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Question Title: Church Letting
| Question: 273 |
| We are about to let a property to the Church of England for occupation by a Curate, it is anticipated that this will be a long let (3 to 6 years). The property is one that has been occupied by the owners as their home (being a Major in the Army, the owner is posted to various places and lives in army accommodation). Bearing in mind the possible length of the tenancy, we need to ensure that the owners will be able to serve notice of repossession should they wish to re-occupy the property as their home or even to sell the house in the future. Should the format of the tenancy agreement be as for a Company? Should we serve a notice under Schedule 2, Grounds 1 & 2 Does the mandatory ground 5 for repossession under the Housing Act of 1988 apply only if the property is needed for occupation by another minister ? This tenancy is to proceed from early April and unfortunately there are no other local agents who have experience of this kind of let and no local solicitors who profess a working knowledge of the Housing Act 1988 with respect to such a letting !
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| Answer: |
| Firstly, I have a great deal of respect for the solicitor that admits to having insufficient knowledge in a subject. Much better to be honest than to give incorrect advice. The Housing Act clearly states that an assured tenancy (or AST) is one made to an 'individual' or individual persons only and so you are right that a tenancy agreement with the Church would not be covered by the Act. As I see it, you have two choices: Firstly, you could go ahead and set up a tenancy between the landlord and the Church of England. Such a tenancy would be established under general contract law and the tenant (i.e. the Church) would not have protection under the Housing Act 1988. Repossession would also be more straightforward, the Church having only minimum rights of tenure. You rightly point out that the agreement would be similar for a company, (especially with the Inland Revenue's recent ruling that vicars and curates are indeed employees of the Church for tax purposes; not just servants of God, as claimed by the Church! ) You need be sure that such an agreement is carefully drawn up. There are several protection clauses in a good company letting agreement that protect against the possibility of the company's employees becoming assured tenants in their own right and thus gaining tenure in their own right. Alternatively, you may prefer to grant the lease to an individual (i.e. the Curate) and set up an AST as normal.
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References:
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Hyperlinks:
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Letting Handbook |
Chapter 6 |
letting-handbook-and-factsheets.html
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For more information, discuss on the Forum
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