25. Security interests in property

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with limited rights over property that enable a person who is owed a personal obligation by someone with ownership of an asset to exercise powers over that asset, should the personal obligation not be fulfilled. These limited rights are known as ‘security interests’—their effect is to provide additional remedies in the event of breach of the personal obligation and so make performance more secure. The chapter assumes that the obligation secured is a debt, but there is no reason why security cannot be taken in order to secure any obligation. It introduces the types of security interest, and considers the essential elements of their creation and the steps that may be necessary in order for the interest to have priority over competing claims to the secured property.