EAQE Part II Case Studies: Method and Example

Part II of the Estate Agents Qualifying Examination (EAQE) is 20 questions on one or two case studies. It carries 40 of the 100 marks, and you need 24 of them: 12 correct answers. You must also pass Part I, so a weak Part II fails the whole paper however well Part I went (EAA, Paper-based Examination Handbook, August 2026, paras 4.3 and 4.4). This guide explains what the cases contain, how they differ from the SQE, a five-step method, and an original worked case on running an agency office.

What you get in the exam room

• One long case or two short ones. The handbook’s sample case notes that the real case may be more or less complex than the sample, or there may be two short cases instead of one long one (Appendix 3).
• A story in numbered paragraphs, plus documents. The facts come as short numbered paragraphs with named people, dates and prices. Annexes can include a land search and documents the parties signed or sent.
• Fixed meanings. Unless a question says otherwise, “land search” means the land register of the property in the Land Registry, the Estate Agents Ordinance (Cap. 511) and its subsidiary legislation apply, and “Form 1” to “Form 6” are the prescribed forms in the Practice Regulation (Cap. 511C) (Appendix 3, Note 2).
• No calculator. Calculators have been banned since February 2019 (EAA notice on calculators). A table of stamp duty rates is printed in the question book (Appendix 6).

EAQE Part II compared with the SQE

Twice the questions on the same story means each case is denser. A single fact, such as a manager who resigned or a deposit kept overnight, can drive three or four questions.

Which rules the cases test

The EAQE syllabus sets four parts at Level 4, “able to understand and to apply the knowledge to practical context of the industry”: Part 2 (the Ordinance and estate agency practice), Part 4.1 to 4.3 (land search), Part 7 (leasing and tenancy) and Part 8 (agency management). These are the parts a case asks you to apply (Appendix 1).

A five-step method

1. Skim the questions first (2 minutes)

Read the 20 question stems, not the options. Note who each one asks about and which rule it names. You then read the case looking for answers, not reading for interest.

2. Read the case once and build two lists (10 to 12 minutes)

In the margin of the question book, write a timeline (every date and what happened) and a party map (who is licensed and with which licence, who is the client, who owns the property). Most wrong answers come from mixing up the client or missing a date.

3. Check the documents against the story

Compare each annex with the facts. Does the owner on the land search match the person instructing the agent? Was a form signed before or after the event that triggers it? For reading a land register line by line, use our land search guide.

4. Answer from the facts plus one rule

Each question tests a rule applied to the facts given. Do not add facts the case does not state, and do not answer from what usually happens in practice. For statement items, mark each of (i) to (iv) true or false on its own, then pick the option that matches.

5. Keep to time

Budget about 85 minutes for Part II: 15 minutes for steps 1 and 2, then about 3.5 minutes a question. If a question stalls you past 5 minutes, mark your best answer, flag it and move on. Every question is worth the same 2 marks.

Worked mini case (original practice material)

Question 1

Which of the following statements are correct?

• (i) Harbourview must place each branch under the effective and separate control of its own manager.
• (ii) Mandy may manage Fanling as well as Tai Po, because both branches belong to the same company.
• (iii) Harbourview must notify the EAA that Peter’s appointment as manager has ended, within 31 days.
• (iv) Whoever manages the Fanling branch must hold an estate agent’s licence (individual).

Options: (i) and (ii) only · (i), (iii) and (iv) only · (ii) and (iv) only · (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)

Question 2

Which statement about Kelvin is correct?

• He may work as a salesperson while his application is pending, because he passed the SQE within 12 months.
• Harbourview must not employ him as a salesperson until he holds a licence.
• He may show flats but not negotiate prices until the licence is granted.
• Only Kelvin is at fault; the branch has no responsibility.

Question 3

Which statement about the HK$20,000 is correct?

• Wing complied with the Ordinance, because the money stayed locked in the office.
• Wing should have paid it forthwith to Harbourview or into the trust account Harbourview maintains under the Practice Regulation.
• Wing may keep client money for up to 3 working days before handing it over.
• Wing should have paid it into her own bank account until Monday.

One set of facts produced three questions on four different sections of the Ordinance. A real EAQE case can do the same across 10 or 20 questions, which is why the party map and timeline in step 2 save time later.

Traps examiners set in EAQE cases

• Same company, two offices: one manager cannot control both, even within one company.
• Pending licence: an exam pass or an application is not a licence.
• Client money: “forthwith” means now, not after the weekend.
• Who acts for whom: the vendor’s agent and the purchaser’s agent have different forms and different timing. A vendor’s agent signs the estate agency agreement within 7 working days of accepting instructions, before advertising, or before an agreement for sale and purchase is signed, whichever is earliest (Cap. 511C, section 6, as set out in the EAA Study Guide, Part 2).
• The firm and the individual: an employer can be vicariously liable to a client for an employee’s wrong committed in the course of employment, and directors can be liable for an offence committed with their consent or connivance (EAA Study Guide, Parts 8 and 2).

Practise Part II

The EAA’s online mock includes one standard EAQE Part II case. For more, our EAQE practice has full Part II cases on agency management, sales, leasing, land searches and first-hand sales, all written by us and none taken from the EAA. Start with the free EAQE mock, which includes a Part II case and marks each part against 60%.

Related guides

• How to pass the EAQE: study plan, timing and retakes
• Part II land searches: reading a land register entry by entry
• Estate agency agreements: Forms 3 to 6: who signs what, and when

Sources

• EAA, Examination Handbook (Paper-based Examination), August 2026: paras 4.3 and 4.4; Appendices 1, 3 and 6. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
• EAA, Effective control by managers and EAA, S.40 requirements and forms. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
• EAA, A Study Guide to Estate Agency Law and Practice, Parts 2 and 8 (sections 39, 42, 43 and 55 of Cap. 511; section 6 of Cap. 511C; vicarious liability). Checked 13 Oct 2026; parts of the Study Guide predate later changes in the law.
• EAA, notice on the use of calculators, February 2019. Checked 13 Oct 2026.