FLK2 · SQE1 module
Property Practice
Property Practice is procedural: the sequence of a conveyancing transaction, from pre-contract enquiries through exchange and completion to registration.
Questions frequently test what a specific step in the process achieves legally, rather than asking candidates to recite the process from memory.
What this module covers
- Pre-contract searches, enquiries and title investigation
- Exchange of contracts and completion
- Registration requirements for registered land
- Leasehold transactions and landlord and tenant issues
240+ practice questions in this subject.
A real question from this module
Try it before you decide
A buyer completes the purchase of registered freehold land with the help of a mortgage. Completion has taken place and the transfer has been signed, but before the buyer’s solicitor submits the application to register the transfer and the mortgage, a burglar unconnected with either party breaks into the property. Which of the following correctly describes the buyer’s position at the moment of the break-in?
- AThe buyer already holds the legal estate, because completion itself passes legal title to registered land
- BThe buyer holds only an equitable interest, since the legal estate does not pass until registration is completed
- CThe buyer holds no interest at all in the property until the application to register is submitted
- DThe buyer’s lender, not the buyer, holds the only interest that exists before registration takes place
- EThe buyer holds a legal interest, but the mortgage itself only becomes equitable pending registration
Show the answer and why
Answer: B. For registered land, a transfer (and a legal mortgage) takes effect at law only once it is completed by registration. Before that, the buyer holds an equitable interest under the contract and completed transfer, even though completion has already taken place between the parties, and even though an unrelated third party’s act, such as a break-in, does not itself affect who holds which kind of interest during the registration gap.
Land Registration Act 2002, s.27.