Attorney-General (Cth) v RT & Co Pty Ltd (No 2) (1957) 97 CLR 146
Property law; lease of land; when things attached to buildings become fixtures.
Facts: In 1949, the Commonwealth government bought the block of land at 300 King Street, Melbourne. There was a three-storey building with a basement on the land purchased, which buildings had previously been used to print and publish a newspaper. The government took possession of the ground and upper levels of the building, but not the basement which had been leased to a tenant. Eventually when the government wanted to occupy and use the basement, the question arose of who owned the machinery that had been left there by the tenant. This included two printing presses which were bolted to the concrete foundation of the building.
Issue: Had the presses become fixtures of the building, and therefore owned by the government, or were they still chattels and owned by the tenant?
Decision: Despite being bolted to the floor, the presses were not fixtures, but remained chattels, and were accordingly still owned by the tenant.
Reason: Although the machinery was bolted to the building, the fixing of the presses by means of nuts and bolts was effected for the purpose of holding them steady when operating and for the more efficient use of them as presses. They had not been attached for the purpose of better using the land itself, which would have made them fixtures.