Two tests decide a fixture: the degree of annexation
A worked RES examination question on fixtures and fittings, from our Paper 1 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
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.
- (i) The first test asks how far the item is annexed to the land.
- (ii) The second test asks the purpose for which the item was annexed.
- (iii) The statue, resting by its weight alone, is unlikely to be a fixture.
- (iv) An item that fails the first test is still weighed under the second.
The answer, and why
Answer: D
The rule. Two tests decide a fixture: the degree of annexation — how far it is attached — and the purpose of annexation. If an item fails the first test, the second is not applied.
Why D is correct. (i) and (ii) name the two tests, (iii) applies the first to the resting statue; (iv) is false — failing the first test ends the enquiry.
The other options.
- B and A carry the false (iv).
- C drops the true (i).
Exam note. The tests run in order. A thing held down only by its own weight fails the first test, and the purpose test is never reached.
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