NY Bar Real Property 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: O conveys Greenacre 'to A so long as the land is used for agricultural purposes.' What type of future interest does O retain?
- Right of entry (power of termination)
- Possibility of reverter (Correct answer)
- Reversion in fee simple
- Executory interest
Correct answer: Possibility of reverter
A grant 'to A so long as...' creates a fee simple determinable in A, and the grantor retains a possibility of reverter that vests automatically upon the occurrence of the stated condition.
Question 2: In New York, which of the following is the MOST accurate statement regarding adverse possession?
- The claimant must pay property taxes for at least 5 of the 10-year statutory period
- The claimant must have actual, open, notorious, exclusive, and hostile possession for 10 years and, under the 2008 amendment, must have a 'reasonable basis' for the belief that the land is owned by them (Correct answer)
- The claimant need only show open and notorious use for 20 years without any additional requirements
- The claimant must file a quiet title action within 3 years of completing the 10-year period
Correct answer: The claimant must have actual, open, notorious, exclusive, and hostile possession for 10 years and, under the 2008 amendment, must have a 'reasonable basis' for the belief that the land is owned by them
New York's 2008 amendment (RPAPL § 501) added a requirement of a 'claim of right' with a reasonable basis for the belief in ownership, in addition to the traditional elements over 10 years.
Question 3: A residential tenant in New York City has lived in a rent-stabilized apartment for 15 years. The landlord wishes to recover the unit for personal use. Under NYC rent stabilization rules, which of the following is MOST accurate?
- The landlord may recover the unit immediately with 30 days' notice regardless of tenancy length
- The landlord may recover the unit for primary personal use by filing a non-renewal notice, but senior or disabled tenants with long tenancies may have heightened protections (Correct answer)
- Rent-stabilized tenants can never be evicted for owner occupancy under any circumstances
- The landlord must obtain court approval and pay relocation assistance equal to 3 months' rent in all cases
Correct answer: The landlord may recover the unit for primary personal use by filing a non-renewal notice, but senior or disabled tenants with long tenancies may have heightened protections
Under NYC rent stabilization, a landlord may seek owner occupancy, but qualified senior citizens (62+) or disabled tenants are exempt from such evictions under the Rent Stabilization Code.
Question 4: In New York, which doctrine allows a court to enforce a promise to convey land made in exchange for the promisee's substantial detrimental reliance, even absent a written contract?
- The merger doctrine
- Promissory estoppel (part performance) (Correct answer)
- The parol evidence rule
- Equitable subrogation
Correct answer: Promissory estoppel (part performance)
New York courts recognize part performance and promissory estoppel as exceptions to the Statute of Frauds when a party has detrimentally relied on an oral promise to convey land.
Question 5: A mortgage on real property is executed and delivered in New York but not immediately recorded. A subsequent judgment creditor dockets a judgment against the mortgagor. Under New York law, who has priority?
- The mortgage lender, because the mortgage was delivered before the judgment
- The judgment creditor, if the judgment was docketed before the mortgage was recorded and the creditor had no actual notice of the mortgage (Correct answer)
- The mortgage lender always, because a mortgage is a lien superior to all judgment liens
- Neither party; they share the property pro rata
Correct answer: The judgment creditor, if the judgment was docketed before the mortgage was recorded and the creditor had no actual notice of the mortgage
Under New York's race-notice recording statute, a judgment creditor who dockets before the mortgage is recorded, without notice of the prior mortgage, takes priority.
Question 6: Under New York law, when a lease is silent on the issue of subletting, a residential tenant in a building with four or more units has what right to sublet?
- No right to sublet without landlord consent; silence in the lease prohibits subletting
- An absolute right to sublet to any person the tenant chooses
- A qualified right to sublet with landlord consent, which consent cannot be unreasonably withheld under RPL § 226-b (Correct answer)
- The right to sublet only with a court order permitting subletting
Correct answer: A qualified right to sublet with landlord consent, which consent cannot be unreasonably withheld under RPL § 226-b
New York RPL § 226-b grants residential tenants in buildings with four or more units the right to sublet with landlord consent, and the landlord cannot unreasonably withhold consent.
Question 7: A contract for the sale of real property in New York is signed, but before closing, the property is destroyed by fire. Under the traditional New York rule and the doctrine of equitable conversion, who bears the risk of loss?
- The seller, because they still hold legal title to the property at the time of loss
- The buyer, because equitable conversion treats the buyer as the equitable owner from the moment of contract (Correct answer)
- The risk is split equally between buyer and seller
- The party in actual possession of the property at the time of loss
Correct answer: The buyer, because equitable conversion treats the buyer as the equitable owner from the moment of contract
New York traditionally follows the doctrine of equitable conversion, under which the buyer bears the risk of loss after the contract is signed because equity treats the buyer as the owner of the land.
NY Bar Real Property 2
O conveys Greenacre 'to A so long as the land is used for agricultural purposes.' What type of future interest does O retain?