Formalities and contracts for the sale of land

In Marlbray Ltd v Laditi [2016] EWCA 476 the Court of Appeal held that a valid contract, which satisfied the requirements of s2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, had been concluded for the sale of property between the vendor and one of two intending purchasers. While the second purchaser was not bound because she had not given authority to the first purchaser to sign the document, the purchaser who had signed was nevertheless bound and he could not rely on the absence of the second party’s signature in order to deprive the agreement of legal effect. This was not a case in which the first purchaser would only become liable in the event that both purchasers signed the document.