As many of you may know by now after recent presentations and the first property roadshows on 12th and 19th May 2021, TMCP is working on new processes that will help streamline many transactions Managing Trustees are involved with.
As part of the new streamlining approach, we have been looking at the approval of Qualified Surveyor’s Reports (QSRs). We are seeking to reduce the time it takes to approve QSRs by helping surveyors to produce a QSR that deals with the requirements under charity law (prescribed by the Schedule of the Charities (Qualified Surveyor’s Report) Regulations 1992 (1992 Regulations)) and provides clarity of advice to Managing Trustees. The aim is to provide a document that tells surveyors exactly what questions need to be addressed and allows them to provide their advice succinctly and in one place. We hope by introducing this new way of working that we can drastically reduce the time it takes to approve QSRs.
Template QSR and Template Instruction Letter now available
To assist Managing Trustees and their surveyors, TMCP have prepared a template QSR (Template QSR) and template letter of instruction to surveyors (Template Instruction Letter). Both of these documents can be found on the TMCP website:
- Template QSR
- The Template QSR is in a table format setting out the nine key points that need to be addressed under the 1992 Regulations.
- By answering each of the questions in the Template QSR the surveyor’s advice should comply with the requirements of the 1992 Regulations.
- The nine points of the 1992 Regulations have been broken down and phrased to seek clarification of particular points to assist the surveyor and to minimise the need for TMCP to ask supplementary questions. Clarification of points that Methodist Managing Trustees require advice on include the possible future options for the site including whether it has any development potential, whether the charity should be paid a percentage of any uplift in value (overage) and whether there are other options which the Managing trustees should consider as part of their decision making relating to the property on future uses for the property.
- Template Instruction Letter
- The Template Instruction Letter clearly sets out who is instructing the surveyor to produce the QSR clarifying exactly what the Managing Trustees need advice on to enable the QSR to be approved and to provide the Managing Trustees with the advice they require under charity law to dispose of the property in the best interests of the charity.
- The Template Instruction Letter sets out the reasons for the Template QSR and how to use it.
- The Template Instruction Letter also reinforces the legal obligations placed upon Managing Trustees, as charity trustees.
- The Template Instruction Letter explains that TMCP’s focus when reviewing QSRs is the requirements of the 1992 Regulations and not additional requirements for a “red book” or other type of valuation.
What do we do with the Template QSR and the Template Instruction Letter?
These documents are now ready and available for use by Managing Trustees. Please use the Template Instruction Letter when you instruct your surveyor and provide your surveyor with a copy of the Template QSR.
Ideally please provide your surveyor with the above link to the Template QSR (the covering page of the Template QSR which the surveyor will download in Word format contains additional important guidance).
Why should we use the Template QSR and the Template Instruction Letter?
The format of the Template QSR allows surveyors to directly provide the answers to the nine points that must be addressed in a Charities Act 2011 compliant QSR. This will assist the surveyor and to minimise the need for TMCP to ask supplementary questions of the surveyor which will hopefully avoid delays and increased costs. By proceeding in this way, the Managing Trustees should be able to place the property on the market (or otherwise proceed) without delay and in accordance with their surveyor’s advice.
The Template QSR has already been trialled and has led to QSRs being approved the first time of asking thereby reducing correspondence between TMCP and the surveyor. We are confident that rolling out the Template QSR and Template Instruction Letter across the Connexion will make a big difference to Managing Trustees, ensuring you have the advice you require from your surveyor under charity law from when the QSR is first produced so that you can proceed to market or otherwise proceed with the sale or lease without delay.
These are new documents and we would encourage you to use the Template Instruction Letter and Template QSR next time you make the decision to sell, lease or grant an easement over Methodist property. TMCP welcomes any constructive comments from you or your instructed surveyors so that we can make the QSR part of the process run as smoothly as possible.
If you have any queries in relation to the guidance in this document please contact TMCP Legal for further assistance.