Once a clergyperson has moved out of a property and a vacancy begins, responsibility falls to the churchwardens and the Diocese – via Savills – to handle the logistics of a vacant property.
There are a few potential scenarios that may play out:
Unoccupied Properties
Whenever a property is unoccupied, the Diocese relies on churchwardens within the Parish to exercise general supervision of the house and garden. This includes:
- Informing Savills as soon as possible of any repairs that become necessary. (NB no repair work should be undertaken without consulting Savills beforehand.) If a matter of extreme urgency arises out of office hours, that cannot wait until the next working day, churchwardens can contact Savills’ emergency contractors.
- Holding a set of keys and providing occasional access
- Ensuring that post in respect of accounts should be sent/scanned to olivia.demel@savills.com and sharon.gomer@savills.com for payment
- Maintaining the telephone line, if applicable.
- Maintaining the garden (except for curate housing). Should the property remain vacant for more than eight weeks during the growing season (1 March – 30 Sep), the Diocese will reimburse up to £80 per month for simple garden maintenance. Please submit a vacancy expense form, along with receipts to payments@winchester.anglican.org.
Upon your first claim, a new payee form will also need to be submitted.
- Tree maintenance is the responsibility of the Diocese, but we encourage you to report any deterioration that might be hazardous.
- Providing weekly security checks, except when the property is tenanted. It is a condition of our insurance policy that an empty property is checked at least once a week. A house unoccupied for more than 30 days is not insured for all perils normally covered by the policy.
Our insurance policy mandates that if a property is vacant, the water supply must be turned off, systems must be drained down and letterboxes blocked off. Please do not remove any tape or letterbox coverings.
If works are to be undertaken or the property is to be reoccupied quickly following a letting or clergy use then there may be some flexibility, but it has to be agreed with the insurers. Where a property is not drained down then the heating should be set to continuous and a temperature of 10 degrees.
Savills will be able to resolve any queries you may have.
The churchwardens should notify Savills immediately should anything occur which might give rise to an insurance claim. Although the Diocese insures the property, it is not possible to cover all risks in a vacant house, and churchwardens may become liable if a person employed by them, even temporarily, is involved in an accident.
Please note there is no insurance cover for contents during a vacancy and we ask that Parishes do not store items in the property. In cases of doubt, the churchwardens should consult Savills.
Works During a Vacancy
Alongside the Quinquennial inspections, Savills aim to check each of our properties annually to identify any repairs or improvements required to comply with policy. This should prevent a rush for works to be completed during a vacancy. However, sometimes it may be prudent to use a vacancy as an opportunity to carry out works better conducted when a property is empty. While works are ongoing, the Diocese may be able to give churchwardens a break from the responsibility of monitoring the property.
Letting a Property
Letting properties during vacancies generates over £1m of income a year (9% of total income relating to property). This policy has the dual advantage of generating much needed funds to support our ministry costs, whilst also ensuring vicarages are not left vacant for long periods of time (with the resulting insurance and maintenance concerns). Currently our policy is to let all vacant properties for six months during the vacancy process.
Increasingly PCCs heading into a vacancy are requesting that their vicarage not be let out due to concerns that doing so may artificially extend the length of vacancy. In reality there is little evidence that a 6-month let will have a tangible impact on the average length of a vacancy. Our policy allows for exceptions to be made where there is a particular pastoral need locally.
With all lettings on assured short-hold tenancies (ASTs), the Diocese has the ability to recover possession of the properties under Ground 5 requirements for ministerial use, where necessary.
Savills will be responsible for the tenancy arrangements and the churchwardens are relieved of the need to supervise the house while it is let.