LAW OF PROPERTY

Multiple-Choice Questions
Answer all the compulsory multiple-choice questions in this paper.

Each correct answer carries ONE (1) mark.

Read each question carefully, then select the option which best answers the question. On your
answer sheet, write the letter which corresponds with the option you have chosen.

1. Which of the following interests does the law of Property address?

A. Interests in the use and enjoyment of land without indirect interference from others
B. The right of the occupier to exclude persons from entering the property
C. The rights and liabilities which may arise in respect of immovable property.
D. The right to bring onto property things not natural to the property and to keep them
safe

2. From the options appearing below, identify the origins of property rights

A. The common law

B. Statute
C. Equity
D. Roman law

3. From the options appearing below, select the one which best represents the application
of the term ‘land’

A. Land includes not just the soil and things growing naturally on it, but any buildings
and fixtures erected upon it.
B. Land includes the soil and things growing naturally on it
C. Land includes not only the soil but buildings and fixtures erected upon it
D. Land includes soil as well as anything natural to the terrain

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 4. From the options appearing below, identify the one which does not fall into one of the
four recognized types of Estates

A. Fee simple
B. Leasehold estate
C. Real estate
D. Fee tail estate

5. How is the term freehold estate applied in property law?

A. This gives a right of possession, use and enjoyment of land for a definite period of
time to the lessee
B. This is where the original owner of the land leaves his property by will to his widow
for life, then to his children and grandchildren.
C. It gave the right to use the land for the life of the person to whom the right was
given and that of his lineal descendants.
D. This amounts to permanent ownership of the land

6. Which one of the four types of Estates is virtually unknown to the Commonwealth
Caribbean?

A. Fee tail estate

B. Life Estate
C. Leasehold estate
D. Fee Simple estate

7. Identify which court offered a remedy to one having an interest in land though
not having satisfied all legal formalities required by law.

A. The King’s Bench

B. The Court of Common Pleas
C. The Chancery
D. The Star Chamber

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 8. Identify one new right which equity made available to litigants in property law

A. Equity recognized the right to protect oneself against a nuisance

B. Equity recognized the right of a beneficiary to a trust
C. Equity recognized the right of a third party to a contract
D. Equity recognized the right to protect oneself against a nuisance

9. From the options below, identify one new remedy created in equity

A. Anton Piller order

B. Injunctions
C. Rescission
D. Rectification

10. In modern Land Law, equitable interests fall into three categories; identify one
category

A. Estates and interests taking effect behind trusts

B. Estates and interests created with the necessary formalities
C. Interests not created and recognized by equity
D. Estates and interests at common law

11. What is the objective in modern times for the requirement that one’s interest in
land(title) be registered?

A. To ascertain the true owner of the land

B. To create additional income for the treasury
C. To ensure that the land was free from encumbrances
D. To simplify conveyance of land

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 12. What is the main objective of the law pertaining to landlord and tenant?

A. To regulate the relationship between the two parties as it pertains to rights accruing
under the tenancy
B. To regulate the relationship between landlord and tenant as it pertains to obligations
owed under the tenancy
C. This law defines the rights and obligations of the parties to the leases and tenancies, and
lays down the procedures to be satisfied for the creation and termination of the
lessor/lessee relationship.
D. This law defines the rights and obligations of the parties to the leases and tenancies, but
falls short of identifying procedures to be satisfied for the creation and termination of
the lessor/lessee relationship.

13. From the options below, identify the only form of tenurewhich has any practical
significance today

A. Fee tail estate

B. Life Estate
C. Leasehold estate
D. Fee Simple estate

14. From the combinations appearing below, select the one which represents two
requirements for a right to occupy land to be capable of taking effect as a lease

A. The right to exclusive possession must be given and the duration of the lease must
be certain.
B. The right to tenure at the landlord’s pleasure and joint possession of the property
C. The right to t joint possession and the duration of the lease may have some
uncertainty
D. No right to exclusive possession and the duration of the lease can be certain

15. Does a tenant have the right to exclude the landlord from entering the premises at his
pleasure?

A. No
B. In certain circumstances
C. Only if stated in the lease
D. Yes

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 16. Who is a licensee?

A. One with interest in the property

B. The owner of the property
C. One with a right to occupy with the permission of the owner
D. One with interest in the property who grants permission to occupy

17. From the options below, identify the statement which holds true of the rights of a
lessee and licensee

A. A lessee, that is, a tenant in possession of a lease has no interest in the land; a
licensee has merely a right to occupy.
B. A lessee, but not a licensee, may maintain an action in trespass against any person
who interferes with his right to possession;
C. A lessee may assign his lease, whereas a licensee has proprietary interest capable of
assignment;
D. A licensee, but not a lessee, enjoys the protection of the Rent Restriction Acts.

18. The existence of a lease is now determined on the basis that ‘… where the only
circumstances are that residential accommodation is offered and accepted with exclusive
possession for a term at a rent, the result is a tenancy…’ In which of the following cases was
this proposition laid down?

A. Isaac v Hotel de Paris Ltd

B. Street v Mountford
C. Sylvester v Cyrus
D. Edwards v Brathwaite

19. In which of the following circumstances can a licence and not a lease be said to
exist?

A. Where a person is given exclusive possession of premises as an act of friendship or

generosity or by way of family arrangement.
B. Where services such as regular cleaning and meals are not provided by the owner of
the property, which require the owner to have unrestricted access to the property;
C. Where an employee occupies premises belonging to the employer in order that he
can save for a house of his own.
D. Where the size of the premises indicates that only a licence was intended

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 20. What is Certainty of Duration?

A. A lease must have an identified date of commencement

B. A lease must have an identified ending
C. A lease must have a certain beginning and a certain ending
D. A lease must indicate the time when the lease lapses

21. In which of the following circumstances can the requirement for certainty of
duration be said to be satisfied?

A. Where the duration of the lease is for the life of the person to whom it is granted; or
that children may not enjoy occupation during the life of their parents to whom a
life estate has been granted
B. Where a lease is granted for a continuous period such as a lease enjoyed under a
timeshare arrangement for use of a holiday home.
C. Where the remaining occupants of the home must vacate upon the death of the
lessee.
D. Where the parties agree that the lease shall begin upon possession of the premises
becoming vacant

22. From the options appearing below, identify the one which is not representative of
a type of tenancy

A. Lease for a fixed period

B. Periodic tenancy
C. Tenancy by redemption
D. Tenancy at sufferance

23. From the options below select the statement which best describes a tenancy at
will

A. This is where the lease terminates automatically when the period expires
B. Such tenancies continue indefinitely until terminated by a proper notice to quit by
the landlord or by the tenant.
C. The tenant may go when he likes and the owner may terminate his interest at any
time the owner wishes so to do.
D. Where the tenant remains in possession of the land after the expiry of his lease
without the landlord’s permission or his dissent

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 24. Which of the following options does not reflect an implied obligation of the
Landlord?

A. To allow the tenant disquieted use of the property.

B. The landlord must frustrate the use of the land;
C. The landlord does not promises fitness of habitation
D. The landlord enters a covenant to keep the infrastructure in good repair.

25. Where residential premises are let furnished, there is an implied condition that
they are fit for habitation at the commencement of the tenancy. Which of the
following cases directly addresses this issue?

A. Collins v Hopkins
B. Port v Griffith
C. Browne v Flower
D. Liverpool CC v Irwin

26. Name two Caribbean Countries where the common law position on tenancy has been
modified by statute

A. Trinidad & Tobago and St. Lucia

B. St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Barbados
C. Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados
D. Trinidad & Tobago and St. Vincent & the Grenadines

27. In determining for any of the purposes of the Tenancy Act whether a house is fit for
human habitation, regard shall be had to its condition in respect of which of the
following matters?

A. Landscaping
B. Stability;
C. Appliances
D. Flooring

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 28. What issues will a covenant to repair include?

A. Repair of windows
B. Repair of cupboards
C. Repair of roof
D. Repair of counter tops

29. Where the landlord has covenanted or is subject to a statutory obligation to

repair and, having been notified by the tenant of the need for certain repairs,
fails to carry them out, what can tenant do in law?

A. The tenant is obligated to remind the landlord of his covenant to repair

B. The tenant is entitled to arrange to have the repair work done and to deduct the cost
from future payments of rent
C. The tenant may take legal action against the offending landlord
D. The tenant may allow the disrepair to continue for a reasonable time and then bring
legal action against the landlord

30. From the options appearing below, identify an implied obligation of a tenant

A. Obligation to commit waste;

B. Covenant to pay rent;
C. Covenant to do no repairs;
D. Covenant to assign, sublet or part with possession of the demised premises.

31. To a large extent, the rights and liabilities of the landlord and tenant are regulated by
express covenants inserted in the lease or tenancy agreement. From the options below,
cite an example of one such covenant

A. Covenant concerning payment of rent,

B. Covenant to conduct all necessary repair,
C. Covenant to assign, underlet or part with the possession of the premises without
the landlord’s consent.
D. Covenant to assign, underlet or part with the possession of the premises with the
landlord’s consent.

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 32. What type of repairs, if any, is a tenant obligated to do?

A. All repairs to the infrastructure of the building

B. All internal repairs
C. No repairs at all
D. The tenant must repair minor but important problems, which may have occurred
during the course of the tenancy

33. Identify one of the ways in which a lease may not be terminated

A. Forfeiture;
B. Surrender;
C. Performance
D. Effluxion of time;

34. Where intention to surrender the lease is not communicated in written form, in which
of the following ways can the court imply such an intention to exist due to the conduct
of the parties?

A. Where the tenant delivers the keys to the landlord or his agent; and the landlord
accepts it;
B. Where it is not agreed that the tenant would remain in possession rent free, as a
licensee;
C. Where the tenant has been absent from the premises for a long time but does not owe
a substantial arrears of rent;
D. Where the tenant fails to accept a fresh lease from the landlord, and the new lease is for
the same period as the original one.

35. Identify one characteristic of an easement

A. There must be a dominant and a servient tenement;

B. An easement must not accommodate the dominant tenement;
C. The right must not be capable of forming the subject matter of a grant;
D. An easement must be negative from the point of view of the servient owner, that is, it
must involve the servient owner in any expenditure.

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 36. It is said that an easement is a right in alieno solo. How can the expression alieno
solo be defined?

A. around the land of another

B. beyond the land of another
C. adjacent to the land of another
D. over the land of another

37. Give one example of a right which may be granted by a landowner via an easement

A. The right to an adjoining landowner to pass and re-pass over his land on foot or with
vehicles (an easement of way);
B. A right to lay pipes under his land to divert water away from the adjoining property
C. An agreement to build on a defined portion of his land (to allow light to reach his
neighbor’s window)(an easement of light);
D. He may agree to pull down his portion of a duplex house so as to withdraw support from
his neighbor’s portion (an easement of support).

38. Name one factor which can determine whether an easement benefits the dominant
tenement?

A. If the dominant tenement is a dwelling house, whether the right to use a garden on
adjoining property is denied
B. If the dominant tenement is an apartment used for business purposes, the right to use a
washroom in the apartment immediately above will accommodate the dominant
tenement since it enhances its youth,
C. If the dominant tenement is a public house, an easement to fix a signboard to an
adjacent building will not accommodate the dominant tenement, and brings no benefit
to the business carried on in the pub rather than the dominant tenement itself.
D. If the dominant tenement is a high rise apartment block, whether the right to use a
common stairway creates a disadvantage to apartments above them.

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 39. In which of the following cases was the issue of ‘Personal advantages’ created via
an easement addressed?

A. Hill v Tupper(1861)
B. King’s Motors(Oxford) Ltd v Lax(1970)
C. Brown v Brown (1971)
D. Beer v Bowden (1981).

40. What is the basic rule which governs the creation of easements, since an easement is
alieno solo?

A. The basic rule is that a person can have an easement over his own land
B. The basic rule is that a person cannot have an easement over the land of another
C. The basic rule is that a person can have an easement over adjoining property
D. The basic rule is that a person cannot have an easement over his own land

41. How does an easement acquire legal recognition?

A. The easement must be created by gift

B. The easement must be created by deed
C. The easement must be created by previous course of dealing
D. The easement must be created by reasonable notice

42. How does a party establish prescriptive right to an easement?

A. It must be established that the servient owner had knowledge of the acts done;
B. That the servient owner had the no power in him to stop the acts or to sue in respect
of them;
C. That the servient owner has died before acting on the knowledge of the acts done
D. That the servient owner does everything on his part in the exercise of such a right.

43. From the options appearing below, identify one of the requirements of prescription

A. Infrequent exercise of the right

B. In leasehold
C. User as of right
D. Landowner

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 44. Of the statements appearing below, select the one which offers the best definition of
the term ‘mortgage’

A. A mortgage has been defined as the advancement of money against the

surrender of personal property
B. A mortgage has been defined as a ‘conveyance or other disposition of an interest
in property designed to secure the payment of money or the discharge of some
other obligation’
C. A mortgage has been defined as the deposition of title of property against which
a loan may be secured
D. A mortgage has been defined as the exchange of title to land for the advancement
of a financial benefit

45. When does the equitable right to redeem arise?

A. Before the contractual date to redeem has arisen

B. As soon as the mortgage has been created
C. After the contractual date to redeem has arisen
D. During the course of the mortgage

46. In which of the following ways will equity will not allow a mortgagee to take advantage
of the financial circumstances of the mortgagor?

A. By respecting the mortgagor’s right to redeem, for example, by reserving an option

to purchase the mortgaged property
B. By postponing the right to redeem for an unreasonably long time
C. By allowing certain benefits (‘collateral advantages’) to be enjoyed before
redemption.
D. By allowing the mortgagor to make adjustments to his payment arrangements

47. In which of the following cases was the question of restricting the right to redeem
to the mortgagor and the heirs of his body addressed?

A. Davis v Symons (1965)

B. Samuel v Jarrah Timber and Wood Paving Corp Ltd (1975)
C. Derrick v Trinidad Asphalt Holdings Ltd(1979)
D. Salt vMarquess of Northampton (1892)

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 48. In what circumstances does a mortgagee acquire the power to sell the
mortgaged property out of court?

A. When the mortgage becomes due

B. When the mortgage is past overdue
C. Where the mortgagor has died intestate
D. Where the mortgage has been entered in by deed

49. How must a mortgagee who sells the mortgaged property under his statutory power
apply the proceeds of the sale?

A. In paying all expenses incidental to the sale;

B. In paying to himself the principal, interest but no costs due under the mortgage; and
C. In not paying the balance to the next subsequent mortgagee or, if none, to the
mortgagor.
D. In retaining the balance after paying to himself the principal, interest and cost due
under the mortgage.

50. In which of the following cases was the issue of ‘Bad faith’ addressed?

A. Derrick v Trinidad Asphalt Holdings Ltd(1979)

B. Lord Waring v London and Manchester Assurance Co Ltd
C. Dickson v Playa del Sol Ltd(1982)
D. Davis v Symons (1965)

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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