Property law passages appear less frequently than tort or contract but are consistently among the hardest when they do. The reason is structural: property transfers require multiple conditions in sequence, and missing a single step miscalibrates the entire analysis.
Ownership passes on registration of the sale deed — not on payment or possession. For property worth ₹100 or more, a registered instrument is required. A buyer who has paid and taken possession but whose deed is unregistered has not received title. This single principle generates the most sale-related questions in CLAT.
Five types under TPA: simple mortgage (personal obligation, no possession transfer), mortgage by conditional sale (ostensible sale redeemable on repayment), usufructuary mortgage (mortgagee takes possession and profits, no title), English mortgage (title transfers with right to reconveyance), and anomalous mortgage. CLAT passages define the type and test its consequences. Equity of redemption: mortgagor's right to reclaim on repayment — power of sale arises only on default and after notice.
The single most frequently tested property distinction. Lease: transfers interest in property, grants exclusive possession, for a defined term at rent. Licence: personal right to use, no exclusive possession, revocable at will. The CLAT test is almost always: was exclusive possession granted? If yes → lease. If no → licence. Long duration and regular payments do not convert a licence into a lease.
A right of one landowner (dominant owner) to use the land of another (servient owner) for a specific purpose — e.g., right of way, right to light, right to draw water. Easements by prescription: 20-year open, continuous, and uninterrupted use as of right (not permissive). Permissive use — with the owner's consent — does not ripen into a prescriptive easement regardless of duration.
Valid gift requirements: (1) voluntary transfer without consideration; (2) acceptance by donee during donor's lifetime; (3) for immovable property, registered instrument. Donatio mortis causa: a gift made in contemplation of death — revocable if the donor survives. An unregistered gift of immovable property is invalid — the donee acquires no rights even if the donor clearly intended the transfer.
"A lease of immovable property for a term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent, must be made by a registered instrument. A lease made otherwise is invalid and confers no right of exclusive possession on the purported lessee. A licence, being a personal right to use without exclusive possession, requires no registration and may be created by any writing or even orally."
Varsha allows Rajan to use a room in her house for two years at ₹10,000 per month. The arrangement is documented in a typed letter signed by both parties, but not registered. Rajan moves in and pays rent for three months. Varsha then asks Rajan to vacate.
The arrangement is for two years — exceeds one year. The passage requires registration for such a lease. The instrument is not registered. Under the passage, the lease is invalid and confers no exclusive possession. Rajan does not hold a valid lease.
The arrangement may be a licence — personal right, no registration required. But the passage states licences are revocable at will. Varsha has given notice to vacate. The licence is revoked. Rajan has no right to remain.
Primarily the Transfer of Property Act 1882 (TPA), covering sale, mortgage, lease, exchange, and gift. The Indian Easements Act 1882 governs easement and licence questions. The Registration Act 1908 informs registration requirements. The Consortium never names the statute — it extracts and reformulates the principle. Knowing the underlying statutes helps you recognise the principle quickly, but you apply the passage formulation, not the statute.
Lease vs licence. A lease transfers an interest in property and grants exclusive possession for a defined term. A licence is a personal right to use without exclusive possession, revocable at will. CLAT passages test whether a given arrangement is a lease or licence, with the key criterion almost always being exclusive possession. If exclusive possession has not been granted, the arrangement is a licence regardless of how long it has lasted or how much rent has been paid.
Property transfers under the TPA are not single-element rules. A valid transfer may require a written instrument, registration, delivery of possession, and acceptance by the transferee — four conditions in sequence. The Consortium gives fact scenarios where one or two conditions fail and asks about the consequences. Missing a single condition in your analysis causes every downstream question to be wrong.
No, under the standard TPA passage formulation. For immovable property, ownership passes on registration of the sale deed, not on payment of the price or delivery of possession. A buyer who has paid in full and taken possession but whose sale deed is not yet registered has not yet received title. This is a very common CLAT trap — facts describe full payment and possession, and ask whether the property has passed.
The equity of redemption is the mortgagor's right to reclaim the mortgaged property on repayment of the loan. CLAT passages state that a mortgagee's power of sale arises only on default and after notice to the mortgagor — a sale before default or without notice is invalid. Fact scenarios test whether default has occurred and whether notice has been given. If either condition is absent, the mortgagee's sale is void.
Easement by prescription requires long, uninterrupted, and open use as of right — not permissive use. The passage will define the prescription period (the statutory default is 20 years). Fact scenarios test: (1) has the period elapsed? (2) was the use continuous and uninterrupted? (3) was it open and known to the servient owner? (4) was it as of right — not with the owner's permission? Permissive use, no matter how long, does not ripen into a prescriptive easement.
Three conditions typically: (1) transfer is voluntary and without consideration; (2) the donee accepts during the lifetime of the donor; (3) for immovable property, the gift is made by a registered instrument. If any condition fails, the gift is invalid. A common trap: a gift of immovable property made orally or without registration — invalid, regardless of how clearly the donor intended it.
Map all conditions before reading questions. Property passages always state multiple conditions for a valid transfer, lease, or easement. List every condition the passage requires — number them. Each question tests one condition. Before answering, identify which condition the question is testing, check whether it is satisfied on the facts, and answer only that condition. Do not assume registration from facts — if registration matters and the facts do not mention it, assume it was not done.