Tag: property

Church Commissioners Questions: Same-sex couples – Church Blessing Services, Occupied Palestinian Territories – Christians, Interfaith Cohesion, Safeguarding, Leaseholds, Church Assets – Historical Link to Slavery

On 22nd May 2025, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova MP, gave the following answers to questions from MPs in the House of Commons:

Same-sex couples: Church Blessing Services

Steve Race MP (Lab, Exeter) asked: What steps the Church is taking to roll out stand-alone services to bless same-sex couples.

Marsha De Cordova MP (Lab, Battersea): A proposal to enable churches to opt in to the use of prayers of love and faith in stand-alone services is out for consultation and will come back to the House of Bishops in October.

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Renters Rights Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables amendments on temporary accommodation and notice for property inspections

On 14th May 2025, the Bishop of Manchester tabled two amendments to the Renters Rights Bill in committee:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: 249: Clause 101, page 129, line 2, leave out from “(homelessness)” to end of line 4

Member’s explanatory statement:

This amendment would make the Decent homes standard apply to all homeless temporary accommodation provided under the Housing Act 1996.

I thought that my amendment was never going to come. Amendment 249 stands in my name, and I am glad to support Amendment 252, to which I have added my name, and Amendments 250 and 251 in this group. I declare my interest as co-owner, with my wife, of one rather modest apartment in the West Midlands, which we let out.

As someone who has chaired a wide range of housing associations, including a large local authority transfer and an arm’s-length management company, I have seen the huge positive impact that the decent homes standard has had since one was first applied to social housing. Not least, it has forced landlords to pay proper attention to their existing stock, rather than focusing all their energies and resources on new developments. Hence, I am delighted that this Bill will, for the first time, extend the standard to much of the private rented stock; it is a sector desperately plagued by underinvestment in repairs, maintenance and stock improvement. One in five privately rented homes does not currently meet the decent homes standard compared to 10% for social housing. More than one in 10 has a category 1 hazard, which is two and a half times the figure for social housing.

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Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill: Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham tables amendments on charity freeholds and deferment rates

On 24th May 2024, during the wash-up debate on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham tabled an amendment to the bill which “would give a charity freeholder the right to compensation for the loss of marriage or hope value,” and a further amendment relating to the setting of deferment rates:

The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham: 20: Schedule 4, page 164, line 15, at end insert—

“(3A) But in a case where the freeholder is a charity and the freehold interest was vested in that charity immediately before the passing of this Act, the freeholder is entitled to compensation for loss of marriage or hope value, with the amount of compensation being equal to the amount the freeholder would have received by way of marriage or hope value if assumption 2 had not been made.”Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would give a charity freeholder the right to compensation for the loss of marriage or hope value.

My Lords, I will speak to both amendments in my name. I declare my interest as a beneficiary of the funds of the Church Commissioners, being in receipt of a stipend. I am also a leaseholder of a flat in Bristol.

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Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables amendment on compensation for charities

On 24th April 2024, the House of Lords debated the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill in Committee. The Bishop of Manchester moved his amendment 28 to the bill, and made a speech in support of the amendment, which “would provide that, where the freeholder in the case of a lease extension or freehold enfranchisement is a charity which had owned the freehold interest since before the passing of the Bill, marriage and hope value are payable.”

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, while I thoroughly enjoyed that previous group, I hope this one will not prove quite so wide-ranging. In tabling these amendments, my aim is to deal with an issue that in the charity world is specific to a small number of bodies but would severely impact the work that they do. First, I am a leaseholder myself, as it happens, as set out in the register of interests. I have been through the process of extending my lease; my flat is not in London, and it was quite a simple and cheap process. Secondly, although I am no longer on the board of governors of the Church Commissioners, it is the body that pays my stipend, owns my home and covers my working expenses, so I declare that interest too.

The commissioners are directly affected by the proposals in the Bill. They would indeed benefit from my amendments but, as has already been mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Truscott, in the previous group, that charity is large enough to withstand the adverse impact. Smaller charities would struggle much harder to maintain their work, and it is their case I seek to plead today.

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Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill: Bishop of Derby opposes clause affecting estate areas

During a debate on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill on 22nd April 2024, the Bishop of Derby, on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester, spoke in opposition to clause 28 standing part of the bill, as it would have adverse affects on great estate areas such as the Hyde Park Estate:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I will speak in support of my right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester, who is unable to be in his place today and who has asked me to speak to his opposition that Clause 28 stand part of the Bill. This is linked to a similar stand-part debate, in the name of my right reverend friend, relating to Clause 47, to be debated later in Committee.

I declare my interest as a beneficiary, as is my diocese, of the Church Commissioners. I thank the Minister for her engagement with the charities affected by the legislation so far: the Church Commissioners, John Lyon’s Charity, Portal Trust, Campden Charities, Merchant Taylors’ Boone’s Charity, Dulwich Estate and the London Diocesan Fund. I hope she will continue to engage with my right reverend friend to find an amicable solution.

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Bishop of Southwark asks about properties owned by foreign shell companies

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 21st September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to identify the beneficial ownership of 100,000 properties held by foreign shell companies on behalf of others as disclosed by the report published on 4 September by the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of Warwick and the Centre for Public Data.

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Building Safety Bill: Bishop of St Albans asks about leaseholder protections

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on property leaseholders during a debate on building and fire safety on 15th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: I join other noble Lords in thanking the Minister for the considerable progress he has made and his very collaborative approach as we work through the Building Safety Bill. He will be aware that the definition of a qualifying lease in the Bill is set to exclude many small private landlords. We are not talking about the big commercial set-ups but people who have one, two or possibly three flats which they bought simply to provide themselves with a pension. Do Her Majesty’s Government intend to look at that definition of a qualifying lease again? Many of those people are deeply worried at the moment.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about potential for government purchase of housing to mitigate low numbers of property sales

The Bishop of St Albans asked whether the government would consider a scheme to purchase property from those seeking to move and having difficulty selling their houses due to safety concerns on 5th January 2022, during a debate on building safety:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, one of the very serious results of this problem is that many people are desperate to move, but simply cannot sell their properties any longer. This is causing huge difficulties for people trying to get jobs in other parts of the country. What assessment have the Government made of the Welsh Government’s proposal to start buying some of the properties that cannot be sold for the moment and turn them into affordable housing and social housing and so on, as a way of trying to break the deadlock?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about Crown Estate purchase from company linked to Azerbaijani President

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the Crown Estate regarding its purchase of a property from a company linked to President Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con): Under the Crown Estate Act of 1961, The Crown Estate is operationally independent of government. Decisions regarding the sale and purchase of property are a matter for them.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about monitoring of property owned by businesses suspected of human rights abuses

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government whether they (1) audit, and (2) monitor, the commercial UK real estate holdings of companies directly associated with regimes with poor human rights records.

Lord Callanan (Con): Monitoring of individuals, and any companies they may be associated with, for human rights abuses overseas is a matter for FCDO and HM Treasury, under the recently introduced Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

Hansard