• In the case of Jones v Challenger 1961 1 QB 176, it was found that a sale of property will be ordered for land under a trust if the original purpose of the trust land expires.

Facts of the Case

  • A husband and wife held the lease of the matrimonial home as joint tenants upon trust for sale and upon trust for themselves as tenants in common in equal shares. They were divorced and the wife remarried, and the husband continued to live on in the house.
  • The wife applied under the Law of Property Act 1925 s.30 for an order of sale.

Issues in Jones v Challenger 1961 1 QB 176

  • Did the couple’s divorce extinguish the joint trust of the property?
  • Could an order for sale be made?

Held by Court of Appeal

  • Held in favour of the wife.

Devlin LJ

  • Held that such an order should be made as the house was no longer needed as a matrimonial home and the wife should be allowed to realise her half of the investment.
  • “If the court thinks it proper to give one party or the other the right to reside in the house after the marriage is over, it is not then necessarily interfering with the equal division of property held in equal shares. If there is other property to be divided, an overall equality maybe reached; or if there is not, the necessary adjustment may be made on the settlement of alimony or maintenance. So long as  in the end the division is in the correct proportion, each party C. A. gets his or her rights, and the question of whether one party shall have the enjoyment of one particular piece of property, such as the house, can properly be decided simply by what seems e – best to the court and most reasonable. But this can only be done CHALLENGER. as part of matrimonial proceedings. The order made in this case Devlin L.J. is tantamount to requiring the wife to contribute towards the upkeep of the husband’s home, and it is too late for that now. For these reasons, I think that the appeal should be allowed, and that an order should be made in the terms set out in the application.” Pg. 184-185

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