SQE1 Property Practice questions

Property practice is assessed in FLK2. It follows freehold and leasehold transactions from instructions to completion and registration: investigating title, searches and enquiries, the contract and exchange, mortgages, completion and post-completion steps, and the law on commercial leases. Taxation comes in through stamp duty land tax. Key sources include the Land Registration Act 2002, the Law of Property Act 1925, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 and the Finance Act 2003. Every question below links to the source behind its answer.

Rules to remember

Private residence relief exempts the fraction of the gain reflecting actual residence plus the final 9 months; absence relief needs residence both before and after the absence. Question L222

Under SCPC condition 2 the seller warrants a standard-rated supply and the buyer pays VAT on top of the price; a seller's option to tax makes an otherwise exempt sale standard-rated. Question L221

Where renewal is refused solely on grounds (e), (f) or (g), the tenant receives the rateable value (times the multiplier), doubled after 14 years' business occupation. Question L220

A landlord who wishes to oppose renewal after a tenant's s.26 request must, within two months, serve a counter-notice stating its s.30 ground(s). Question L219

If the landlord's warning notice is served less than 14 days before the tenant commits to the lease, the tenant must make a statutory declaration (not a simple one) beforehand for the contracting out to be valid. Question L218

Damages for breach of a tenant's repairing covenant cannot exceed the diminution in value of the landlord's reversion caused by the breach. Question L217

For a post-1995 commercial lease, a pre-agreed condition of consent (such as an AGA) is deemed reasonable under LTA 1927 s.19(1A), and an AGA covering the immediate assignee is valid under LT(C)A 1995 s.16. Question L216

On a written application under a qualified alienation covenant, the landlord must within a reasonable time decide and give written reasons, bears the burden of proving reasonableness, and is liable in damages for breach. Question L215

For land in Wales the buyer must make an LTT return, with self-assessment, to the Welsh Revenue Authority within 30 days beginning with the day after the effective date. Question L214

The buyer must file the SDLT return and pay the tax within 14 days after the effective date, normally completion. Question L213

Residential SDLT is charged on a slice basis; first-time buyers' relief is unavailable where the price exceeds the stated cap, so standard rates apply to the whole price. Question L212

If first registration is not applied for within two months, the transfer is void as to the legal estate, which reverts to the transferor on a bare trust for the transferee. Question L211

A company executes a deed by its seal, by two authorised signatories (directors or secretary), or by one director signing in the presence of an attesting witness. Question L210

Under SCS 7.2 the party with the greater default pays interest at the contract rate on the price (less any deposit, if the buyer pays) for the net period of excess default. Question L209

Under SCS 5.1.1 the property is at the buyer's risk from exchange, so the buyer should insure from exchange; the seller need not insure and LPA 1925 s.47 is excluded. Question L208

Under SCS 2.2.5 a seller buying another home in England and Wales may use the deposit as a deposit on that purchase; otherwise it is held as stakeholder (SCS 2.2.6). Question L207

A change of use between two purposes within the same class of the Use Classes Order is not development and needs no planning permission. Question L206

In England, enforcement action against unauthorised building operations may be taken within ten years of substantial completion (four years still applies to works completed before 25 April 2024). Question L205

Under an open contract an unregistered seller must deduce title from a good root of title at least 15 years old and all subsequent documents. Question L204

Where a sole surviving proprietor is registered with a Form A restriction and capital money arises, a second trustee must be appointed to join in so the money is paid to two trustees. Question L203

A solicitor must not act where clients' interests conflict unless they have a substantially common interest or are competing for the same objective, and then only with informed written consent and safeguards. Question L202

An official search with priority protects a buyer who applies to register within 30 working days of the search application being entered on the day list. Question 07

Under SCS 6.8, a notice to complete requires completion within ten working days (excluding the day given), time being of the essence; a buyer who paid under 10% must top up the deposit immediately. Question 22

A s.25 notice must be in prescribed form, given 6 to 12 months before a termination date no earlier than contractual expiry, stating whether the landlord opposes a new tenancy and on which s.30(1) grounds. Question 36