Under the statute of frauds, which element is not required for a land contract to be enforceable?

• A. Signed
• B. Writing
• C. Describing Land
• D. Consideration

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that the statute of frauds for land transactions focuses on ensuring a verifiable record of the deal. For an agreement to sell real property to be enforceable, there must be a writing, and that writing must be signed by the party to be charged, and it must describe the land with reasonable certainty (often with price terms). These requirements prevent fraud by putting the land transaction in a concrete, identifiable form.

The element that is not required by the statute of frauds is consideration. Even though contracts generally hinge on consideration, the statute’s grip is on the existence of a written, signed agreement that clearly identifies the land, not on whether there is some bargained-for price or other consideration. So a land contract can meet the statute of frauds even if the consideration is minimal or absent, as long as the writing, signature, and land description are present.