Leasehold land – agreement for lease – unpaid seller's lien – merger – specific performance

This case raised an interesting point on the interaction of the unpaid vendor’s lien and the underlying transaction, a key feature of which was the landlord buying in a lease of property and on completion the merger of the freehold and leasehold interests.

The background

The defendant (V&V) was the freehold owner of a parcel of land in Salford, part of which had been developed as flats sold off on long leases. Parts of the land, including Area G (the Property), the subject of these proceedings remained an undeveloped building plot.