Property Forms, Titles & Agencies: RES exam practice questions

Which government agency grants planning permission, known as Written Permission (WP), for a proposed development?

1. ABuilding and Construction Authority (BCA)
2. BUrban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
3. CSingapore Land Authority (SLA)
4. DHousing and Development Board (HDB)

Which agency licenses estate agencies and registers the salespersons who work for them?

1. ACouncil for Estate Agencies (CEA)
2. BMonetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
3. CUrban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
4. DInland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)

Which agency is responsible for developing Singapore’s industrial infrastructure?

1. AURA
2. BJTC
3. CHDB
4. DLTA

The owner of a strata unit, such as a condominium apartment, is called a __________.

1. Amanagement corporation
2. Bsubsidiary proprietor
3. Cstrata lessor
4. Dregistered caveator

Which of the following falls under the “Others” category of non-residential property, rather than commercial or industrial?

1. AA shophouse
2. BA warehouse
3. CA power station
4. DA retail shop

For the purpose of legally describing land, Singapore is divided into 64 survey districts, made up of __________.

1. A30 Mukims and 34 Town Subdivisions
2. B28 postal districts and 36 Mukims
3. C30 Town Subdivisions and 34 Mukims
4. D55 planning areas and 9 Town Subdivisions

Mr Ong Kah Seng, 52, and his wife, Mdm Rachel Lim, 49, both Singapore Citizens, have just sold their private apartment in Pasir Ris and are now comparing two freehold bungalows of similar land area in the same Bukit Timah neighbourhood, each listed at about $5,800,000. Their son, who is studying in Melbourne, has asked for a house with a large garden. The first bungalow stands alone on its own plot, and the title search shows a Certificate of Title. The second bungalow is one of eight houses sharing a guardhouse and a private driveway, and its title search shows a Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title. The listing agent for the second house tells them the difference is “just paperwork” and that the seller already has two offers.

Which of the following BEST explains why the second bungalow is held on a different type of title from the first?

1. AThe second bungalow is a strata bungalow within a strata-subdivided landed development, so it is held on a strata title rather than a land title.
2. BThe second title must have been issued in error, because a bungalow, being landed property, may only ever be held on a Certificate of Title.
3. CThe second bungalow must stand on leasehold land, because a Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title is issued only for leasehold property.
4. DThe second bungalow is held under an HDB lease, because a Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title is the strata lease title issued by HDB.

Mr Hiroshi Tanaka, 45, a Japanese businessman who already owns two strata office units in Singapore, asks his salesperson to find him a single sea-view room at a well-known 400-room freehold hotel on Sentosa. He has read that the hotel’s rooms enjoy high occupancy, and he would like to hold one room in his own name as a long-term investment and receive a share of its room revenue. His bank has told him it could lend him up to $800,000 for the purchase. He adds that a friend in Tokyo owns a room in a resort hotel there and holds a title for it, so he assumes Singapore works the same way.

What should the salesperson advise Mr Tanaka?

1. AHe can buy the room, and on completion he will receive a Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title for it, just as he did for his office units.
2. BHe can buy the room, but only because the hotel is freehold, since the rooms of a leasehold hotel cannot be sold to individual investors.
3. CHe cannot buy a single room, because hotel rooms are not allowed to be strata subdivided, and the hotel is held as a whole on one land title.
4. DHe can buy the room, but it will be held on a strata lease title comprising a 99-year lease, like the title of an HDB flat.

Mr Chua Teck Meng, 58, and his wife, Mdm Yeo Ai Ling, 55, own a strata terrace house in a 20-unit cluster development in Upper Thomson. They bought it in 2014 for $2,450,000, and now that their children have moved out they are thinking of downsizing to a smaller condominium unit. When their salesperson pulls the title, it shows two lot numbers: “Lot U7415K” and “Lot A318P”. Mr Chua’s neighbour, who sold his own house last year, has told him that the second lot is “a spare unit you can sell off separately to raise cash”. Mr Chua mentions that his house also has a private lift and a covered two-car porch, and asks his salesperson what Lot A318P really is.

What is Lot A318P MOST likely to be?

1. AA second strata unit held on its own Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title, which Mr Chua may sell off separately to raise cash
2. BAn accessory lot, such as a car park lot, which is included together with his strata lot in the same Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title
3. CMr Chua’s share of the development’s common property, which is issued to each owner as a lot in proportion to his share value
4. DA separate land lot held on its own Certificate of Title, which was created when the developer subdivided the land before building

Evergreen Residential Pte Ltd, a listed developer that has completed several condominiums in the east, intends to bid for a 1.2-hectare State land site in Bukit Timah, released under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for a private condominium of about 400 units. Its chief executive, Mr Andrew Goh, observes that the site lies next to an HDB estate and about two kilometres from an industrial estate that is being redeveloped, and a junior analyst suggests that the bid documents should therefore go to HDB or JTC. The company’s lawyers also point out that, after the award, the title to the site will need to be registered. Mr Goh asks the company’s consultant which agency it will actually deal with.

Which agency is the main government land sales agent that Evergreen will deal with for this site?

1. AHDB, because the site adjoins an HDB estate, and HDB acts as the sales agent for the GLS sites next to its public housing towns
2. BJTC, because an industrial estate nearby is being redeveloped, and JTC is the government land sales agent for that whole area
3. CURA, because it is the main government land sales agent, and this is a private residential site that lies outside HDB estates
4. DSLA, because it is the custodian of State land, and so it must itself sell every State land site released under the programme