Sovmots Investments Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment [1979] AC 144
Property Law – Compulsory Purchase – Ancillary rights
Facts:
A 150 year lease was granted to S Ltd (appellant) who built an office complex. 36 residential maisonettes were on top of the office complex but were not inhabited. The London Borough Council (LBC) purchased the flats as a leasehold. A special right of access was granted over the lifts and stairs. Ancillary rights were expressly passed in the conveyance (water, gas, electricity). LBC subleased the flats to B Ltd (appellant). A public inquiry found that even though LBC did not purchase the flats as a freehold, it did not invalidate the compulsory purchase as LBC had grounds to do so under s 189(1) of the Housing Act 1957 (the Act). The appellants objected.
Issues:
Whether the maisonettes were houses under the definition and whether the ancillary rights were required to be specified in the compulsory purchase order.
Held:
The appeal was allowed. Wheeldon v Burrows was considered, finding that the ancillary rights sought to be acquired did not pass under the first rule of Wheeldon. Instead, it related to voluntary conveyances for the sale of land and was established on the principle that a grantor could not derogate from his own grant. It did not apply to a compulsory purchase. Further the ancillary rights did not suffice s 62 of the Law of Property Act 1925 as it could not operate unless there had been some diversity of ownership or occupation of the quasi-dominant and quasi-servient tenements to the conveyance. The ancillary rights did not pass by necessary implication even though the definition of a “house” under s 189(1) of the Act was wide.
Updated 21 March 2026
This case summary accurately states the decision in Sovmots Investments Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment [1979] AC 144. The core legal principles affirmed by the House of Lords remain good law: (1) the rule in Wheeldon v Burrows does not apply to compulsory acquisition because it rests on the principle that a grantor cannot derogate from his own grant, a voluntary concept inapplicable where land is taken compulsorily; and (2) section 62 of the Law of Property Act 1925 requires prior diversity of ownership or occupation as between the quasi-dominant and quasi-servient tenements before it can operate on a conveyance.
These principles continue to be cited in land law and compulsory purchase contexts. Note that the Housing Act 1957 has been repealed and replaced by later housing legislation, but this does not affect the enduring authority of the case on the general law of easements and compulsory purchase. Students should be aware that subsequent case law, including P & S Platt Ltd v Crouch [2003] EWCA Civ 1110, has further refined the operation of section 62 LPA 1925, particularly the diversity of occupation requirement. The article remains broadly accurate for its purpose as a case summary.
