SQE1 Land Law practice questions

Land law is assessed in FLK2. It covers estates and interests in land, registered and unregistered land, co-ownership and trusts of land, leases, easements, freehold covenants and mortgages. Key sources include the Law of Property Act 1925, the Land Registration Act 2002 and the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, together with a substantial body of case law. Every question below links to the source behind its answer.

Rules to remember

Registered charges on the same registered estate rank between themselves in the order shown on the register, not the order of creation. Question L178

Where a mortgagee seeks possession of a dwelling-house, the court may adjourn, suspend or postpone possession if the mortgagor is likely to pay the sums due within a reasonable period. Question L177

A selling mortgagee chooses the timing and need not improve the property, but must act in good faith and take reasonable care to obtain the true market value at the time of sale. Question L176

A purchaser from a mortgagee exercising the statutory power of sale takes good title even if the power was not yet exercisable; the mortgagor's remedy is damages against the mortgagee. Question L175

The burden of a restrictive freehold covenant binds a successor in equity if it benefits the covenantee's land, was intended to run and is protected (by notice, in registered land); the remedy is equitable. Question L174

On a sale of part, the rule in Wheeldon v Burrows implies the grant of continuous and apparent rights, necessary for reasonable enjoyment, that the common owner used for the part sold. Question L173

On a conveyance, s.62 LPA 1925 passes rights enjoyed with the land at that time, including a tenant's permissive use of a way over the seller's retained land, converting it into a legal easement. Question L172

A right is an easement only if it accommodates the dominant land, being connected with its normal enjoyment; a commercial monopoly unrelated to the land's use, as in Hill v Tupper, does not qualify. Question L171

Before forfeiting for breach of a covenant other than to pay rent, the landlord must serve a s.146 notice specifying the breach, requiring remedy if possible and compensation, and allow reasonable time. Question L170

Under the 1995 Act, a tenant of a lease granted on or after 1 January 1996 who lawfully assigns the whole premises is released from the tenant covenants, unless she gives an authorised guarantee agreement. Question L169

A lease must have a term of certain maximum duration; a letting until an uncertain event fails as a term, though a corporate occupier paying periodic rent holds a periodic tenancy. Question L168

Save in exceptional circumstances, an occupier granted exclusive possession for a fixed or periodic term at a rent is a tenant, regardless of how the agreement is labelled. Question L167

On a bankrupt's trustee's application for sale made more than a year after vesting, the court assumes creditors' interests outweigh all others unless the circumstances are exceptional. Question L166

On an application under TOLATA s.14 the court has a discretion, having regard to the s.15 factors, including the trust's purposes and the welfare of any minor occupying the home. Question L165

A beneficial joint tenancy can be severed by written notice, validly served if left at the recipient's last-known abode; severance affects only the severing party's share, and the legal title remains joint. Question L164

An estate contract (such as an option) not registered as a Class C(iv) land charge is void against a purchaser of a legal estate for money or money's worth, whatever notice the purchaser had. Question L163

Rectification against a registered proprietor in possession needs his consent unless he caused or substantially contributed to the mistake by fraud or lack of care, or it would be unjust not to rectify. Question L162

A legal easement overrides a registered disposition unless unknown and not obvious on inspection, and that exception does not apply if the easement was exercised in the year before the disposition. Question L161

An occupier's interest does not override a registered disposition if inquiry was made of the occupier beforehand and they failed to disclose the right when they could reasonably have been expected to. Question L160

No notice may be entered for an interest under a trust of land; a beneficiary protects the interest by a restriction on the register. Question L159

The express grant of a legal easement over registered land must be completed by registration; until then it does not operate at law and takes effect in equity only. Question L158

A transfer of unregistered freehold land, including a gift, must be registered within two months; otherwise the legal estate reverts to the transferor on a bare trust for the transferee. Question L157

An object becomes part of the land according to the degree and object of annexation, judged objectively; a structure that can be removed only by demolition is part of the land. Question L156

A contract for the sale of an interest in land can only be made in writing, incorporating all expressly agreed terms, signed by or on behalf of each party. Question L155

A lease taking effect in possession for not more than three years, at the best rent reasonably obtainable without a premium, can be created orally and takes effect as a legal lease. Question L154

The burden of a positive freehold covenant does not run to bind successors in title, at law or in equity. Question 11

Where capital money is paid to at least two trustees, a beneficiary's interest is overreached and shifts to the proceeds and equity of redemption, even if the beneficiary is in actual occupation. Question 25

A legal lease granted for seven years or less (and not otherwise a registrable disposition) is an overriding interest under LRA 2002 Sch 3 para 1 and binds a registered purchaser regardless of occupation or knowledge. Question 39