Under the doctrine of tenure all land belongs ultimately to the State
A worked RES examination question on ownership and tenure, from our Paper 1 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
A new salesperson, showing a client round a condominium development held on a ninety-nine-year lease, tells him that once he completes he will own that piece of Singapore outright, and that the developer owned it in the same way before him. The client repeats this to his lawyer that evening.
Which statement is correct?
The answer, and why
Answer: A
The rule. Under the doctrine of tenure all land belongs ultimately to the State. What a buyer acquires is an estate in the land, measured by duration — here a ninety-nine-year leasehold — never the land itself.
Why A is correct. The salesperson is wrong. On completion the buyer takes an estate for the ninety-nine years, not the piece of Singapore itself; the developer held an estate before him in the same way.
The other options.
- B is the salesperson's claim, extended to the developer.
- C confines his error to airspace rather than correcting it.
- D overcorrects to a licence, which would deny the buyer any interest at all — the answer of a candidate who has heard that nobody owns land and drawn the wrong conclusion.
Exam note. Both extremes are wrong. The buyer owns something real, and it is not the land.
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Independent study material. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Council for Estate Agencies. No pass guarantee — for study use only.