Considerations affecting dealings with Charity Land

When dealing with charity land the requirements of the Charities Act 1993 (“the Act”) must be strictly observed as non-compliance results in invalidity of the transaction, and it could leave trustees of the charity personally liable.

The need for a written report

A written valuation report complying with the Charities (Qualified Surveyors’ Reports) Regulations 1992, SI 1992/2980 must be obtained exclusively for the trustees and considered before contracts are exchanged. The trustees, or their delegated representatives, must actually apply their minds to the issues. Simply having a written report which would justify the conclusions is not enough.

Connected persons

An order of the court or the Commission is required when dealing with a connected person, his trustee or nominee.  “Connected person” is widely defined in the Act.

Protection of purchaser

The sale contract and the transfer must contain a certificate that the land transferred is charity land, and is land to which the restrictions on disposition imposed by the Act apply.

Where a charity transfers land without having satisfied the requirements of the Act, if the certificate has been given, a purchaser for money or money’s worth is protected by the conclusive presumption that the facts were as stated in the certificate. If however no certificate has been provided, the purchaser will only be protected if he can prove that he acquired the interest in good faith and for money or money’s worth.

For further information, please contact:

Vivien Priestley
Professional Support Lawyer

Richard Sims
Solicitor