Generally
English law divides property into real property and per-
sonal property. The assets of a business are usually made
up of both sorts of property.
The distinction between the two sorts of property is
mainly that real property cannot be moved but personal
property can.
However, this is not the only test because some things
which can be moved are regarded as real property and
called fixtures, while other moveables are regarded as
fittings which do not become part of the real property to
which they are attached. A diagram showing the broad
classification of property in English law appears at Fig 15.1.
Fixtures and fittings
As we have seen, fixtures become part of the land itself;
fittings do not. If a piece of personal property is securely
attached to the ground it is probably a fixture, but a sec-
ond test needs to be applied in order to finally decide. If
the piece of personal property was put on the land so
that it could be better enjoyed for itself, it is not a fixture.
However, if it was put on the land so that the land can
be better enjoyed, then it is a fixture.421
Chapter 15 Business property
Learning objectives
After studying this chapter you should understand the following main points:
■the various legal classifications of property;
■property rights and liabilities such as easements and restrictive
covenants;
■the legal estates in land including the commonhold;
■the tort liability of occupiers of land;
■intellectual property rights such as patents and copyright;
■the legal framework governing data protection, the misuse of computers
and freedom of information.Leighv Taylor (1902)A person put some valuable tapestries on the wall of his
house, the house being real property. He used tacks to
fit them on a framework of wood and canvas which he
then nailed to the wall. Upon his death the court had to
decide whether the tapestries were real or personal
property and it was decided that they were still personal
property. They had been fixed to the wall so that they
could be better enjoyed for themselves.
Comment. A contrast is provided by D’Eyncourtv
Gregory(1866) where certain statues, vases and stone
garden furniture standing on their own weight were
decided to be real property because they formed part of
the design of a landscaped garden. They were there for
the better enjoyment of the land.The importance of the idea of fixtures and fittings is
that if you buy land and buildings, say as a business
asset, then, in the absence of a special provision in the
conveyance to the contrary, the conveyance will pass the
fixtures to the buyer and they cannot be removed by
the seller. They are also regarded as included in the