Q&As

On merger of freehold and leasehold titles, HM Land Registry does not automatically enter the benefit of easements affecting the leasehold title in the registered title of the reversionary interest but requires (paragraph 3.4 of HM Land Registry Practice Guide 26) an application to be made and provision of ‘satisfactory evidence that the easement subsists for the benefit of the reversionary estate’. What would amount to ‘satisfactory evidence’? The leasehold and freehold estates are co-extensive and the servient land is in third party ownership. What evidence might be required beyond the registration of the easement in favour of the leasehold estate?

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Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk
Published on: 17 January 2022
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For there to be a merger of freehold and leasehold titles, the leasehold interest and the reversionary interest in a property must have come into common ownership (Burton v Barclay) of a person who holds those titles in the same capacity (Chambers v Kingham), and there is an intention to merge the two estates. That intention can be express (such as by a declaration of merger or non-merger in the transferring

Chris Bryden
Chris Bryden

Barrister, 4 King’s Bench Walk

Chris was called to the Bar in 2003 and since that time has built a busy practice across a range of areas, with an emphasis on Chancery practice. He enjoys a well-deserved reputation for his knowledge and expertise in each area. He appears regularly in the County Court, Family Court and the High Court as well as various specialist Tribunals, and has been involved in cases up to and including the Supreme Court. He regularly is instructed at Appellate level. He has extensive and wide-ranging experience particularly in the areas of wills, probate and inheritance disputes; property including adverse possession, boundary disputes and issues arising out of trusts of land; company and commercial work and financial remedies. Chris is head of the Family Group and head of the Property Team at 4KBW.

Chris is the author of numerous articles in publications such as the New Law Journal, Counsel and Family Law, amongst many other titles, and is the co-author of Social Media in the Workplace: A Handbook (2015, Jordan Publishing).

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