Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996

خلاصہ

The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) fundamentally reformed the law of trusts of land in England and Wales. Before TOLATA, land could be held under two separate regimes: a strict settlement under the Settled Land Act 1925, which gave the life tenant overreaching powers, and a trust for sale under the Law of Property Act 1925, which carried a statutory duty to sell subject to a power to postpone. TOLATA abolished new strict settlements (s.2) and replaced the trust for sale with a single unified 'trust of land' (defined in s.1 as any trust of property which consists of or includes land). All pre-existing trusts for sale were converted into trusts of land. Under a trust of land, trustees have all the powers of an absolute owner (s.6(1)), including the power to sell, lease, mortgage, and manage the land. The duty to sell which formerly attached to trusts for sale was abolished. Trustees must, in exercising any function relating to the land, have regard to the rights of the beneficiaries and are subject to a duty to consult adult beneficiaries entitled in possession so far as is practicable and consistent with the general interest of the trust (s.11). Beneficiaries with an interest in possession have a statutory right to occupy trust land if the purpose of the trust includes making the land available for occupation or the land is held as such (s.12-13). TOLATA is of central importance in disputes between cohabitants over the family home, and its predecessor statutory trust for sale provisions were the framework against which key cases including Williams & Glyn's Bank v Boland [1981] were decided. Applications to court under sections 14-15 for orders relating to sale, occupation, or other functions are the primary mechanism for resolving such disputes.

اہم نکات

• Single form of trust of land (s.1) — a trust of land means (subject to s.2) any trust of property which consists of or includes land; TOLATA abolished the distinction between the trust for sale (with a duty to sell) and the strict settlement, replacing both with a unified regime
• Abolition of strict settlements (s.2) — no new strict settlement can be created after the commencement of the Act; any attempt to create a strict settlement takes effect as a trust of land instead
• Trustees' powers (s.6(1)) — for the purpose of exercising their functions as trustees, the trustees of land have in relation to the land subject to the trust all the powers of an absolute owner; these powers are exercisable subject to the terms of the trust and subject to obtaining consents required by the trust
• Duty to consult beneficiaries (s.11) — trustees of land must, so far as practicable, consult the beneficiaries of full age and beneficially entitled to an interest in possession in the land; trustees must give effect to the wishes of those beneficiaries so far as consistent with the general interest of the trust
• Right of occupation (ss.12-13) — a beneficiary who is beneficially entitled to an interest in possession in land held on a trust of land is entitled to occupy the land if the purpose of the trust includes making the land available for occupation, or the land is held by the trustees so as to be available; trustees may impose reasonable conditions on occupation
• Court orders (s.14) — any person who is a trustee of land or has an interest in property subject to a trust of land may make an application to the court for an order relating to the exercise by the trustees of any of their functions or declaring the nature or extent of a person's interest in property subject to the trust; the court may make any such order as it thinks fit
• Factors for court orders (s.15) — in determining an application under s.14 the court must have regard to: the intentions of the person who created the trust; the purposes for which the property is held; the welfare of any minor who occupies or might reasonably be expected to occupy any land as his home; the interests of any secured creditor of any beneficiary
• Appointment and removal of trustees (ss.19-21) — beneficiaries of full age and with a complete beneficial ownership under the trust have power to direct retirement and appointment of trustees; this provision overrides previous common law limitations on beneficiaries' power to direct trusteeship

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