Case studies: leasing

Leasing cases combine estate agency rules (Forms 2, 5 and 6, land searches, client money, advertising) with tenancy law (stamp duty, Form CR109, forfeiture, mortgagee consent) and, for subdivided units, Part IVA of Cap. 7 and the Basic Housing Units Ordinance. EAQE cases often involve shops, offices or company landlords, where the residential forms drop away but the tenancy law and circulars do not.

Part II · Land search & case studies5 min read6 sections

Checked against the EAA Examination Handbook (paper-based), August 2026, paras 4.3 and 4.4; Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 7), Parts IV, IVA and V; Basic Housing Units Ordinance (Cap. 658); Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117), First Schedule Head 1(2), and IRD IRSD123 (5/2026); Practice Regulation (Cap. 511C), sections 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 13 and Forms 2, 5 and 6; EAA Practice Circulars Nos. 09-06, 13-03, 15-04, 17-02, 22-01, 23-01 and 26-01 (CR); EAA, A Study Guide to Estate Agency Law and Practice, Part 7; checked 11 Oct 2026.

Must-know for the exam

EAQE Part II: 20 questions on one or two case studies, 40 marks; you need at least 24, and 36 of 60 in Part I.
Forms 5 (landlord), 6 (tenant) and 2 (Leasing Information Form) apply to residential self-contained units only; shops, offices and shared rooms need no prescribed form (Cap. 511C, ss.2, 6).
Lease duty: up to 1 year, 0.25% of total rent; over 1 to 3 years, 0.5% of yearly rent; over 3 years, 1%; key money with rent, 4.25%. Deposits are ignored.
Stamp within 30 days of signing. Domestic lettings: Form CR109 within 1 month, or the landlord cannot sue for rent.
Part V (non-domestic) implies forfeiture only for rent unpaid 15 days after due; Part IV (domestic) adds illegal use, annoyance and structural alteration.
A mortgaged landlord needs the bank's written consent; otherwise the tenant has only a tenancy by estoppel, which fails against the bank.
Part IVA SDU tenancy: 2 + 2 years; deposit up to 2 months' rent; landlord pays duty, files AR2 within 60 days; second-term rise capped at lower of index change or 10%.
Cap. 658 in force 1 Mar 2026; unauthorised SDU letting is an offence from 1 Mar 2027; Circular 26-01 (CR) requires written reminders to clients.
Never leave essential terms blank in a provisional tenancy agreement (Circular 15-04 (CR)); AML customer due diligence is not triggered by leasing alone.

On this page · 6 sections

Traps that cost marks

Assuming s.45 and Forms 5 and 6 govern commission on every letting, including offices and shops.
Treating a term of exactly 3 years as 'over 3 years' and charging 1%.
Thinking the landlord's written confirmation turns its own area figure into a verified one.
Telling a tenant that an 'office' permit allows any commercial use, including retail to the public.
Lodging a CR109 for an office or shop, as if every letting needs one.
Candidates assume anti-money laundering checks apply to lettings, or that the advertising circular covers homes only.
Candidates think every lease must be registered to bind a buyer, missing the exception for rack-rent leases of 3 years or less.
Candidates think a dual agent may keep one client's plans from the other whenever the first client asks.

Why this matters in the exam

Leasing is tested at Level 4 in the EAQE, so Part II leasing cases expect you to apply rules to messy facts: a landlord company whose representative is not a director, a shop with key money, a flat whose bank has not consented, or a subdivided unit with an illegal deposit. Each question usually tests one rule; the trap is applying a residential rule to a commercial letting, or a general tenancy rule to a Part IVA tenancy.

Start by classifying the letting, then walk through the letting process, then do any arithmetic.

Classify the letting

Type	Agency forms	Tenancy rules that matter
Whole self-contained flat	Forms 5, 6 and 2	Part IV; CR109; stamp duty; mortgagee consent
Room sharing kitchen or bathroom	None	Tenancy or licence on the facts; landlord's agent must still search the whole flat (Circular 13-03 (CR))
Subdivided unit let as a home to an individual	Forms if self-contained	Part IVA (AR1, AR2, deposit and rent caps); Cap. 658; Circulars 22-01, 26-01
Shop, office, industrial unit	None	Part V; key money duty; Circular 17-02 on area and permitted use

Sources: Cap. 511C, ss.2 and 6; Cap. 7; Cap. 658; as at Oct 2026

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