Licences, Leases & Negligence: RES exam practice questions

A bare licence is __________.

1. Aa personal permission to be on another’s land, given without any payment
2. Ba permission, granted under a contract, to occupy land for a fixed period for a fee
3. Ca right to exclusive possession of land for a certain term
4. Da right over a neighbour’s land that benefits the holder’s own land

Under the State Land Rules, a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) over State land must be for a term of __________.

1. Aless than 10 years
2. Bnot more than 3 years
3. Cless than 30 years
4. Dnot more than 99 years

Under the Land Titles Act, a lease can be registered only if its term is expressed to exceed __________.

1. A7 years, counting any option to renew
2. B3 years, counting any option to renew
3. C7 years, not counting any option to renew
4. D10 years, not counting any option to renew

A periodic tenancy __________.

1. Acontinues from period to period until either party gives proper notice to quit
2. Bends automatically when its fixed term expires, without any notice
3. Carises when a tenant holds over after his lease expires without the landlord’s consent
4. Dmay be ended by either party at any moment, without any notice

The clause in a lease that reserves the rent to the landlord and states when it is payable is the __________.

1. Areddendum clause
2. Bhabendum clause
3. Crent review clause
4. Dparcels clause

The landlord’s implied promise that neither he nor anyone claiming under him will disturb the tenant’s possession is the covenant __________.

1. Afor quiet enjoyment
2. Bnot to derogate from his grant
3. Cof fitness for habitation
4. Dto keep the common areas in repair

Mr Lim Boon Heng, 58, a retired engineer and Singapore Citizen, lives alone in the three-bedroom unit he has owned since 2009 in a 99-year leasehold condominium in Clementi; the loan on it is fully paid. At his daughter’s suggestion, he takes in Arjun Menon, 21, a Malaysian university student, from July 2026 at $1,200 a month, payable on the 1st of each month. Their one-page written agreement calls Arjun a “tenant”. As agreed, Mr Lim keeps a key to Arjun’s bedroom and goes in every morning to clean it and change the linen, and the two share the kitchen. Arjun’s classmate assures him that, because he pays monthly rent under a signed agreement, he has a lease of the room.

Which of the following BEST describes Arjun’s legal position?

1. AHe is a lodger with a licence, as Mr Lim keeps unrestricted access to the room to provide daily cleaning and fresh linen
2. BHe is a periodic tenant of the room, as he pays a fixed monthly sum under a signed agreement that calls him a tenant
3. CHe is a monthly tenant, as the arrangement runs from month to month and a single room can be let as a separate unit
4. DHe is a licensee, but only because the law does not allow a lease of a single room in a home where the owner lives

Mr Farouk bin Ismail, 52, owns a 105 m² three-bedroom unit in a 20-year-old condominium in Pasir Ris and lives in his HDB flat nearby. To earn more, he plans to put up partitions across the whole of the large living and dining area to create three extra rooms, leaving no shared living space, and then let each of the six rooms separately to one student for 6 months at a time. That way the unit would never hold more than six occupants in total. The contractor quoting for the work tells him that “internal partitions only need MCST approval”, and a friend says the plan is fine because the unit is bigger than 90 m². Before signing the contractor’s quotation, Mr Farouk asks his salesperson for advice.

What should the salesperson advise Mr Farouk?

1. AHe should not go ahead as planned, as rooms taking up the whole living and dining area need URA’s planning permission
2. BHe may go ahead, as long as the total number of occupants in the whole unit stays within the standard cap of six unrelated persons
3. CHe may go ahead, as long as each room is let for at least 3 consecutive months, which his 6-month terms comfortably meet
4. DHe may go ahead once the MCST approves the partitions in writing, as changes to the internal layout are a matter for the MCST alone

Orchid Mall Pte Ltd lets a ground-floor unit in its suburban mall to Wellness Pharmacy Pte Ltd for 3 years, for use as a pharmacy, at $9,000 a month. The lease is silent on access. A year later, the mall starts charging for parking, which the pharmacist says has already cut her walk-in customers. Around the same time, the mall repaints its façade as part of a planned upgrade. Two months later, to create more storage for a new supermarket tenant, the mall turns the only corridor leading to the pharmacy into a storage area, so that customers can no longer reach the shop at all. The pharmacy’s sales fall by 60%, and its director, who once worked for Orchid Mall, asks his salesperson what covenant, if any, has been broken.

Which of the following BEST describes the mall owner’s position?

1. AIt is in breach of the covenant not to derogate from its grant, as blocking the only access defeats the purpose for which the unit was let
2. BIt is in breach of the covenant not to derogate from its grant, because charging for parking has driven customers away from the pharmacy
3. CIt is in breach of the implied term of fitness for habitation, as the unit can no longer be used for running a pharmacy business
4. DIt is in breach of no implied covenant, as the corridor lies outside the let premises and the lease says nothing about access

Mr Julien Moreau, 39, a French national, signs a two-year tenancy of a Tanjong Pagar condominium unit running from 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2027, at $6,800 a month with a two-month deposit. The diplomatic clause says that, if he is transferred out of Singapore, he may end the tenancy by giving 2 months’ written notice, with proof shown to the landlord, but that such notice may be given only after the first 12 months of the tenancy have expired. In July 2026, his employer tells him that he will be transferred to Tokyo from 1 September 2026. His HR manager assures him that the usual practice is “two months from the date of the transfer”. His wife would prefer to stay until their son’s school term ends, and the landlord is overseas and hard to reach.

Unless the landlord agrees to something else, what is the EARLIEST date on which the tenancy can end under the diplomatic clause?

1. A31 January 2027, as notice can be given only after the first 12 months, that is from 1 December 2026, and must run for 2 months
2. B30 September 2026, as he may give 2 months’ notice as soon as his employer confirms the transfer to Tokyo in July 2026
3. C30 November 2026, as the clause lets him leave as soon as the first 12 months of the tenancy have run their course
4. D31 August 2026, as a transfer out of Singapore brings the tenancy to an end on the day before the transfer takes effect