1. Old Mill property: If Clair has any rights to the cottage and in case of a positive answer if Richard is bound by these rights. [1000 words]

Question

Last month Richard agreed to buy a registered property called “The Old Mill”, in Leeds, consisting of an old waterside mill and a number of smaller buildings including a two-bedroom, self-contained cottage located close to the northern boundary of the property. Richard plans to renovate and then sell the property. When Richard visited the Old Mill for the first time the property looked abandoned. There were broken windows in most of the buildings and parts of the fence that surrounded the property had collapsed. Only the mill and the cottage looked to be in habitable condition but there was no one there. The agent who showed him around and represented the seller, said that the owner, Nancy, an old lady who was living in the property, was in hospital recovering from a hip replacement operation. During the visit Richard noticed the presence in the property of another woman who was playing with her dog close to the fence. Richard thought that she was a neighbour. Wishing to save money Richard decided to complete the purchase without using a solicitor. After completion, Richard visited the property again to start the preparatory work for the renovation. Then he saw again in the property the woman with the dog. This time she was watering the plants. Her name was Clair. When Richard introduced himself as the new owner of the Old Mill and asked her to leave the property Clair refused. She said that she was living in the cottage, which she had bought from Nancy two years ago. When Richard asked for more details, Clair brought from the cottage and showed him the contract for the sale of the cottage which she had signed with Nancy in 2018. The sale of the cottage was not registered.