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SQESalespersons Qualifying Examination✓EAQEEstate Agents Qualifying ExaminationEstate Agents Qualifying Examination
What happens between the provisional agreement and registration of the assignment, how mortgages and bank lending limits work, and the five property taxes: stamp duty, Government rent, rates, property tax and profits tax. EAQE syllabus 3.8 to 3.10 is tested at Level 2, but these numbers also drive Part II case questions on deposits, loans and duty, all worked by hand.
Part I · Stand-alone questions9 min read8 sections
Checked against the Conveyancing and Property Ordinance (Cap. 219), sections 13 and 44; Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117) and IRD Stamp Duty Rates Table IRSD123 (5/2026); IRD Stamp Office Interpretation & Practice Notes No. 1 (Revised, Nov 2018), paras 30 to 32; IRD press releases of 26 Feb 2025 and 4 Mar 2026; Government press release of 28 Feb 2024 (withdrawal of demand-side measures); HKMA press release of 16 Oct 2024; HKMC Mortgage Insurance Programme (criteria from 16 Oct 2024); Government Rent (Assessment and Collection) Ordinance (Cap. 515); Rating Ordinance (Cap. 116) and RVD progressive rating page; Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112); EAA Practice Circulars Nos. 05-07, 09-06 and 13-06 (CR); EAA, A Study Guide to Estate Agency Law and Practice, Part 3, paras 60 to 108; checked 11 Oct 2026.
This part of the syllabus sits at Level 2 (basic knowledge), so Part I questions are usually short: which document comes first, who holds the deposit, what the duty is. The same facts reappear in Part II, where a case asks how much cash the buyer needs, whether the vendor can redeem his mortgage, or what duty the agreement attracts. You have no calculator, so every figure here is chosen to be worked by hand in under a minute.
One warning on stamp duty. The paper prints its own rate table, and the sample table in the August 2026 EAA handbook still showed the pre-26 Feb 2025 scale (HK$100 only up to HK$3,000,000). Use whatever table your paper prints for the calculation; learn the current IRD figures for every other question.
| Stage | What happens | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Provisional agreement (PASP) | Tripartite agreement signed; initial deposit, usually 1–5% of price; vendor's identity checked (Cap. 511C, s.13(3)); no blank essential terms (Circular 13-06 (CR)) | Estate agent |
| Formal agreement | Drafted by the vendor's solicitors, approved by the purchaser's; further deposit; stamped and registered at the Land Registry | Solicitors |
| Title | Title deeds delivered; requisitions raised and answered; purchaser's solicitors advise whether to accept title | Solicitors |
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| Completion |
| Final inspection; balance paid against solicitors' undertakings; vendor signs the assignment; keys handed over; vendor's mortgage released |
| Solicitors; agent hands over keys if asked |
| After completion | Commission paid if still due; assignment stamped (HK$100 if the agreement paid AVD); assignment, release and new mortgage registered | Solicitors |
An agent's PASP is normally a binding contract, despite the word 'provisional'. In DH Shuttlecocks Ltd v Keung Shiu Tang [1993] the vendor's solicitors could not add a new term at the formal agreement stage, and the PASP stood.
Title. Unless the contract says otherwise, the vendor must show at least 15 years' title from a good root, such as an assignment or legal charge of the whole interest (Conveyancing and Property Ordinance (Cap. 219), s.13). If he cannot cure a defect raised by requisition, the purchaser can usually refuse to complete and recover the deposit. Title questions go to solicitors.
Company parties. Check the directors by company search and see a board resolution or power of attorney. If the signatory is not a director and cannot prove authority, warn your client, recommend legal advice and, for a purchaser, stakehold the deposit (Circular 09-06 (CR)).
Sub-sales and nominations. In a confirmor sale the head purchaser resells before completion; if the sub-purchaser's balance will not cover the confirmor's, the sub-purchaser's deposit should be stakeheld. A nomination is charged to duty again unless the nominee is a trustee or the nominator's spouse, parent or child (Study Guide Part 4, para 39).