SQE1 - Solicitors Qualifying Examination Part 1 Land Law Principles Questions and Answers

Question 1

In 1994, a landlord granted a 20-year commercial lease to a tenant (T1). In 2010, T1 assigned the lease to an assignee (T2) with the landlord's consent. In 2012, T2 failed to pay rent. The landlord wishes to recover the unpaid rent. From whom can the landlord legally seek to recover the arrears?

Accepted Answer

From either T1 or T2, due to privity of contract with T1 and privity of estate with T2.

Answer

The lease was granted in 1994, which is before the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 came into force (1 January 1996). Therefore, it is an 'old lease'. For old leases, the original tenant (T1) remains liable for all covenants for the entire term of the lease due to the doctrine of privity of contract. The current tenant (T2) is also liable for covenants that 'touch and concern' the land (which includes the rent covenant) due to the doctrine of privity of estate. The landlord can therefore choose to sue either T1 or T2 for the unpaid rent.

Question 2

A developer purchased a plot of registered freehold land in 2020. The transfer from the seller contained a covenant requiring the developer and its successors in title 'to construct and forever maintain at its own expense a substantial boundary fence' along the border with the seller's retained land. The developer built the fence but sold the plot in 2023 to a new owner. The fence has now fallen into disrepair. The original seller wishes to enforce the covenant against the new owner. What is the correct legal position?

Accepted Answer

The covenant is likely to be unenforceable as the burden of a positive covenant does not run with freehold land.

Answer

The covenant to 'construct and forever maintain' a fence requires the expenditure of money and is therefore a positive covenant. The long-established rule, confirmed by the House of Lords in *Rhone v Stephens*, is that the burden of a positive covenant does not run with the freehold land either at common law or in equity. Therefore, the original seller cannot directly enforce the covenant against the new owner, who was not a party to the original deed. The other options are incorrect as they do not overcome this fundamental rule.

Question 3

An unmarried couple purchase a house together as beneficial tenants in common to be their family home. They have a young child who lives with them. Following the breakdown of their relationship, one partner moves out and applies to the court for an order for sale under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA). The other partner, who still lives in the property with the child, wishes to postpone the sale. Which of the following factors is the court required to have regard to under section 15 of TOLATA?

Accepted Answer

The welfare of any minor who occupies the land as their home.

Answer

Section 15 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 sets out a non-exhaustive list of factors the court must consider when hearing an application for an order for sale. Section 15(1)(c) specifically includes 'the welfare of any minor who occupies or might reasonably be expected to occupy any land subject to the trust as his home'. While other factors like the purpose of the trust and the intentions of the parties are relevant, the welfare of a resident minor is a mandatory consideration and often a very significant one.

Question 4

A woman owned a large house with an adjoining cottage, both set in extensive grounds. She lived in the house and, for many years, accessed the cottage via a clearly defined and tarmacked driveway that crossed the grounds of the main house. She then sold the cottage to a buyer, but the transfer deed made no mention of any right of way over the driveway. The woman now seeks to prevent the buyer from using the driveway. On what basis is the buyer most likely to establish a legal right of way over the driveway?

Accepted Answer

Under the rule in *Wheeldon v Burrows*.

Answer

The rule in *Wheeldon v Burrows* implies the grant of easements into a conveyance of part of a larger piece of land. The rule applies where the right was 'continuous and apparent' and 'necessary for the reasonable enjoyment' of the part sold, which is the case here with a visible, tarmacked drive that was used to access the cottage before the sale. An easement of necessity is unlikely as it requires the land to be otherwise landlocked. Section 62 is less likely to apply as there was no prior diversity of occupation. Prescription requires 20 years of use as of right, which hasn't occurred since the sale.

Question 5

A legal mortgagee's power of sale has arisen and become exercisable due to the mortgagor's persistent failure to make mortgage payments. The mortgagee intends to sell the property. What is the primary duty owed by the mortgagee to the mortgagor when conducting the sale?

Accepted Answer

To take reasonable care to obtain the best price reasonably obtainable at the time of the sale.

Answer

The established duty of a mortgagee when exercising its power of sale is to act in good faith and to take reasonable care to obtain the 'true market value' or the 'best price reasonably obtainable' at the time of sale. This duty was outlined in cases such as *Cuckmere Brick Co v Mutual Finance Ltd*. The mortgagee is not obliged to wait for the market to improve, nor is their duty simply to cover the debt; they must consider the mortgagor's interest in any surplus equity. They can choose the method of sale (e.g., auction or private treaty) as long as it is a reasonable choice in the circumstances.

SQE1 Practice Test

SQE1 Practice Test

SQE1 - Solicitors Qualifying Examination Part 1 Land Law Principles Questions and Answers