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Rent liability refusal

CDV Adviser
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Nestor Financial Group Ltd

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Following on from https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/15558/, the DWP have now come back with this:

‘The tenancy agreement is in the name of the deputies, not the parents, which means no liability. Taking it further, the deputies have stated they are acting on behalf of [the child] who they state is liable – when actually [the child] can’t be liable for the rent payments as they are under age.’

‘It’s worth noting that by the terms of the trust, and comments on the case so far, the deputies can decide to either buy a suitable property for Dominic to live in, or grant monies as they see fit for the protection of the child, which information thus far seems to include rent.’

‘the deputies are the two persons who work for the legal company hence they are in charge of all funding for your child UNLESS they change it into your names.’

To my mind, the deputies act on behalf of the child but the liability is still the childs and the above regs still apply. Am I missing something?

CDV Adviser
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Nestor Financial Group Ltd

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Looking at p.87 of CPAG, it does state that they are not treated as liable if the payments are to:

A trustee of a trust and the trustees or beneficiaries include you, your partner or a qualifying young person (or in the case of trusts, a child) for whom you are responsible.

I take this to mean they aren’t actually liable.

Elliot Kent
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Sorry you haven’t had a response.

This isn’t the situation dealt with by pg. 87 CPAG. Not really sure what the DWP are trying to say in their response but it isn’t right.

I am guessing that the deputies have taken out the tenancy in their own names but on trust for the child?

Children are unable to hold legal interests in land but there is nothing to stop them holding equitable interests in land. A child therefore cannot be named directly as the tenant but it is still possible for a tenancy to be taken out by a third party on trust for the child. Provided that the child had the capacity to agree to this - which is not a factor here because the deputies are entitled to make that decision for the incapacitious child - this will create a legal obligation on the part of the child to pay the rent which is then sufficient to engage para 1, sch 2 so that the parents are entitled to a HCE.

There is more information about this on our website - https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/housing_options/young_people_and_care_leavers/tenancies_for_minors