Property Documents for Charities
These Lease, Sublease, Licence, and Tenancy at Will and related documents have been professionally drafted for use where a charity is to enter into occupation of various types of office or retail premises (on a short- or long-term basis) or is to use land or other premises for a short period. There is also a form of sublease for use where a charity has a lease of offices and wishes to sublet any of its surplus space to another organisation or person.
The Lease subfolder also contains a Guidance Note on Excluding Security of Tenure and a guidance note about certain legal formalities to be implemented where a freehold is acquired by or leased to a charity, or a freehold is disposed of or leased by a charity.
Changes to the way a charity can deal with property were made by the Charities Act 2022, and those changes were brought into effect by 7 March 2024. The documents in this folder take into account those 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.
The documents are easy to use. The documents are constructed in Word format and can be customised to meet your requirements. Please click on the links below to view details. Where necessary, each document includes wording required to comply with the Charities Acts.
For other template documents, forms, guidance notes and other materials for use by charities, please refer to the Charities & Non-Profit Group in our Corporate folder.
Property Documents for Charities is part of Property. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Property for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our charity is taking or granting a lease of premises. Are there special rules we must follow? +
Yes. When a charity disposes of land, including granting or assigning a lease, it must follow Part 7 of the Charities Act 2011, as amended by the Charities Act 2022 in force since 7 March 2024. In most cases the trustees must take and consider written advice from a qualified adviser first, and disposal documents must contain prescribed statements. These templates include the required wording.
What changed for charity property under the Charities Act 2022? +
The 2022 changes, in force from 7 March 2024, widened who can give the trustees advice on a disposal, so it is no longer limited to a fellow of RICS and can include other qualified advisers and, in some cases, a suitable trustee or employee. They also simplified the advice and the statements that must go in the documents. These templates reflect the current rules.
Which arrangement should our charity use, a lease, a licence or a tenancy at will? +
It depends on how long and how exclusively you need the space. A lease gives exclusive possession for a term. A licence is a personal permission to use space without exclusive possession. A tenancy at will suits short, terminable occupation, for example while negotiating a lease. This folder has a guidance note on which to use, plus the templates.
If we grant a lease of our offices, can we keep the right to get the premises back? +
Yes, if the lease is contracted out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 before it is granted, using the warning notice and tenant declaration. Otherwise a business tenant may gain security of tenure and a right to renew. The lease subfolder includes a guidance note on excluding security of tenure and the forms to do it.
Do we need Charity Commission consent to deal with our land? +
Not for most ordinary disposals to someone unconnected with the charity, provided the trustees take the required advice and follow the statutory steps. You do need prior authority, an order of the Charity Commission or the court, where the disposal is to a connected person, such as a trustee or someone linked to them. These templates flag where that applies.
