Case studies: land searches

Part II of the SQE gives you one or two land search records or case studies and asks 10 linked questions. You need 12 of the 20 Part II marks to pass, separately from Part I, so reading a land register quickly and accurately is worth practising on its own.

Part II · Land search & case studies6 min read7 sections

Checked against the EAA Examination Handbooks (computer-based and paper-based), August 2026; Land Registration Ordinance (Cap. 128), sections 3 to 5A; Practice Regulation (Cap. 511C), section 13 and Form 1; EAA Practice Circulars Nos. 13-01, 13-03, 15-02 and 16-03 (CR); EAA, A Study Guide to Estate Agency Law and Practice, Part 4; checked 11 Oct 2026.

Must-know for the exam

SQE Part II: 10 questions on one or two land searches and/or case studies, 2 marks each; you need at least 12 of 20 (EAA Handbook, Aug 2026).
A land register has four sections: Property Particulars, Owner Particulars, Incumbrances, and Deeds Pending Registration.
Joint tenants: survivorship on death. Tenants in common: each owns a distinct share that passes under a will or intestacy.
All registered owners (or their attorneys under a proper power of attorney) must sign the estate agency agreement and the provisional agreement (Circular 15-02 (CR)).
An instrument registered within one month of execution takes priority from its date (Cap. 128, s.5); charging orders and lis pendens from the day after registration (s.5A).
A building order with no registered letter of compliance below it is treated as outstanding.
The vendor's agent must do a land search immediately before the provisional agreement and give the purchaser a copy (Practice Regulation s.13; Circular 13-03 (CR)).
If the vendor has owned for under five years, also get a historical and current search; check for a deed of gift or nil-consideration assignment (Circular 13-01 (CR)).
A price below the vendor's purchase price plus an undischarged mortgage suggests negative equity: advise stakeholding of deposits by solicitors.

On this page · 7 sections

Traps that cost marks

Candidates think a joint tenant, because he 'owns the whole', can sign alone for the co-owner.
Candidates reuse the search made at listing instead of a new one made immediately before signing.
Candidates think stakeholding advice is needed only when negative equity is proved.
Candidates assume the bank's mortgage is automatically cleared, so they ignore the gap between the old and new prices.
Candidates leave out a mortgage that is 'going to be paid off' at completion.
Candidates use three years instead of five as the trigger for a historical search.
Candidates treat a gift as a private family matter instead of a title risk that must be explained.
Candidates confuse the five-year bankruptcy risk with the old three-year estate duty rule abolished in 2006.

Why this matters in the exam

Part II is where many SQE candidates fail even after a good Part I, because the pass mark applies to each part. The EAA handbook says Part II has 10 questions based on one or two land searches and/or case studies. A land search question rewards a fixed reading routine: if you know where each fact sits on the register and what each entry means, most questions take under two minutes.

Expect questions on who must sign, whether the vendor can give good title, what an incumbrance means for a buyer or a lender, what to put in the Property Information Form, and when to send a client to a solicitor.

A five-step reading routine

•1. Property Particulars. Lot number, address (does it include a roof, flat roof or car park?), share of the lot, Government lease term and commencement, whether renewable, and Government rent.
•2. Owner Particulars. Name(s) and capacity: sole owner, joint tenants, tenants in common (with shares), executor or administrator, trustee. Note the date of instrument, date of registration and consideration of the current owner's assignment.
•3. Incumbrances. Read every entry from top to bottom. Pair each mortgage with its release, and each building order with its letter of compliance. Anything left unpaired is still live.
•4. Deeds Pending Registration. Anything here is lodged but not yet registered: treat it as live and recommend legal advice.
•5. Then read the question. Many questions hinge on one entry; others ask you to combine a price in the narrative with a figure in the search (for example negative equity or stamp duty).

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