Huang v 18 Woodville Holding Pty Ltd; Tao v 18 Woodville Holding Pty Ltd

In *Huang v 18 Woodville Holding Pty Ltd; Tao v 18 Woodville Holding Pty Ltd*, the appellants, Huang and Tao, appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against decisions of the primary judge. The dispute concerned the enforceability of unregistered tenancies against the registered proprietor of land under the Torrens system. The respondents were 18 Woodville Holding Pty Ltd and its liquidator.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the exception to indefeasibility of title provided by section 42(1)(d) of the *Real Property Act 1900* (NSW) extended to the interest of a tenant at will. This exception preserves the rights of a tenant under an unregistered lease as against the registered proprietor, provided the tenant is in possession and has paid rent. The appellants sought to argue that their unregistered tenancies, which they characterised as tenancies at will, fell within this exception.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the appeals, reasoned that a tenancy at will, by its nature, is terminable at any time by either party and does not confer a proprietary interest in the land that is protected by section 42(1)(d) of the *Real Property Act 1900*. The court affirmed that the exception in section 42(1)(d) applies to unregistered leases that create a legal or equitable interest in land, which a tenancy at will, being a precarious and terminable interest, does not. Consequently, the appellants' unregistered tenancies at will were not enforceable against the registered proprietor.

Leave was granted to the appellants to commence proceedings against the second respondent, who was in liquidation, pursuant to section 500(2) of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth). However, the appeals were dismissed, and the appellants were ordered to pay the respondents' costs.