The Charities Act 2022 needs to be amended, as it “covers the sale of property but not the buying of it”, a charity property expert has said.
Antonia Swinson, chief executive of the Ethical Property Foundation (EPF), was speaking at an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) that looked at the challenges of managing a charity property.
She said managing property has become more complex, with new challenges since the coronavirus panademic, for example as a result of hybrid working. Moreover, changes to the 2022 Charities Act are needed.
Swinson said: “The 2022 Charities Act came into effect this year, and there’s a very odd omission which we would earnestly love an amendment [to address]. The Charities Act covers the sale of property but not the buying of it. There is no need to take professional advice when buying a property but there is for selling it.”
She added that EPF often sees this means trustees with no professional indemnity are the ones advising on buying new property.
“Down the line, we see the consequences – it needs an amendment,” Swinson told the APPG.
Net zero ‘a nice to have’
Swinson noted that overall, smaller voluntary groups are more likely to occupy energy-efficient buildings and are more likely to rent.
“It’s the premises, the buildings, in which our charities work and deliver their social mission and their services, which of course is so important,” she said.
In EPF’s experience, landlords do not want to pay to upgrade premises and with insecure tenancies in old energy-inefficient buildings, it can be very hard for charities to get grant funding.
Moreover, it can be very difficult and expensive for charities to make their buildings energy efficient, for example many churches and old buildings are charitable organisations.
“I’d say policymakers do need to understand when it comes to achieving net zero and looking at carbon footprints that charities will always look at the bottom line, at their charitable mission first – energy efficiency is really down to turnover.”
Swinson added that “most issues around energy efficiency depend on the timing of expenditure, and too often, I am afraid, net zero is a nice to have because there’s a constant tension”.
Sally-Ann Beaver, sales director at Utility Aid, said the main challenges charities have at the moment are the “increasing costs across the board”, on maintenance, materials, and energy costs.
“This means charities are often being faced with a balancing act of necessity versus aspirations for improvement,” she said.
Beaver said this is especially an issue for charities that own listed buildings, which “are often as far from energy efficient as possible”.
Baroness Liz Barker added the responsibility for net zero fall may fall disproportionately on charities.
The sector must have the majority of the historic buildings in the country under its responsibility, she said, and “therefore, that process of transition to net zero is going to fall disproportionately on the charity sector.
“I don’t think we have got anything like the skills or resources to help us get through that, that we are going to need.”
Barker suggested asking for government help in convening planning or a project to help charities with this.
Related Articles
