Limitation of Actions Consultation - Law Commission

limitation period is either sixty years from the date of accrual of the action, or
thirty years from the date when the land ceased to be foreshore, whichever first
expires.
6.43 If section 17 of the 1980 Act is read literally, successful adverse possession of
unregistered land against the Crown extinguishes the whole of the Crown’s title so
that the squatter would acquire a title to land which is allodial. 114
Similarly, if this
interpretation is correct, then, as regards registered land owned by the Crown, 115
section 75(1) of the Land Registration Act 1925 might be construed so that the
statutory trust in favour of the squatter was a trust of the whole of the Crown’s
interest. But it is a fundamental principle of English land law that all land in
England and Wales is held in fee from the Crown, 116
and it seems certain that the
1980 Act did not intend this principle to be disturbed, so that the effect of the
expiry of the limitation period must be to extinguish the Crown’s title in so far as it
is inconsistent with the creation of a fee simple in the squatter, but not otherwise.
6.44 Where the right of action accrued to the Crown, or to the relevant corporation but
the action is brought by a person claiming through it, the limitation period will
expire either after the period during which the action could have been brought by
the Crown or corporation, or twelve years after the action accrued to a person
other than the Crown or corporation, whichever first expires.
2. ACTIONS TO RECOVER RENT
6.45 By section 19 of the 1980 Act, no action may be brought (or distress made) to
recover arrears of rent, or damages in respect of arrears of rent, more than six
years from the date on which the arrears became due. There is no extended
limitation period if the lease is under seal and (as is invariably the case) contains a
covenant to pay rent. 117
If rent is already in arrears, a new cause of action will arise
each time a new instalment of rent becomes due. 118
So, for example, if in 1987 T
stops paying rent to L, and L issues proceedings for the arrears in 1997, L will be
able to recover rents due from 1991 to 1997: the other instalments will be statute
barred. Where a landlord is seeking to recover arrears of rent from a guarantor
who has given a guarantee in respect of the tenant’s performance of its covenants,
the moneys sought will be classed as damages in respect of arrears of rent, and
there will be a limitation period under section 19 of six years from the demand
being made of the guarantor. 119
114 That is, held independently of any ultimate lordship.
115 Although land (eg foreshore) which has always been owned by the Crown, as opposed to
passing into Crown ownership by transfer or escheat, is incapable of registration, because it
is not, and has never been, “land of any tenure” within the Land Registration Act 1925, s
3(viii). See Scmlla Properties Ltd v Gesso Properties (BVI) Ltd [1995] BCC 793, 798, per
Stanley Burnton QC (sitting as a deputy judge of the Chancery Division).
116 See, eg, R E Megarry and H W R Wade, The Law of Real Property (5th ed 1984), p 12; F
Pollock and F W Maitland, The History of English Law (2nd ed 1968), vol 1, pp 232 - 237.
117 See s 8(2).
118 Archbold v Scully (1861) 9 HLC 360, 11 ER 769.
119 Romain v Scuba TV Ltd [1996] 3 WLR 117. But under the Landlord and Tenant
(Covenants) Act 1995, s 17(3) there is a time limit of six months within which the landlord
107