This is a reminder for churches selling or letting residential property where the Baptist Union Corporation (BUC) or another Baptist Trust company is their holding trustee. There has recently been an increase in situations where a property agent unfamiliar with Baptist property trusts has insisted that the BUC provide documentation to satisfy their Anti Money Laundering compliance and other due diligence requirements. It is important that property agents understand that the church is their client, not the BUC, and that property agents should obtain the necessary documentation from the church charity trustees. The BUC can help by providing a letter explaining its trustee-beneficiary relationship with the church and providing evidence of the relevant property trusts. Please note, the church’s trustees cannot sign documentation on behalf of the BUC.
 

The Renters Rights Bill, which will do away with assured shorthold tenancies, is proceeding though Parliament. When it is in force, a landlord will no longer be able to recover its property by using a ‘no fault’ eviction notice. This will affect churches renting out residential property to tenants in England. 

The Bill currently provides for a right to recover possession in cases where a dwelling-house is held for the purpose of being available for occupation by a minister of religion as a residence from which to perform the duties of his/her office and the court is satisfied that the dwelling-house is required for that purpose.  We will be monitoring the progress of the Bill and have issued guidance for churches. Please see our revised Guidelines Leaflet PM04.
 

The Charity Commission has released new guidance to help trustees protect their charities from fraud and cyber-crime. This includes bespoke guidance on how trustees can protect their charity from cyber-crime and a separate shorter guide on fraud. 

The Commission says ‘It is every trustee’s responsibility to ensure they’ve done all they reasonably can to protect their charity from harm – reading our guidance is the best place to start’.

Click here for further information.
 

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