CT Bar Real Property & Land Use 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a Connecticut zoning matter, a use that lawfully existed before a new ordinance made it non-conforming is called a:
- Variance
- Special exception
- Nonconforming use (Correct answer)
- Conditional use
Correct answer: Nonconforming use
A nonconforming use is a pre-existing lawful use that is allowed to continue despite a new zoning ordinance that would otherwise prohibit it.
Question 2: A tenant signs a two-year lease and abandons the premises after six months. Under the modern rule followed in most jurisdictions including Connecticut, the landlord's duty is to:
- Accept the tenant's surrender and sue for the entire remaining rent immediately
- Make reasonable efforts to re-let the property and offset recovered rent (Correct answer)
- Do nothing and collect full rent at the end of the lease
- Obtain a court order before re-entering the premises
Correct answer: Make reasonable efforts to re-let the property and offset recovered rent
Under the majority/modern rule, a landlord must make reasonable efforts to mitigate damages by attempting to re-let the abandoned premises.
Question 3: Which future interest is retained by a grantor who conveys 'to A so long as the land is used for farming'?
- Right of entry (power of termination)
- Possibility of reverter (Correct answer)
- Reversion
- Executory interest
Correct answer: Possibility of reverter
A possibility of reverter is automatically retained by the grantor when a fee simple determinable is created using durational language like 'so long as.'
Question 4: A seller and buyer enter a land sale contract. The buyer pays a deposit, then the seller dies before closing. Under the doctrine of equitable conversion:
- The contract is void and the buyer's deposit is returned
- The buyer is treated as the equitable owner of the land from contract execution (Correct answer)
- The seller's estate may rescind the contract
- Legal title and equitable title merge in the buyer immediately
Correct answer: The buyer is treated as the equitable owner of the land from contract execution
Under equitable conversion, once a valid land sale contract is signed, the buyer is treated as the equitable owner and bears the risk of loss.
Question 5: A common law joint tenancy requires four unities. Which unity demands that each co-tenant hold the same fractional share?
- Unity of time
- Unity of title
- Unity of interest (Correct answer)
- Unity of possession
Correct answer: Unity of interest
Unity of interest requires that each joint tenant hold equal shares of the same type of interest in the property.
Question 6: A property owner erects a fence that encroaches three feet onto a neighbor's lot. The neighbor does nothing for 15 years (Connecticut's adverse possession period). The encroaching owner may acquire title if she also shows:
- Payment of property taxes on the encroached strip
- Actual, open, hostile, and continuous possession under a claim of right (Correct answer)
- A good-faith belief that the fence was on her own property
- A recorded survey confirming the boundary
Correct answer: Actual, open, hostile, and continuous possession under a claim of right
Connecticut adverse possession requires actual, open, notorious, hostile, continuous possession under claim of right for 15 years; tax payment is not a required element.
Question 7: Which type of deed provides the greatest protection to a grantee by warranting title against all defects, whether arising before or after the grantor acquired title?
- Quitclaim deed
- Special warranty deed
- General warranty deed (Correct answer)
- Bargain and sale deed
Correct answer: General warranty deed
A general warranty deed covenants against all title defects, including those arising from acts of prior owners, offering the broadest protection to the grantee.
CT Bar Real Property & Land Use 3
In a Connecticut zoning matter, a use that lawfully existed before a new ordinance made it non-conforming is called a: