RES exam question on Land Law: On 3 March Mr Seah grants Ms Ang an option to buy his house, and she exercises it but…
On 3 March Mr Seah grants Ms Ang an option to buy his house, and she exercises it but lodges no caveat. On 10 March he grants Mr Bala an option over the same house. Mr Bala, who has heard of Ms Ang's option, caveats on 12 March. Which of the following statements is/are correct? (i) Mr Bala's caveated interest has priority over Ms Ang's unprotected interest, although hers was created first. (ii) Since Mr Bala knew of Ms Ang's option, therefore his caveat is treated as fraud and gives him no priority. (iii) If Mr Bala later withdraws his caveat, the priority it gave his interest is lost.
- A(i) and (iii) only
- B(i) and (ii) only
- C(ii) and (iii) only
- D(i), (ii) and (iii)
Show answer & explanation
Answer
A. (i) and (iii) only
Explanation
Answer: (i) and (iii) only. A caveated interest beats an uncaveated one, knowledge alone is not fraud, and withdrawing the caveat loses the priority.(i) True. A caveated interest has priority over an unprotected one. Ms Ang's earlier date does not help, because she left her interest unprotected.(iii) True. Under section 49(5), the priority is lost if the caveat lapses or is withdrawn.Rule: Except in the case of fraud, caveating an unregistered interest gives it priority over any other unregistered interest not protected when the caveat was entered. Knowing of an uncaveated interest is not of itself fraud.Source: Land Titles Act 1993 s 49(1), (2) and (5) (sso.agc.gov.sg, current version at 1 October 2026); /learn/caveats-and-registration-of-title
Why the other options are wrong
- (ii) False. Mr Bala did know of her option, but section 49(2) says knowledge alone is not fraud.
Study the concept behind this question: Caveats and Registration of Title
Practise more Basic Land Law: Estates & Registration of Title questions
Drill the full Basic Land Law: Estates & Registration of Title bank with instant answers and explanations — free to start, no card needed.
Try a timed set: sit a free RES mock exam, no sign-up needed. Or see the passes for the full question bank.
Related Basic Land Law: Estates & Registration of Title questions
Get each day's lesson free — one RES topic + the trap, every day on Telegram.
Join @resprepsg →Original study material mapped to the public CEA RES syllabus. Verify any rate-based figures against current IRAS/CPF/MAS rules before relying on them.