The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem”
The doctrine of benefit and burden - an indirect method for enforcing the burden of positive freehold covenants – developed as an exception the strict Austerberry rule that the burden of positive covenants cannot bind successors directly at law. Three recent Court of Appeal cases (Davies v Jones; Wi...
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| Format: | Article |
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Cambridge University Press
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49043/ |
| _version_ | 1848797910199697408 |
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| author | Bevan, Chris |
| author_facet | Bevan, Chris |
| author_sort | Bevan, Chris |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The doctrine of benefit and burden - an indirect method for enforcing the burden of positive freehold covenants – developed as an exception the strict Austerberry rule that the burden of positive covenants cannot bind successors directly at law. Three recent Court of Appeal cases (Davies v Jones; Wilkinson v Kerdene and Elwood v Goodman) confirm the continued existence and application of the doctrine but also reveal its deficiencies and limitations. This article explores the contemporary application of the doctrine, identifies its theoretical, historical and elemental frailty and, drawing on recent reform proposals of the Law Commission, highlights the case for reform. In so doing, this article argues that a vital theoretical issue has been overlooked in the reform debate: the numerus clausus principle. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:11:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49043 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:11:23Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-490432020-05-04T19:52:05Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49043/ The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” Bevan, Chris The doctrine of benefit and burden - an indirect method for enforcing the burden of positive freehold covenants – developed as an exception the strict Austerberry rule that the burden of positive covenants cannot bind successors directly at law. Three recent Court of Appeal cases (Davies v Jones; Wilkinson v Kerdene and Elwood v Goodman) confirm the continued existence and application of the doctrine but also reveal its deficiencies and limitations. This article explores the contemporary application of the doctrine, identifies its theoretical, historical and elemental frailty and, drawing on recent reform proposals of the Law Commission, highlights the case for reform. In so doing, this article argues that a vital theoretical issue has been overlooked in the reform debate: the numerus clausus principle. Cambridge University Press 2018-03 Article PeerReviewed Bevan, Chris (2018) The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem”. Cambridge Law Journal, 77 (1). pp. 72-96. ISSN 1469-2139 property; benefit and burden; freehold covenants; positive obligations; numerus clausus https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-law-journal/article/doctrine-of-benefit-and-burden-reforming-the-law-of-covenants-and-the-numerus-clausus-problem/A6A3D91A2D8879BEF11AD2F35B579FF4 doi:10.1017/S0008197318000065 doi:10.1017/S0008197318000065 |
| spellingShingle | property; benefit and burden; freehold covenants; positive obligations; numerus clausus Bevan, Chris The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” |
| title | The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” |
| title_full | The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” |
| title_fullStr | The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” |
| title_full_unstemmed | The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” |
| title_short | The doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” |
| title_sort | doctrine of benefit and burden: reforming the law of covenants and the numerus clausus “problem” |
| topic | property; benefit and burden; freehold covenants; positive obligations; numerus clausus |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49043/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49043/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49043/ |