The Ecclesiastical Property (Exceptions from Requirement for Consent to Dealings) Order 2026

Made: 28th July 2026

Laid before Parliament: 30th July 2026

Coming into force: 1st October 2026

The Archbishops’ Council makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 6(4A) and 6A(1)(a) of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956[^f00001] and section 5A (1) and (2) (a) of the Incumbents and Churchwardens (Trusts) Measure 1964[^f00002] and in accordance with paragraph 12A of Schedule 1 to the National Institutions Measure 1998[^f00003] and section 11 (6) and (7) of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2018[^f00004].

Citation and commencement

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Ecclesiastical Property (Exceptions from Requirement for Consent to Dealings) Order 2026.

• (2) This Order comes into force on 1st October 2026.

Amount of consideration below which consent to dealing not required

2

• (1) The Ecclesiastical Property (Exceptions from Requirement for Consent to Dealings) Order 2015[^f00005] is amended as follows.

• (2) In Article 2(1) (requirement for consent under section 6(1) or (3) of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956), in sub-paragraph (b), for “£250,000” substitute “£400,000”.

• (3) In Article 2(2) (requirement for consent under section 4 or 5 of the Incumbents and Churchwardens (Trusts) Measure 1964), in sub-paragraph (b), for “£250,000” substitute “£400,000”.

Signed

The draft of this Order was approved by the General Synod of the Church of England on 10th July 2026.

A.S. McGregor — Registrar of the General Synod

Signed on behalf of the Archbishops’ Council by two officers of the Council authorised by the Council for that purpose.

Mark Barker — Rosie Slater-Carr — Officers of the Archbishops’ Council — 28th July 2026

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Explanatory Note

This Order amends the Ecclesiastical Property (Exceptions from Requirement for Consent to Dealings) Order 2015 (“the 2015 Order”), which provides that the consent of the diocesan board of finance is not required for certain property transactions by parochial church councils or certain ecclesiastical trusts.

In particular, the 2015 Order provides that consent is not required for a transaction if the consideration is less than the annual unrestricted income of the parochial church council or trust concerned, as shown in its most recent accounts. That exception is subject to an overall figure of £250,000 and so consent will always be required if the consideration is at or above that level.

Article 2 of this Order replaces the figure of £250,000 with the figure of £400,000.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1956 No. 3. Sections 6(4A) and 6A were inserted by section 1 of the Ecclesiastical Property Measure 2015 (No. 2).

[^f00002]: 1964 No. 2. Section 5A was inserted by section 2 of the Ecclesiastical Property Measure 2015.

[^f00003]: 1998 No. 1. Paragraph 12A of Schedule 1 was inserted by section 11(4) of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2018 (No. 7).

[^f00004]: 2018 No. 7.

[^f00005]: S.I. 2015/1545.