Can a Person Under 18 Years Old Enter into a Mortgage Contract?

Can a person under 18 years old sign a mortgage contract? - Illustrative photo

Regarding this issue, the editorial board of THU KY LUAT would like to respond as follows:

Minors have the right to own private property

Article 75 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates that children have the right to own private property, which includes:

- Inherited property or property given specifically to the child;- Income from the child's labor;- Fruits and profits arising from the child's private property;- Other legal income;- Property formed from the child's private property is also considered the child's private property.

In addition, Article 76 of this Law also regulates the management of the child's private property. Specifically:

- Children aged 15 years and older can manage their private property on their own or ask their parents to manage it;- Children under 15 years old have their private property managed by their parents. Parents can authorize others to manage the child's private property. The private property managed by parents or others will be returned to the child when the child is 15 years old or older;- Parents do not manage the child's private property if the child is under the guardianship of someone else; if the person giving the property or the one leaving an inheritance as per a will has appointed someone else to manage the property; or in other cases as prescribed by law.- If parents are managing the private property of a minor child and the child, after reaching adulthood, loses civil act capacity and is under the guardianship of others, the private property must be handed over to the guardian for management as per the Civil Code.

Therefore, children under 18 years old have the full right to own private property. Depending on their age, children may manage their property independently or have it managed by parents or others on their behalf.

Who signs the mortgage contract, the legal representative or the person under 18 years old?

According to Article 21 of the Civil Code 2015, signing contracts by persons under 18 years old is regulated based on their age:

- Persons under 06 years old: Civil transactions are established and executed by their legal representative.- Persons from 06 years old to under 15 years old: Civil transactions must be agreed upon by their legal representative (except for daily activities suitable for their age).- Persons from 15 years old to under 18 years old: They can establish and execute civil transactions on their own, except for transactions related to real estate, registered movable property, and other transactions that require legal representative consent as per the law.

Thus, in cases where persons under 18 years old have their own private property, they have the right to sign a mortgage contract on their own if they are from 15 to under 18 years old. However, in cases where the mortgage contract involves real estate, specifically an apartment, it must be agreed upon by the legal representative, i.e., the parents' consent is required.

Ty Na

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