Fixtures and fittings

Question 1

An assessor is testing a salesperson on how the law decides whether an item has become a fixture, because getting it wrong at a completion can cost a client dearly. There are two tests, and the order in which they are applied matters. The assessor offers two examples to reason about. The first is a heavy stone statue that stands on the back lawn held down by nothing but its own weight. The second is a boiler that has been bolted into the plant room to serve the whole building with hot water. He asks the salesperson to name the tests, apply them, and say what follows when the first test is not satisfied.

Consider the following statements.

1. (i) The first test asks how far the item is annexed to the land.
2. (ii) The second test asks the purpose for which the item was annexed.
3. (iii) The statue, resting by its weight alone, is unlikely to be a fixture.
4. (iv) An item that fails the first test is still weighed under the second.

1. A. (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)
2. B. (i), (iii) and (iv)
3. C. (ii), (iii) and (iv) only
4. D. (i), (ii) and (iii) only

Question 2

The family ask which of the household items pass to the buyer with the flat. Consider the following statements.

1. (i) The built-in kitchen cabinets are fixtures and pass with the flat.
2. (ii) The ceiling fans wired into the ceiling are fixtures and pass with the flat.
3. (iii) The loose sofa set is a fitting the family may remove.
4. (iv) The freestanding wardrobe standing against the wall is a fixture that must stay.

1. A. (ii), (iii) and (iv) only
2. B. (i), (iii) and (iv)
3. C. (i), (ii) and (iii) only
4. D. (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)