Background
A married couple, who were landlords, rented out a cottage on their property to another couple, the tenants. The husband of the landlord couple had an affair with the wife of the tenant couple. He made promises to her, stating that he intended to subdivide the land and ensure that the cottage would be transferred into her name. He convinced her that she did not need a lawyer or a settlement because she would have ownership of the cottage. As a result, the tenant wife divorced her husband and performed unpaid maintenance and renovations on the property. Despite her efforts, the subdivision necessary for the transfer of the cottage never took place, and the land could not be transferred to her.
Dispute and result
The tenant wife argued that there was a presumption that the landlord husband's promise led to her detrimental reliance. She claimed that she enjoys an entitlement to relief sufficient to give effect to the landlord husband’s promise. Ultimately, the court ruled that the tenant wife was entitled to equitable compensation, based on the value she would have received if the assurance had been fulfilled.
The above case shouldn't be blindly applied, as the court has arrived at opposite outcomes in similar cases. See Is Husband's secret financial agreement with his mistress binding? #Financial agreement
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