Re Monolithic Building Co. [1915] 1 Ch. 643
Property law – Mortgage – Mortgagor rights
Facts
Monolithic Building Co. was an incorporated company who loaned money to the plaintiff by way of a mortgage. This was not registered under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 section 93. The company later charged the money by sub-mortgage to a third-party, with notice of the original mortgage, and it was claimed that the original mortgage was void for the fact it had not been registered under the Act. The mortgage was subsequently registered over a year later from it being initially being released to the plaintiff. The trial judge found in favour of the plaintiff and gave the plaintiff the rights to the property under the first mortgage. The decision was subsequently appealed by the defendant.
Issue
The trial court found in favour of the plaintiff on the basis that when the company took the money for the first mortgage, the plaintiff should have had a valid, first mortgage upon the property. The court also found that when the second mortgage was given to another individual, it was expressly subject to the plaintiff’s rights. However, the issue for the court in this case, was to decide how the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, section 93 should be read in line with the circumstances.
Decision/Outcome
The court found in favour of the defendant, allowed his appeal and rejected the decision of the earlier court, which found in favour of the plaintiff. The judges applied a strict definition to the relevant section of the Act, finding that the plaintiff had erred in not registering the mortgage, and therefore lost the rights attributed to this.
Updated 20 March 2026
This case summary remains historically accurate as a description of the 1915 Court of Appeal decision in Re Monolithic Building Co. [1915] 1 Ch 643. The case concerned the registration of charges under the Companies (Consolidation) Act 1908, s 93, and the consequences of non-registration for priority between competing mortgagees.
Readers should note that the statutory framework governing company charge registration has been substantially replaced and reformed since 1915. The Companies (Consolidation) Act 1908 was superseded by subsequent Companies Acts, and the current regime is now found in Part 25 of the Companies Act 2006 (as amended, including amendments made by the Companies Act 2006 (Amendment of Part 25) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/600)), which governs the registration of charges created by companies registered in England and Wales. The consequences of non-registration under the current regime differ in detail from those under the 1908 Act. Students should therefore treat this case as of historical and doctrinal interest illustrating the courts’ strict approach to charge registration requirements, rather than as direct authority on the current statutory position.
