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Paper 1 · Lesson 7 — Leases and Tenancies

Capacity and foreign approval

Capacity to lease (ages 18 / 21, the 3-year cap under 21) and foreign-lease approval (the 7-year rule / LDAU).

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Question 1

A twenty-year-old, working and living away from his family, wants to sign a lease for a flat. The landlord is willing to grant a five-year term, and the young man is keen to lock in the rent for as long as he can before prices rise further.

Which statement is correct?

  1. A. He may take the five-year lease only once his parents have signed the agreement with him.
  2. B. He may take the full five-year lease, an eighteen-year-old having the same capacity as an adult.
  3. C. He may not take any lease at all until he has reached the age of twenty-one years.
  4. D. He may take a lease, but for a term of no more than three years while he is under twenty-one.
Show the answer and full explanation

Answer: D

The rule. A person aged eighteen but under twenty-one may take a lease, but only for a term of up to three years. A longer term is beyond his capacity until he reaches twenty-one.

Why D is correct. The tenant is twenty, so he may lease, but the five-year term exceeds the three-year ceiling for someone under twenty-one. He may take a lease of no more than three years.

The other options.

  • B gives him the full five years. His term is capped at three while he is under twenty-one.
  • C bars him from any lease. He may lease from eighteen, subject to the cap.
  • A makes it turn on his parents signing. The cap is on the term, not cured by a parental signature.

Exam note. Eighteen to under twenty-one: leases allowed, but no more than three years. Capacity to lease is not the same as capacity to lease for any length.

A longer term is beyond his capacity until he reaches twenty-one →

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