A freeholder carving a lease out of his own land is not bound by it and may grant any term he likes
A worked RES examination question on state land grants, 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 salesperson is marketing two units in the same district and has been reading their titles over the weekend. The first is in a development held on a lease of one hundred and three years, granted by the freeholder of the land, who carved it out of his own title in 1962 when the estate was laid out. The second is in an older walk-up block whose units were sold on leases of nine hundred and ninety-nine years. A colleague who has sat the examination twice tells her over coffee that both titles are irregular, since no lease of land in Singapore may run beyond ninety-nine years, and that the second is really a freehold in all but name given how long it has to run.
Which statement is correct?
The answer, and why
Answer: D
The rule. The ninety-nine-year ceiling governs leases the State issues. A freeholder carving a lease out of his own land is not bound by it and may grant any term he likes. However long a lease runs, it remains leasehold — the length of the term does not change its character.
Why D is correct. Both leases were granted by private freeholders, so neither is irregular, and both are leasehold whatever their length.
The other options.
- A applies the State ceiling to private grants.
- C gets the first half right and then converts a long lease into a freehold, which is the instinct the 999-year term is placed in the stem to provoke.
- B does both errors at once.
Exam note. Two separate questions hide in one set of facts — *who granted it* and *what is it*. Answer them in that order and the option set falls apart cleanly.
More on State land grants
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