13. Conveyancing

The parties are vendor and purchaser. The purchaser may raise requisitions on the abstract of title. The vendor must answer them well enough to show a good root of title. The vendor's duty is to show a title the purchaser can be compelled to take, not a title that is perfect in every old sense.

A good root is an instrument that deals with the whole legal and equitable estate, describes the property, and contains nothing that casts doubt on the title. The usual roots are a conveyance on sale, a legal mortgage, a specific devise, an assent by personal representatives, and a voluntary conveyance. If the instrument fails one of those tests, the purchaser may ask for something earlier.

The abstract then follows the chain: every later deed, and the events that link them, including births, marriages and deaths. A mortgage stays in the abstract even after it is paid off, with the receipt. Births, marriages and deaths are proved by certificates, sometimes by a family Bible or a statutory declaration. An intestacy is proved by letters of administration. A power of attorney is proved by the power itself and by proof it had not been revoked. A will is proved by probate, or by the will if it has not been proved. A disentailing assurance is proved by the certificate of enrolment.

Check the number of years required for a good root, and that the period is not the same for private land and for State land. Statutory provision wins over the old common law period. Do not assume the English fifteen-year period without looking at the Sierra Leone rule you are applying.

The parts of the deed are these.

The commencement names the parties, with address and occupation so that the wrong person cannot claim the deed. The deed takes effect when it is signed, sealed and delivered, not from a date written in and never executed. A deed signed and sealed but not delivered is nothing.

Recitals are narrative, how the vendor came to the land, or introductory, why the parties are now changing that position.

The testatum is the operative start. The consideration shows the deed is not voluntary. A receipt in the body is enough evidence of payment for a later purchaser. The operative words, "as beneficial owner hereby grants and conveys", state the capacity. That capacity decides the implied covenants. A beneficial owner covenants that he has power to convey and that the land is free from encumbrances. A settlor covenants for further assurance. A trustee, mortgagee, personal representative or receiver covenants only that he himself has not encumbered the land. The benefit runs with the land.

The parcels clause describes the land as it is now, so that the boundaries are not in doubt. It may refer back to an earlier description. Exceptions keep back something that already exists. Reservations create a new right for the vendor, such as a right of way. They are not implied. They must be written.

The habendum defines the estate: "to hold unto the purchaser in fee simple". Encumbrances are stated here. A conveyance without words of limitation now passes the estate the grantor has, but any limit the parties intend must be said.

The attestation clause records the signature, the seal and the witness.

A lease uses the same skeleton, with different working parts. The demise creates the term and implies quiet enjoyment if none is expressed. The reddendum states the rent and the payment dates. The proviso for re-entry lets the landlord determine the tenancy if rent is unpaid for the stated period, often twenty-one days, whether or not it was formally demanded, or if a covenant is broken.

Usual covenants are present even when the lease is silent, unless they are excluded. The tenant's implied covenants include payment of rent, not denying the landlord's title, allowing entry to repair, and payment of utility charges. The landlord's include quiet enjoyment, non-derogation from grant, fitness for habitation where the cases require it, and re-entry for non-payment of rent or breach of covenant. Express covenants commonly add repair, insurance, a restriction on subletting or on a particular trade, and a promise not to alter the premises.