Wychavon District Council v EM (HB) [2011] UKUT 144 (AAC)
(1) The tenant lacked capacity so the tenancy contract was not valid, which meant that there was no liability to pay rent and therefore no entitlement to Housing Benefit. (2) The contract was void, not voidable, because the landlord knew the tenant lacked sufficient mental capacity to reach such an agreement. [Caution.]
Related judgments
Wychavon District Council v EM (HB) [2012] UKUT 12 (AAC), [2012] MHLO 5
See also
Tenancies. Court of Protection, 'Guidance: Applications to the Court of Protection in relation to tenancy agreements' (February 2012) — This document superseded Court of Protection, 'Guidance: Applications to the Court of Protection in relation to tenancy agreements' (June 2011) but has itself now been withdrawn. It provided guidance on when and how to make applications in relation to signing or terminating tenancy agreements on behalf of adults who lack the mental capacity to understand or sign the agreement themselves. It set out a 'streamlined' process for receiving applications relating to more than one person.
External links
39 Essex Street, 'Court of Protection Newsletter' (issue 8, May 2011) (contains summary)
The Small Places Blog, 'Mental Capacity Act and Tenancy: An open question' (7/10/11). This article, which appeared originally on the Nearly Legal housing law blog, argues that Wychavon was wrongly decided because 'a contract with someone lacking capacity to enter such a contract is voidable (not void) by the person lacking capacity if the other party was aware of their lack of capacity'.