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An expired pass fails the check, and the letting must not proceed on a promise to renew it later

A worked RES examination question on capacity and immigration checks, from our Paper 2 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.

Paper 2Lesson 2Capacity and immigration checksFree — no sign-up

The question

The lease is all but agreed and both sides are keen to sign this week. Midway through arranging it, a salesperson checks the prospective foreign tenant's work pass and finds it expired some weeks ago and not yet renewed. The tenant is keen to sign at once and sort the pass out afterwards, and the landlord is happy to have him.

What is the most appropriate course?

  1. A. Proceed with the lease, the expired pass being the tenant's own problem to resolve later.
  2. B. Not proceed until the tenant's valid immigration status is confirmed.
  3. C. Proceed, provided the tenant undertakes in writing to renew the pass within a month.
  4. D. Proceed, since the landlord has accepted the tenant and it is his flat to let.

The answer, and why

Answer: B

The rule. A salesperson must not recommend a foreign tenant or facilitate the lease unless the tenant's immigration status is valid. An expired pass fails the check, and the letting must not proceed on a promise to renew it later.

Why B is correct. The work pass has expired, so the check is not satisfied. The salesperson should not recommend the tenant or facilitate the lease until valid status is confirmed.

The other options.

  • A treats the expired pass as the tenant's problem and proceeds. The salesperson shares the duty and must not proceed.
  • C proceeds on a written promise to renew. A promise does not cure an invalid status.
  • D defers to the landlord. The salesperson's own duty does not fall away because the landlord is willing.

Exam note. No valid pass, no recommendation and no lease — a promise to renew later does not satisfy the check, and the landlord's willingness does not remove the salesperson's duty.

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The free half-paper is 20 questions with a Section B case study, explained to this same depth. The paid sets are ten full 80-question papers across Paper 1 and Paper 2, every figure checked against the current IRAS, CEA, HDB, URA and SLA position.

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