What does CU1 cover in RES Paper 1?
A property listing tells you the address, size and asking price. CU1 teaches you to look further: what is being sold, how long the interest lasts, which rights affect the land and where to check the title. These are the foundations for making sense of a property transaction.
This guide follows the eight CU1 topics in the 2027 RES examination syllabus. Use it to organise your land law revision and identify the distinctions you need to practise before moving into contracts, leases and co-ownership in CU2.
CU1 connects two areas: the property market and basic land law. Start with demand, supply, market participants and government intervention. Then move from the legal meaning of land to estates, State land, rights over neighbouring land and registration of titles. The market topics explain the setting; the law topics explain the interests that people can hold within it.
Official unit title: Real Estate Agency Industry Overview & Basic Land Law Concepts.
All 8 CU1 topics, explained
The headings and numbers below follow the 2027 syllabus. Use the chapter links to plan a focused revision session.
- 1.1Real estate market and submarkets
- 1.2Real estate market players and government intervention
- 1.3Introduction
- 1.4Land
- 1.5Estates in land
- 1.6State Lands Act and Land Betterment Charge Act
- 1.7Rights in another’s land
- 1.8Registration of titles
1.1 Real estate market and submarkets
Understand how residential, commercial and industrial submarkets differ. Connect demand, supply and the property cycle to price and rental movements, and distinguish buying property directly from holding an indirect investment such as a REIT.
Practise topic 1.11.2 Real estate market players and government intervention
Identify the roles of developers, investors, occupiers and government bodies. Link an intervention to its purpose, whether it concerns housing supply, planning, lending or transaction costs, instead of memorising agency names in isolation.
Practise topic 1.21.3 Introduction
Build a working vocabulary for real and personal property, proprietary and personal rights, and legal and equitable interests. Being precise about the right a person holds makes the later land law topics easier to follow.
Practise topic 1.31.4 Land
Study the legal meaning of land and the tests for fixtures. Learn how land lots, strata lots and accessory lots are described, and why identifying what forms part of the property matters when reading documents and considering value.
Practise topic 1.41.5 Estates in land
Separate tenure from estate and compare freehold and leasehold interests. When revising a leasehold transaction, track the original lease and its remaining term; a resale should not be treated as the start of a fresh lease.
Practise topic 1.51.6 State Lands Act and Land Betterment Charge Act
Connect State grants and leases to their conditions, the Land Betterment Charge, temporary occupation licences and the State’s reversionary interest. Include road reserves and encroachments in your revision because the physical boundary alone does not explain every constraint.
Practise topic 1.61.7 Rights in another’s land
Compare easements, restrictive covenants, licences and leases. Identify the right claimed, the land it affects and the conditions for creation or termination. Keep the rules for registered land in view when considering how a right is acquired.
Practise topic 1.71.8 Registration of titles
Learn to recognise title documents, recorded dealings and priority issues. Study the function and duration of a caveat alongside registration, so that protecting a claimed interest and becoming the registered owner remain distinct steps in your thinking.
Practise topic 1.8Read a property title in four passes
Use this reading framework to connect the land law chapters. It is a revision aid for deciding what information you need, rather than a substitute for a title search.
| Look for | The question it helps answer | CU1 topic |
|---|---|---|
| Property description | Which land or strata lot is involved? | 1.4 Land |
| Estate and term | What interest is held, and for how long? | 1.5 Estates in land |
| Rights and restrictions | What other rights affect this property? | 1.7 Rights in another’s land |
| Registered dealings | What does the register record? | 1.8 Registration of titles |
SLA’s INLIS service provides property title, ownership and lot information. Knowing which information you need is part of understanding the problem.
Read the official guidance: SLA: Land titles searches and INLIS
How to study CU1
Build a glossary you can use
Explain estate, interest, tenure, fixture, easement and caveat in your own words. Add the feature that distinguishes each term from a similar one.
Follow one property through the topics
Take a leasehold apartment as a mental example. Identify the market, the land description, the lease term, any third-party rights and the title information you would check.
Practise changing one fact
Compare a lease with a licence or a fixture with a movable fitting. Record which fact changes your analysis, then revisit that distinction in mixed Paper 1 practice.
Put the chapter into practice.
Work through Paper 1 by topic, then bring the concepts together in case studies and mock practice.
Practise Paper 1Sign in or create an account to save your progress.
RES CU1 FAQs
Is CU1 in RES Paper 1 or Paper 2?
CU1 is examined in Paper 1 alongside CU2. CU1 covers the industry overview and basic land law; CU2 develops the law relating to dealings with interests in land. Paper 2 covers CU3 and CU4.
How many topics are in CU1?
The 2027 syllabus has eight CU1 topics, numbered 1.1 to 1.8. They run from real estate markets and government intervention to land, estates, State land, third-party rights and registration of titles.
What is the difference between CU1 and CU2?
CU1 establishes the market context and the nature of rights in land. CU2 examines the legal relationships and dealings built on those rights, including contracts, agency, tenancies, mortgages, succession and co-ownership.
Which syllabus should I use for a 2027 RES exam?
Use CEA’s revised RES examination syllabus 2027, effective for examinations from 1 January 2027. This guide follows Version 1.0. If your notes use older topic names or numbers, compare them with the official document before planning your revision.
Sources & further reading
This is an overview to support revision. Read the official syllabus for the full learning outcomes, and check the relevant authority’s guidance for the rules and effective dates.
- Official CEA RES syllabus 2027 · Version 1.0 (PDF)
- CEA: RES examination preparation and syllabus changes
- SLA: Land titles searches and INLIS
- SLA: Lease policy
- SLA: Understanding the Land Betterment Charge
Written by RESU. Independent study material based on the published CEA syllabus.