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Paper 1 · Lesson 2 — Land, Title Types, Capacity, Powers of Attorney and Fixtures

Land share and common property

Ownership of the land beneath (condo vs HDB), en-bloc / collective sale, and common property that cannot be appropriated (gardens, unreservable car-park lots, corridors/void decks).

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Question 1

Madam Lim asks her agent to market a shophouse which she says her late husband left to her. The agent has only her word for the ownership and has not seen any document. He is about to place an advertisement describing her as the owner.

Which statement is correct?

A. He may advertise on her word, a client's account of her own property being reliable.
B. He need not retrieve the title, ownership being a matter for the buyer's solicitor alone.
C. He may advertise now and retrieve the title only if a buyer raises a question about it.
D. He should retrieve the title first, a client's information not being a safe basis to act on.

Show the answer and full explanation

Answer: D

The rule. Before marketing a property the agent must retrieve the title. A client's account of her own property is not a safe basis to act on, and advertising inaccurate details exposes the agent to a claim in misrepresentation.

Why D is correct. He should retrieve the title first rather than rely on Madam Lim's word.

The other options.

A treats the owner's account as reliable.
C defers the check until a buyer asks, which is too late if the advertisement is already wrong.
B passes the whole matter to the buyer's solicitor, when verifying ownership is the marketing agent's own first duty.

Exam note. "Retrieve the title first" is the standard opening step, and the reason is that the client may be honestly mistaken, not merely dishonest.

Before marketing a property the agent must retrieve the title →

Question 2

An HDB flat owner and a condominium owner who are friends fall to comparing what each of them owns beyond his own front door — the corridors, the grounds, the land beneath the block. The flat owner believes that he owns a share of all of these, just as the condominium owner does, so that the two of them stand in the same position as regards the common parts of their respective developments. The condominium owner is not so sure, and they have asked an agent to settle which of them is right.

Which statement is correct?

A. Both own a share of the land, the corridors and grounds belonging to the owners in each.
B. Neither owns any share of the land, both holding only the space within their own walls.
C. The flat owner owns a share of the land; the condominium's land belongs to the developer.
D. The condominium owner owns a share of the land; the flat owner owns his airspace alone.

Show the answer and full explanation

Answer: D

The rule. A condominium owner owns a share of the land beneath the development. An HDB flat owner owns the flat's airspace for the term and no share of the land or common areas.

Why D is correct. The condominium owner owns a land share; the flat owner owns his airspace alone.

The other options.

A gives both a land share.
C reverses the two and gives the condominium's land to the developer.
B denies both any land share.

Exam note. Step out of the HDB flat and you own nothing beyond the door. Step out of the condominium unit and you still own a share of the ground.

A condominium owner owns a share of the land beneath the development →

Practise it under exam conditions

Single questions test whether you know a rule. The paper tests whether you can find it in a scenario, at speed, with three plausible alternatives in the way. Start with the free 20-question half-paper.

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