One region, one set of rules
The South East — Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire — all sits inside the single legal jurisdiction of England and Wales. Whether the lender is in Reading and the borrower in Brighton, the same contract law governs the loan, the same courts hear any dispute, and one properly drafted agreement covers it. The builder reads each person’s postcode and confirms the jurisdiction automatically.
Example: a commuter-belt deposit loan
Mark and Elaine, retired in Guildford, are lending their son £40,000 toward a house in Basingstoke — he and his wife have the mortgage agreed in principle, but the deposit gap is real. The agreement they sign does three quiet jobs: it fixes a monthly repayment that starts after completion, it records that the money is a loan, not a gift (their other daughter will one day thank them for that clarity), and it gives the mortgage lender the honest answer it will ask for about where the deposit came from.
That pattern — parents in the commuter belt helping the next generation buy nearby — is the most common family loan in the region. The rest look familiar too: a car to get to a first job, help through a rough patch between contracts, seed money for a business run from the spare room.
What the agreement should pin down
- The amount and the date the money moves — with a payment reference on the bank transfer so the advance is provable.
- The repayment plan — instalments or a single date, and what happens if a payment is missed.
- Interest, if any. There’s no statutory cap between family members; the builder warns (never blocks) at 25%+. Remember interest you receive is taxable income.
- Loan, not gift — stated in terms. It protects the borrower’s siblings, the lender’s estate planning, and everyone’s memory.
- Signatures from both sides — electronic signing is valid in England and Wales, and it’s how LendRight finishes the job.
If repayment stalls in the South East
Money claims start online wherever you live — through Money Claim Online or the County Court Money Claims Centre — and claims up to £10,000 usually go to the small claims track, built for people without solicitors. If an in-person hearing is ever needed, it’s listed at a county court hearing centre convenient to the defendant — the region is well served, from Brighton and Canterbury to Reading, Oxford and Guildford. In practice, a signed agreement plus a bank record is usually enough to make the conversation end long before a courtroom.
Under the Limitation Act 1980 you generally have six years from a missed due date to bring a claim on a simple contract — one more reason the agreement should set real dates.
Scotland and Northern Ireland — a different story
If either of you lives in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the builder will tell you honestly that we can’t serve you yet — those are separate legal systems, and a template written for England and Wales isn’t automatically right there. Everything about that decision is on our coverage page.
Put it in writing — kindly.
Draft free in about 4 minutes. Pay the one-time £24.99 only when you send it for signing.
Create my loan agreement