SQE1 · FLK2
Property Practice
Conveyancing, leases, mortgages, taxation.
Freehold and leasehold conveyancing workflow, security, planning, environmental issues and SDLT.
Property Practice in SQE1 FLK2
Property Practice is the conveyancing-process area of FLK2: a transaction run from instruction to completion and registration. It is intensely procedural and sequence-driven, so the marks reward knowing what happens at each stage and in what order.
What’s tested
- Taking instructions, the retainer, and conflict and client-care checks specific to conveyancing
- Investigating title: registered and unregistered freehold and leasehold title and deducing title
- Pre-contract searches and enquiries (local, drainage, environmental and the like)
- Drafting the contract, the standard conditions, exchange and the consequences of exchange
- Pre-completion: requisitions, the mortgage, and pre-completion searches
- Completion, post-completion and registration at HM Land Registry within the priority period
- Leasehold issues: leasehold covenants, alienation and the grant or assignment of leases
- Planning and building regulations, and Stamp Duty Land Tax on the transaction
Key statutes and rules
- Land Registration Act 2002 — registration of title and the priority of interests
- Law of Property Act 1925 — the legal estates and key conveyancing machinery
- Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, s.2 — formalities for a contract for the sale of land
- Finance Act 2003 — Stamp Duty Land Tax
Common SBAQ traps
- Confusing the consequences of exchange (binding contract, risk passes) with those of completion (legal title)
- Missing the registration priority period that protects a buyer's or lender's interest after an official search
- Forgetting that a contract for the sale of land must comply with s.2 of the 1989 Act in writing
How to revise Property Practice for FLK2
Memorise the conveyancing timeline as a spine — pre-contract, exchange, pre-completion, completion, post-completion — and attach every rule, search and deadline to the right stage. SBAQs almost always test which step comes next or what a particular search protects.
Go deeper
Free revision notes — Property Practice
Property Practice is the most procedurally dense FLK2 subject. It covers the conveyancing transaction from investigation of title through completion and registration, together with leases, mortgages, planning, environmental issues, and SDLT. Expect questions testing the conveyancing timetable, specific Land Registry forms, and SDLT calculations.
Freehold conveyancing
Pre-contract: seller's solicitor deduces title (official copies of register, title plan); buyer's solicitor raises enquiries and makes searches (local authority, drainage and water, environmental, chancel repair, mining). Contract: standard conditions of sale (SCPCs) — exchange creates binding obligations; 10% deposit payable on exchange; completion date usually 4 weeks after exchange. Completion: transfer form TR1 executed; balance of purchase price paid by CHAPS; keys released; buyer's solicitor sends transfer and SDLT form to HMRC and Land Registry. SDLT and Land Registration Act 2002 registration must be completed within 30 days of completion for SDLT; Land Registry application must be submitted promptly (priority period from official search is 30 business days).
Leasehold
A lease grants exclusive possession for a fixed term at a rent. Key lease terms: demised premises, term, rent (with review provisions), repair and decoration obligations, alienation covenants, forfeiture provisions. Landlord's right to forfeit: must serve a s.146 LPA 1925 notice (breach of covenant other than rent) giving a reasonable time to remedy. Relief from forfeiture is available to the tenant and any mortgagee. Leasehold enfranchisement rights: right to a new lease (Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 — 90-year extension) and collective enfranchisement (right to buy the freehold). The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 made significant changes — confirm the current status for exam purposes.
Mortgages
A mortgage is a charge by way of legal mortgage (the only available form after LPA 1925 s.87). The mortgagee has rights: power of sale (s.101 LPA 1925 arises when mortgage money is due; s.103 must be exercised when certain events occur, including 3 months overdue, 2 months' interest arrears, or breach of covenant), right to take possession, right to appoint a receiver. Equity of redemption must not be clogged. Priority of mortgages in registered land: first in time registered prevails; registered charges must be substantively registered.
SDLT, planning and environmental
SDLT rates for residential property: 0% up to £250,000 (£425,000 for first-time buyers), then 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5m, 12% above — check current rates at exam time as these change. Non-residential SDLT: 0% to £150,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% above. Planning: development requires planning permission under TCPA 1990 unless permitted development (GPDO 2015). Environmental: contaminated land under EPA 1990 Part IIA — liability attaches primarily to the 'appropriate person' (the polluter, then the owner if not identifiable). A Phase 1 environmental search is standard on commercial acquisitions.
Common pitfalls
- Getting the priority period wrong: the Land Registry priority period from an official search is 30 business days, not calendar days.
- Confusing when the mortgagee's power of sale arises (s.101 — on the legal date for redemption passing) with when it becomes exercisable (s.103 — on specific trigger events).
- Forgetting the s.146 notice for forfeiture: a landlord cannot forfeit for breach of covenant without it (except for non-payment of rent).
- Applying residential SDLT rates to mixed-use or commercial property — the rates and thresholds are different.
Exam tip
For any conveyancing question, work through the transaction chronologically: pre-contract (investigation, searches, enquiries) → exchange (contract) → pre-completion (requisitions, completion statements) → completion → post-completion (SDLT, registration).
Bank size: 50 questions. We grow the bank weekly.
Property Practice — frequently asked questions
What's tested in SQE1 Property Practice?
Property Practice (FLK2) follows a conveyancing transaction from instruction to completion and beyond: investigating freehold and leasehold title, pre-contract searches and enquiries, drafting and exchanging contracts, raising and replying to requisitions, mortgages and security, completion and post-completion (registration at HM Land Registry), plus planning, environmental issues and Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Is SQE1 Property Practice multiple choice?
Yes. Like the rest of SQE1, Property Practice is assessed through single-best-answer questions: a client-based scenario followed by five options (A–E) from which you pick the single best answer. There is no negative marking, so it is always worth attempting every question.