SQE2 property practice: what the tasks look like
SQE2 property practice tasks put you in a residential or commercial conveyancing file: an interview and attendance note on the oral day, then written tasks on written Day 2, which Property Practice shares with Wills and Probate. You need the law of buying, selling and leasing land and the ethics around it.
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Where property appears in SQE2
The oral interview and attendance note in Property Practice is on Day 1. Written Day 2 has four tasks across Property Practice and Wills and Probate: one case and matter analysis, one legal drafting, one legal research and one legal writing task. So expect some, not all, of the written skills to be set in property. From September 2026 money laundering can be examined in Property Practice as well as in Business. From 1 September 2026, ethics and professional conduct has its own separate law criterion in SQE2. The interview itself is marked on skills only, so the ethics points belong in the attendance note and the written tasks.
| Skill | Typical property task |
|---|---|
| Interview and attendance note | A buyer or seller with a worry: a short lease, a missing document, a gazumping fear, a chain, a lender requirement. |
| Case and matter analysis | A conveyancing file with title, search results, enquiries and a mortgage offer. Advise on risks and steps to completion. |
| Legal research | A question from the file, such as the effect of a rule, a covenant or a lease term, answered from given sources. |
| Legal writing | A client email or a letter to the other side's solicitor on a title or enquiry point. |
| Legal drafting | A clause for a contract or lease, a special condition, or a requisition. |
Key law to have ready
- Contract formation: a contract for the sale of land must be in writing, include all the expressly agreed terms and be signed by or on behalf of each party (Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, s 2). Know exchange of contracts and what happens at exchange (risk, deposit, binding obligation).
- Standard conditions: know how the standard form conditions of sale deal with deposit, completion, delay and notice to complete.
- Title and registration: how title is shown for registered land, the role of the register, and the effect of registration under the Land Registration Act 2002. Know the main priority rules and what happens if a transfer is not registered.
- Pre-contract steps: the property information forms, enquiries, searches (local authority, drainage and water, environmental) and when each is needed.
- Leasehold: length of lease, ground rent, service charges, consultation duties, lender requirements for a minimum term, and the right to extend a lease.
- Mortgages and lenders: your duties to a lender when acting for both, what you must report, and when you cannot act for both.
- Tax: for land in England, stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is payable by the buyer, and a return must be filed within the time limit. Land in Wales has its own tax, land transaction tax. Know how the tax works; use any rates or thresholds given in the task.
- Completion: the completion statement, how money is moved and the registration process, including the priority period given by the Land Registry search.
Strengthen the law behind these points with the SQE1 pages on property practice, land law and solicitors accounts.
Worked mini example
A buyer, Mr Ivanov, is two weeks from exchange. The seller's replies say a rear extension was built in 2016. There is no building regulations completion certificate in the papers.
- Issue: the extension may lack building regulations approval, which can affect safety, insurance and the lender.
- Law: the general rule is "buyer beware": the buyer takes the property as it is, but the seller must not give misleading replies to enquiries. A missing certificate is a point to raise and resolve before exchange, because after exchange the buyer is bound.
- Action: raise a further enquiry for the certificate and plans; tell the client the risks and the options (a request to the seller to obtain one, a price adjustment, a specific indemnity policy where acceptable to the lender, or withdrawing).
- Ethics: if I also act for the lender, I must report a material issue to the lender. If the buyer tells me not to, my duty of confidentiality to the buyer conflicts with my duty to tell the lender, so I must stop acting for the lender and consider whether I can keep acting for the buyer (Code paras 6.2 to 6.4).
A strong answer picks out the missing certificate, shows the options and makes a recommendation: do not exchange until the issue is resolved to the lender's and the client's satisfaction.
Common mistakes
- Treating the task as general contract law without using the property rules.
- Missing the lender: acting for a buyer and a mortgagee needs care.
- Forgetting registration and the priority period.
- Not telling the client what exchange means for risk and for deposit.
- Skipping money laundering signs, such as a cash gift from an unknown source or a rapid change in the price.
- Drafting a clause that does not match what was agreed.
Property practice checklist
- Contract formalities and exchange.
- Title: registered or unregistered, burdens and benefits.
- Searches and enquiries: which and why.
- Mortgage and lender duties.
- Leasehold terms and costs.
- SDLT and who pays.
- Completion and registration.
- Ethics: conflict, confidentiality, money laundering.
Skill pages: client interview, attendance note, advocacy, case and matter analysis, legal research, legal writing and legal drafting. You can practise a client interview with our AI client in a free taster, no sign-up.
Practise this now
Buying a first flat with a mortgagePassCase and matter analysis
Reviewing a first-time buyer's house purchasePassCase and matter analysis
House purchase: a seller's partner lives in the propertyPassLegal drafting
Drafting easements and covenants on a sale of partPassLegal drafting
Drafting a tenant's break clause in a commercial leasePassClient interview and attendance note
Selling a family house: checking the sale formsPassClient interview and attendance note
Taking a ten-year shop lease for a new bakeryPassClient interview and attendance note
Buying a house to let with a mortgagePassClient interview and attendance note
Buying a home with a partner who puts in less moneyPassClient interview and attendance note
Planning to buy a terraced house at auctionPassLegal research
Can a shop tenant renew a lease that was contracted out?PassLegal research
Can a landlord forfeit a shop lease for unpaid rent?PassLegal writing
Advising a seller when the buyer misses completionPassLegal writing
Advising joint buyers on how to own their home
Questions
What do SQE2 property practice tasks cover?
Residential and commercial conveyancing: buying, selling and leasing land. There is an oral interview with an attendance note on oral Day 1, and written tasks on written Day 2, shared with Wills and Probate.
When are property tasks in SQE2?
The interview and attendance note are on oral Day 1. The written property tasks are on written Day 2, which also covers Wills and Probate.
Do I need to memorise SDLT rates?
Learn how SDLT works and who pays it, and use any rates or thresholds given in the task. Do not rely on memory for figures.
Is money laundering tested in property tasks?
Yes. From September 2026 it can be examined in Property Practice as well as in Business.
What SQE1 subjects help with SQE2 property?
Property Law and Practice, Land Law and Solicitors Accounts, which sit in FLK2.
Related
- SQE2: what it tests and how to prepare
- SQE2 ethics and professional conduct: how it is tested
- SQE1 Property Practice
- SQE1 Land Law
- FLK2: subjects, sessions and how to study
Sources: SRA presentation: The SQE2 assessment; SRA: Ethics and professional conduct changes for SQE2 after 1 September 2026; Land Registration Act 2002; Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989. Checked 10 November 2026.