Charitable Assignment of Leases

When can the lease of a leasehold property be assigned without the landlord’s consent, even if consent is required under the lease? When the tenant is a charity and the assignment is ordered by the Charity Commission.

Section 69 of the Charities Act 2011 allows such an assignment to be carried out without the landlord’s permission. This right is usually invoked when two charities merge and the transfer will provide a cost saving to the merged charity.

Says Sam Woods, Head of the Commercial Property Team at Wolferstans “The Act allows the landlord to make representations in such cases, so if you receive a notice that a charity tenant is seeking a Section 69 order and you wish to oppose this, contact us for advice.”