Free RES Practice Questions — CU1
10 practice questions with answers and full explanations. Nothing to sign up for — open each answer when you are ready.
Which of the following best describes the main policy purpose of Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) on residential property?
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Answer: C. To discourage short-term speculative trading by imposing a duty on owners who sell within a specified holding period after purchase
SSD is levied on the seller when a residential property is disposed of within a holding period, so it targets short-term 'flipping' and speculation. Discouraging multiple-property buyers and foreigners is the purpose of ABSD (paid by the buyer), and capping debt repayments against income is the purpose of the TDSR framework set by MAS. None of these measures is designed to fund estate upgrading.
Which of the following statements about leasehold estates are correct?
- (i) A leasehold estate must be for a term whose maximum duration is certain from the start.
- (ii) The owner of a freehold estate can grant a 30-year lease of his land.
- (iii) A proprietor holding a 99-year lease can grant a three-year tenancy out of it.
- (iv) A 60-year leasehold estate is a larger estate than a fee simple.
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Answer: B. (i), (ii) and (iii) only
A lease must be for a term whose maximum duration is certain from the start. A freeholder may grant a lease of any length out of the freehold, and a lessee may grant a shorter lease or tenancy out of his own lease. A 60-year lease is a smaller estate than a fee simple, which is of unlimited duration, so (iv) is wrong.
A salesperson is sorting her listings in the North by type of title. Which of the following statements are correct?
- (i) A cluster house within a Yishun condominium development, held under a subsidiary strata certificate of title, is a strata-titled landed-type home.
- (ii) A semi-detached house in Sembawang Hills on its own land lot is held under a land title.
- (iii) A shop unit in a Woodlands mixed development sold with its own subsidiary strata certificate of title is a strata commercial property.
- (iv) A detached factory built on land leased from JTC in Woodlands is a strata industrial property.
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Answer: C. (i), (ii) and (iii) only
Title follows the form of the property: a landed house on its own land lot has a land title (certificate of title), while units in a strata-subdivided development, including cluster houses and shop units, have subsidiary strata certificates of title. A detached factory on JTC land is held under a lease from JTC over a land lot; it is not a strata property. So (i), (ii) and (iii) only.
Mr Harjit Singh buys a strata office unit in Paya Lebar. He does not intend to occupy it; he plans to lease it out for rental income and hold it for long-term capital appreciation. In terms of market players, Mr Harjit is best described as:
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Answer: A. An investor
Market players are commonly grouped as developers (who create new space), investors (who hold property for income and/or capital growth) and users (who occupy the space for their own residential or business needs). Mr Harjit neither builds nor occupies the unit; he holds it for rent and capital growth, so he is an investor. His tenant would be the user.
In law, the 'land' that a registered proprietor in Singapore owns includes which of the following?
- (i) The surface of the land.
- (ii) The subsoil below the surface, to such depth as is reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of the land.
- (iii) The airspace above the surface, to such height as is reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of the land.
- (iv) Buildings and other things permanently affixed to the land.
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Answer: D. (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)
The legal meaning of land covers the surface, the subsoil and airspace (limited in Singapore to the depth and height reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of the land) and fixtures — things attached to the land so as to become part of it, such as buildings. All four statements are correct.
Which of the following statements about indefeasibility of title under the Land Titles Act 1993 are correct?
- (i) The title of a registered proprietor is generally indefeasible, subject to exceptions set out in the Act.
- (ii) Fraud to which the registered proprietor was a party is an exception to indefeasibility.
- (iii) Registration protects a proprietor's title even if he himself forged the transfer to himself.
- (iv) The register is intended to be conclusive, so buyers need not investigate the history of past dealings.
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Answer: A. (i), (ii) and (iv) only
The title of a registered proprietor is generally indefeasible, subject to the exceptions in the Act; one key exception is fraud to which the proprietor was a party. The register aims to be conclusive, so a purchaser need not trace the history of past dealings. Registration does not protect a proprietor who forged the transfer himself, so (iii) is wrong.
A seller's condominium unit in Sembawang has the postal code Singapore 757713. Using the postal sector, in which old postal district is the unit?
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Answer: D. District 27
The first two digits of the postal code (75) are the postal sector. Sectors 75 and 76 (Yishun, Sembawang) fall in District 27. District 25 covers sectors 72 and 73 (Kranji, Woodlands), District 26 covers sectors 77 and 78 (Upper Thomson, Springleaf) and District 28 covers sectors 79 and 80 (Seletar).
Mdm Kalai buys a shophouse in Yishun. The ground floor is occupied by a tenant under an unregistered three-year tenancy with 18 months left, and no caveat has been lodged. Which of the following is correct?
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Answer: B. Mdm Kalai generally takes subject to the tenancy, because the Land Titles Act protects the rights of a tenant in actual occupation under a short-term tenancy as an overriding interest, even though it is not registered.
The Land Titles Act protects the rights of a tenant in actual occupation under a short-term tenancy as an overriding interest, even without registration or a caveat. A buyer should therefore inspect the property and ask about existing tenancies; in practice sales are expressly made subject to existing tenancies. The tenancy is not void for want of registration, and a transfer of the reversion does not turn it into a registered lease.
Under the State Lands Act 1920, which of the following are implied covenants or conditions in a State lease? (Select ALL that apply.)
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Answers: A. The lessee shall pay the rent reserved in the lease. | C. The lessee shall not subdivide the land without the required consent. | D. The land shall be used only for the purpose specified, and the State may re-enter for breach of the conditions.
State leases carry implied covenants and conditions such as paying rent, not subdividing without consent and using the land only for its specified purpose, backed by the State's right of re-entry for breach. There is no automatic right of renewal: at expiry the land reverts to the State, and any fresh lease is at the State's discretion.
A new private condominium in Woodlands has just been completed. Which government agency issues the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) that allows buyers to occupy their units?
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Answer: D. Building and Construction Authority (BCA)
BCA administers building control, including approval of building plans and the issue of the TOP and Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) once a building is safe for occupation. URA is the planning authority (planning permission and Master Plan), SLA manages State land and the land registry, and HDB is the public housing authority.
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Disclaimer: All questions on this portal are created to aid candidates in preparing for and passing the Real Estate Salesperson (RES) Examination. They are not official examination questions and are not representative of, endorsed by or affiliated with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) or NTUC LearningHub. Laws, rates and policies change — always verify against official sources.