Lease and Other Property Documents (Charities)
This subfolder of Lease and Other Property Documents (Charities) contains a selection of lease agreements. There are templates for use by a landlord making an office available for use by a charity, and for a charity to sublet a surplus part of its leased office premises to another person or organisation. Where necessary, each document includes wording required to comply with the Charities Acts.
There are also a number of guidance notes as follows:
- There is a guidance note outlining the types of arrangement - lease, licence or tenancy at will - that may or should be used for occupation of premises.
- There is a guidance note on excluding security of tenure and forms for use in that connection.
- There is also a guidance note about certain legal formalities which must be followed where property is acquired by or leased to a charity, or disposed of or leased by, a charity. Changes to the way a charity can deal with property were made by the Charities Act 2022. The lease templates and the Guidance Note about property transactions were amended to take account of the changes. For a summary of all changes to charity law made by the 2022 Act, including the law relating to dealing with charity land, please see the information pages on the Charities Act 2022.
These documents have been professionally drafted for use by landlords granting leases in respect of office premises.
The documents are constructed in Word format and can be customised to meet your requirements. Please click on the links below to view details.
- Lease to Charity of Office in Shared Building
- Lease to Charity of Office over Shop
- Underlease of Part of Office Premises Granted By Charity
- Guidance Note: Lease, Licence or Tenancy at Will?
- Guidance Note: Charity Property Transactions
- Guidance Note: Excluding Security of Tenure
- Landlord’s Notice to Exclude Security of Tenure
- Tenant’s Simple Declaration Regarding Security of Tenure
- Tenant’s Statutory Declaration Regarding Security of Tenure
Lease and Other Property Documents (Charities) is part of Property. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Property for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are letting office space to a charity. Do the charity property rules affect us as landlord?
The charity rules mainly bite on the charity's own dealings with its land, but if the charity is your tenant it must satisfy its own Charities Act duties, and any document where a charity grants or assigns needs prescribed statements. Using a lease drafted for charity use avoids surprises. This sub-folder has leases for a landlord letting offices to a charity.
Our charity has spare office space. Can we sublet it, and what must we do?
You can sublet surplus space if your own lease allows it and you get any required consent. As the sublease is a disposal of charity land, the trustees must generally take and consider written advice on the terms first and include the prescribed statements, under the Charities Act 2011 as amended in 2024. This sub-folder has a sublease for a charity letting surplus offices.
Do we always need a surveyor's report before our charity grants or takes a lease?
Not always. For a lease of seven years or less, granted otherwise than for a premium, the trustees need only obtain and consider advice from someone they reasonably believe has the ability and experience to give it, rather than a full qualified surveyor's report. Longer or more valuable disposals need the fuller advice. This sub-folder's guidance explains the formalities.
What written advice must our trustees get before a larger disposal?
For most disposals outside the short lease exception, the trustees must obtain and consider a written report from a qualified adviser before agreeing terms, and be satisfied the terms are the best that can reasonably be obtained. Since 7 March 2024 the pool of advisers is wider than before. This sub-folder's guidance note covers the property transaction formalities.
Can our charity grant a lease with no security of tenure for the occupier?
Yes, by contracting the lease out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 before it is granted, following the warning notice and declaration procedure. This sub-folder includes a guidance note on excluding security of tenure and the forms for doing it, so the charity can recover the premises at the end of the term.