, however imperfectly remembered and however imprecise their terms may have been. Once a finding to this effect is made it will only be necessary for the partner asserting the claim to a beneficial interest against the partner entitled to the legal estate to show that he or she has acted to his or her detriment or significantly altered his or her position in reliance on the agreement in order to give rise to a constructive trust or a proprietary estoppel.”
“I suggest that in other cases of this kind, useful guidance may in the future be obtained from the principles underlying the law of proprietary estoppel which in my judgment are closely akin to those laid down in Gissing v. Gissing [1971] A.C. 886. In both, the claimant must to the knowledge of the legal owner have acted in the belief that the claimant has or will obtain an interest in the property. In both, the claimant must have acted to his or her detriment in reliance on such belief. In both, equity acts on the conscience of the legal owner to prevent him from acting in an unconscionable manner by defeating the common intention. The two principles have been developed separately without cross-fertilisation between them: but they rest on the same foundation and have on all other matters reached the same conclusions.”
“32. As I see it, the policy of section 2(1) of the 1989 Act is to protect the public by preventing parties from being bound by a contract for the disposition of an interest in land unless it has been fully documented in writing. However, in section 2(5) Parliament has acknowledged that under section 2(1) there is a risk that one party will seek to take advantage of the sanction provided by that subsection when it is unconscionable for him so to do. To that extent, section 2(5) plays a role similar to that of part performance, although it operates more flexibly than that doctrine. Unconscionability on the part of the party seeking to rely on subsection (1) is the touchstone giving rise to a constructive trust. It will arise where a party led another party to believe that he would obtain an interest in property to another and then stands by while that other party acts to his detriment in reliance on that promise. The knowledge of the disadvantaged party is of less significance. Here Mr Mackie-Conteh induced Mr Kinane to make the loan before the formal documentation was executed. Even though the venture was abortive, Mr Mackie-Conteh benefited therefrom to the extent that he did not have to find another lender to get to the stage where FMBC could produce a letter of credit. The risk of the letter of credit at that stage not meeting the seller’s requirements was one which, under the parties’ agreement, Mr Mackie-Conteh and not Mr Kinane, had implicitly agreed to bear. 33. In proprietary estoppel, the court awards a remedy appropriate to satisfy the expectations that the defendant has indeed. This need not be an interest in land. However, in my judgment, that is the appropriate remedy in this case and neither counsel has suggested otherwise.”
“39 In these circumstances, it appears to me that the only real question in the present case is whether, in the light of the facts found by the judge, it can be said that a “constructive trust”, within the meaning of section 2(5) of the 1989 Act, was created. 40. When considering that question, one must, I think, avoid regarding the subsection as an automatically available statutory escape route from the rigours of section 2(1) of the 1989 Act, simply because fairness appears to demand it. A provision such as section 2 of the 1989 Act was enacted for policy reasons which, no doubt, appeared sensible to the legislature. Accordingly, just as with section 4 of the 1677 Act, the Court should not allow its desire to avoid what might appear a rather harsh result in a particular case to undermine the statutory policy. 41. Accordingly, when considering whether section 2(5) is engaged, the court should consider whether, on the particular facts, it can fairly be said that a resulting, implied or constructive trust has been created. It would be contrary to legal principle, and inconsistent with the statutory purpose, if the court were to hold that a particular set of facts fell within section 2(5) if, as a matter of extra-statutory law, the facts could not properly be said to give rise to “the creation or operation of [a] resulting implied or constructive trust”
“An extremely close relationship exists between proprietary estoppel and the constructive trust and the convergence of the concept is today so marked that the doctrines are, in many respects, indistinguishable. The component elements of proprietary estoppel are overwhelmingly similar to those of constructive trust.”
“29. There is one further point regarding proprietary estoppel to which I should refer. Section 2 of the 1989 Act declares to be void any agreement for the acquisition of an interest in land that does not comply with requisite formalities prescribed by the section. Subsection (5) expressly makes an exception for resulting, implied or constructive trusts. These may validly come into existence without compliance with the prescribed formalities. Proprietary estoppel does not have the benefit of this exception. The question arises, therefore, whether a complete agreement for the acquisition of an interest in land that does not comply with the section 2 prescribed formalities, but would be specifically enforceable if it did, can become enforceable via the route of proprietary estoppel. It is not necessary in the present case to answer this question, for the second agreement was not a complete agreement and, for that reason, would not have been specifically enforceable so long as it remained incomplete. My present view, however, is that proprietary estoppel cannot be prayed in aid in order to render enforceable an agreement that statute has declared to be void. The proposition that an owner of land can be estopped from asserting that an agreement is void for want of compliance with requirements of section 2 is, in my opinion, unacceptable. The assertion is no more than the statute provides. Equity can surely not contradict the statute. As I have said, however, statute provides an express exception for constructive trusts. So to Mr Cobbe’s constructive trust claim I must now turn.”
“10.195 The classic exposition of the ‘common expectation basis of proprietary estoppel occurs in the dissenting speech of Lord Kingsdown in Ramsden v Dyson. Here Lord Kingsdown stated that If a man, under a verbal agreement with a landlord for a certain interest in land, or, what amounts to be same thing, under an expectation, created or encouraged by the landlord, that he shall have a certain interest, takes possession of such land, with the consent of the landlord, and upon the faith of such promise or expectation, with the knowledge of the landlord, and without objection by him, lays out money upon the land, a Court of equity will compel the landlord to give effect to such promise or expectation.”
“Regrettably, however, the expressions ‘constructive trust’ and ‘constructive trustee’ have been used by equity lawyers to describe two entirely different situations. The first covers those cases already mentioned, where the defendant, though not expressly appointed as trustee, has assumed the duties of a trustee by a lawful transaction which was independent of and preceded the breach of trust and is not impeached by the plaintiff. The second covers those cases where the trust obligation arises as a direct consequence of the unlawful transaction which is impeached by the plaintiff. A constructive trust arises by operation of law whenever the circumstances are such that it would be unconscionable for the owner of property (usually but not necessarily the legal estate) to assert his own beneficial interest in the property and deny the beneficial interest of another. In the first class of case, however, the constructive trustee really is a trustee. He does not receive the trust property in his own right but by a transaction by which both parties intend to create a trust from the outset and which is not impugned by the plaintiff. His possession of the property is coloured from the first by the trust and confidence by means of which he obtained it, and his subsequent appropriation of the property to his own use is a breach of that trust. Well-known examples of such a constructive trust are McCormick v Grogan (1869) LR 4 HL 82 (a case of secret trust) and Rochefoucald v Boustead[1897] 1 Ch 196 (where the defendant agreed to buy property for the plaintiff but the trust was imperfectly recorded). Pallant v Morgan[1952] 2 All ER 951 ,[1953] Ch 43 (where the defendant sought to keep for himself property which the plaintiff trusted him to buy for both parties) is another. In these cases the plaintiff does not impugn the transaction by which the defendant obtained control of a property. He alleges that the circumstances in which the defendant obtained control make it unconscionable for him thereafter to assert a beneficial interest in the property. The second class of case is different. It arises when the defendant is implicated in a fraud. Equity has always given relief against fraud by making any person sufficiently implicated in the fraud accountable in equity. In such a case he is traditionally though I think unfortunately described as a constructive trustee and said to be ‘liable to account as constructive trustee’. Such a person is not in fact a trustee at all, even though he may be liable to account as if he were. He never assumes the position of a trustee, and if he receives the trust property at all it is adversely to the plaintiff by an unlawful transaction which is impugned by the plaintiff. In such a case the expressions ‘constructive trust’ and ‘constructive trustee’ are misleading, for there is no trust and usually no possibility of a proprietary remedy; they are ‘nothing more that a formula for equitable relief’: Selangor United Rubber Estates Ltd v Cradock (No 3)[1968] 2 All ER 1073 at 1097,[1968] 1 WLR 1555 at 1582 per Ungoed-Thomas J.”
“10.215 This trend towards proprietary recognition was heavily reinforced by the view that, in most cases, the inchoate equity of estoppel already contains, in embryonic form the proprietary interest later awarded by the court in perfection of the equity. English courts developed the theory that the estoppel claimant’s interest in property ‘predates any order of the court.’ The court order merely operates, by virtue of some doctrine of relation back (or even on the footing that ‘equity looks on as done that which ought to be done’) to vindicate some earlier, anticipatory prototype of the entitlement now ordered in favour of the claimant. It thus became steadily more apparent that proprietary estoppel generates anticipatory beneficial rights behind a trust, constructed by the court which then provides the basis for the court’s subsequent order of either specific performance or compensatory damages for breach. All of which returns the argument full circle to the point that proprietary estoppel and constructive trust are intricately inter-related doctrines.”
‘Any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted, but does not include – (a) any rolling stock which is for the time being on rails forming part of a railway system, or (b) any tent.’
“13 Twin-unit caravans (1) A structure designed or adapted for human habitation which – (a) is composed of not more than two sections separately constructed and designed to be assembled on a site by means of bolts, clamps or other devices; and (b) is, when assembled, physically capable of being moved by road from one place to another (whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer). shall not be treated as not being (or as not having been) a caravan within the meaning of Part 1 of theCaravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 by reason only that it cannot lawfully be so moved on a highway when assembled. (2) For the purposes of Part I of the Caravan sites andControl of Development Act 1960 , the expression “caravan” shall not include a structure designed or adapted for human habitation which falls within paragraphs (a) and (b) of the forgoing subsection if its dimensions when assembled exceed any of the following limits, namely – (a) length (exclusive of any drawbar): [65.1516] feet ([20] metres); (b) width: [22.309] feet (16.8] metres); (c) overall height of living accommodation (measured internally from the floor at the lowest level to the ceiling at the highest level): [10.006] feet ([3.05] metres). (3) …. (4) ….”
“The consideration of the mobility test in paragraph 11 [of the Inspector’s decision] clearly has regard to the movability of the structure from the particular site upon which it had been erected. This, Mr Boyle urges upon me, is an error of law, because, he says, what is to be considered is the nature of the structure rather than the circumstances of the structure in regard to the particular place where is has been erected. I am uncertain what is the true construction of section 13(1)(b) in this respect. It appeared to me, when I read the paragraph at first, that the phrase “when assembled” is a clear indication that its mobility is to be tested by reference to the circumstances where and how it had in fact been assembled. Mr Boyle submits and submits persuasively, that there is an alternative meaning of “when assembled”, namely in its assembled state. He submits further, that since what is to be considered is whether it is capable of being moved by road from one place to another, it is not to be construed as meaning from the particular place where it has in fact been erected. That I find a highly persuasive argument and one which I would readily accept if I did not immediately recognise the source of the expression “one place to another” which is merely a repetition of the phrase which had been found already in the definition of section 29(1) of the 1960 Act. I remain, therefore, inclined to the view that the proper construction of the paragraph is that which I first gave it, namely that when assembled means when and as assembled in the state where the question of whether or not it is to be deemed to be a caravan falls to be determined. I readily acknowledge that I may be wrong as to that construction of the paragraph, and it is therefore convenient that I should go on to consider, on the assumption that what is to be considered is the structure independent of its position, whether there would be reason to interfere with the Inspector’s decisions.”
“It is immediately apparent that something may be a “caravan” for these purposes, even though it bears no relation to what might be regarded as a caravan in ordinary language. In particular it does not need to have wheels; it is enough that it can be transported in a trailer. The definition was further expanded by theCaravan Sites Act 1968 . This, it seems, was intended to remove doubts about the application of the definition of the larger types of caravan, usually referred to as “twin unit caravans”, which became popular in the 1960’s”