Guidance

Property information notes

Published 11 March 2014

This guidance was withdrawn on

This guidance has been superseded by Submit a school land transaction proposal.

© Crown copyright 2014

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-property-transactions/property-information-notes

1. Property information notes

This series of property information notes (PINs) are to help academy trusts that are seeking consent for property transactions.

1.1 How property information notes work

Each PIN suggests steps to be taken, lists the information that needs to be submitted and includes the form template for you to complete.

We ask for the least possible information to keep to a minimum the time you spend preparing information and the time we take to respond - especially on simple cases.

When we receive a form, we check the information you provide to see that the proposal complies with law and regulations and that it makes effective use of public resources.

We will inform you when we have received all information we need to consider the application. We will write to you with a decision within the time period indicated on the form.

You can use academy property information notes: advice and forms to find out which PIN and forms to use. This publication also explains the terminology used throughout the PINs and forms.

1.2 What are your responsibilities?

Academies need the prior consent of the Secretary of State for most property transactions including land disposals, acquisitions, leases, easements and land charges. We act on behalf of the Secretary of State as the Department for Education’s (DfE) agency for funding and compliance.

Your responsibilities are set out in:

They require you to:

  • place a restriction against the title of any land owned by the trust at the Land Registry in favour of the Secretary of State
  • have consent of the Secretary of State in order to make any change to that restriction
  • notify the Secretary of State of your intention to dispose of any publicly funded land (or buildings) prior to agreeing to the disposal, and to proceed with the disposal only after you have that consent
  • have prior consent to buying land or buildings or taking out a lease of 5 or more years

Without consent, your purchaser, lessee, grantee or any other party will not be able to register their legal interest in the land and you may be liable to pay damages for any losses caused.

You are also responsible for obtaining all other relevant consents needed under the planning acts, building regulations and health and safety legislation, any superior landlord or local authority.

1.3 Review date

We will update this information by September 2015 although some revisions may occur earlier.

We welcome suggestions on how to improve this information. Please send your suggestions to the email address below, including your contact details in case we want to discuss your ideas.

For schools considering converting to academies, information about land transfers is available on GOV.UK.

1.4 Contact details

ESFA enquiries

For all enquiries for the Education and Skills Funding Agency

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