SQE1 Property Law

Question 1

What is the main difference between freehold and leasehold ownership of land in England and Wales?

Accepted Answer

Freehold ownership is permanent and absolute; leasehold gives a right to occupy for a fixed term subject to conditions

Answer

Freehold (fee simple absolute in possession) is the most complete form of land ownership — it is permanent and perpetual. Leasehold gives a right to occupy land for a defined term, subject to covenants, and ultimately reverts to the landlord.

Question 2

Under the Land Registration Act 2002, what is the effect of first registration of a freehold title at HM Land Registry?

Accepted Answer

The title is registered and the proprietor's rights are protected; however, overriding interests still bind without being entered on the register

Answer

First registration gives the proprietor a registered title, but overriding interests (such as legal easements, short leases, and rights of persons in actual occupation under Sch.3, LRA 2002) bind the registered proprietor even without being noted on the register.

Question 3

What is an 'easement' in land law?

Accepted Answer

A right to use someone else's land for a specific purpose that benefits the dominant tenement

Answer

An easement is a proprietary right that benefits one piece of land (the dominant tenement) and burdens another (the servient tenement), allowing specific use of the servient land (e.g., a right of way, right of light, or right of drainage).

Question 4

In leasehold law, what is the 'privity of estate' rule?

Accepted Answer

The obligations under a lease bind the persons who hold the respective estates (freehold and leasehold) for the time being, while that relationship exists

Answer

Privity of estate means that obligations in a lease (under the old law, pre-Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995) bind those who stand in the relationship of landlord and tenant for the time being. This concept explains why assignees are bound by covenants that touch and concern the land.

Question 5

What is a 'restrictive covenant' in land law and how does it bind successors in title?

Accepted Answer

A negative obligation restricting use of land that runs with the burdened land in equity if certain conditions are met

Answer

A restrictive covenant is a negative obligation (e.g., not to build) that runs with the land in equity. Under the rule in Tulk v Moxhay [1848], it binds successors if it is negative in nature, benefits dominant land, and the successor took the burdened land with notice of it.

SQE1 Practice Test

SQE1 Practice Test

SQE1 Property Law