Charities Act 2022 changes
Read about the changes that have been introduced by the Charities Act 2022.
Applies to England and Wales
This page is about changes introduced by the Charities Act 2022 (the Act), which amends the Charities Act 2011.
It provides short summaries of the changes that came into force on 7 March 2024, 14 June 2023 and 31 October 2022 and links to our updated guidance.
An overview of the full changes can be found on this page: Charities Act 2022: implementation plan.
Changes that came into force on 7 March 2024
Making changes to governing documents
The new statutory power that trusts and unincorporated associations can use to make changes to their governing document is now in force.
If using this power, these charities will need to get the Commission’s authority to make certain ‘regulated alterations’ in the same way as charitable companies and Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO).
Other changes that are in force include:
- how unincorporated charities must pass trustee and (where they have members) member resolutions when using the new power
- that the Commission will apply the same legal test when deciding whether to give authority to charitable companies, CIOs, and unincorporated charities changing their charitable purposes
- a power for the Commission to give public notice to, or to direct charities to give notice to, regulated alterations they make
Statutory powers for certain (small) unincorporated charities to change their governing document have been repealed.
Read our guidance:
Selling, leasing or otherwise disposing of charity land
The following provisions are now in force:
- provisions relating to disposals by liquidators, provisional liquidators, receivers, mortgagees or administrators
- provisions relating to the taking out of mortgages by liquidators, provisional liquidators, receivers, mortgagees or administrators
- changes about what must be included in statements and certificates for both disposals and mortgages
These provisions were due to come into force on 14 June 2023 but did not.
Read our guidance:
Charity mergers
For certain mergers, new rules are now in force that will allow most gifts to charities that merge to take effect as gifts to the charity they have merged with.
The statutory process for certain (small) unincorporated charity mergers has been repealed.
Read our guidance:
Other provisions
The Act enables the Commission to:
- authorise a trustee to receive or retain a payment for work completed for the charity where the Commission decides it would be inequitable for a trustee not to be paid
- confirm defective or potentially defective trustee appointments
Changes that came into force on 14 June 2023
Selling, leasing or otherwise disposing of charity land
Charities must comply with certain legal requirements before they dispose of charity land. Disposal can include selling, transferring or leasing charity land. The Act simplified some of these legal requirements. The changes that came into force include:
- widening the category of designated advisers who can provide charities with advice on certain disposals
- confirming that a trustee, officer or employee can provide advice on a disposal if they meet the relevant requirements
- giving trustees discretion to decide how to advertise a proposed disposal of charity land
- removing the requirement for charities to get Commission authority to grant a residential lease to a charity employee for a short periodic or fixed term tenancy
Read our guidance:
Using permanent endowment
Put simply, permanent endowment is property that your charity must keep rather than spend.
The Act introduced new statutory powers to enable:
- charities to spend, in certain circumstances, from a ‘smaller value’ permanent endowment fund of £25,000 or less without Commission authority
- certain charities to borrow up to 25% of the value of their permanent endowment fund without Commission authority
Charities that cannot use the statutory powers will require Charity Commission authority.
A new statutory power that came into force enables charities that have opted into a total return approach to investment to use permanent endowment to make social investments with a negative or uncertain financial return, provided any losses are offset by other gains.
Read our guidance:
Charity names
The Act enables the Commission to:
- direct a charity to stop using a working name if it is too similar to another charity’s name or is offensive or misleading. A working name is any name used to identify a charity and under which the activities of the charity are carried out. For example, ‘Comic Relief’ is the working name of the charity ‘Charity Projects’
- delay registration of a charity with an unsuitable name or delay entry of a new unsuitable name onto the Register of Charities
- use its powers in relation to exempt charities in consultation with the principal regulator
Read our guidance:
Other provisions
The definition of a connected person was updated to remove outdated language.
Changes that came into force on 31 October 2022
Paying trustees for providing services or goods to the charity
Charities now have a statutory power to pay trustees for providing goods alone to the charity in certain circumstances.
Using the new statutory power, trustees can be paid for:
- services only, for example estate agency or computer consultancy
- services and associated goods, for example plumbing or painting service and any associated materials such as plumbing parts or paint
- goods only, for example supplying stationery to the charity
Read our guidance:
Fundraising appeals that do not raise enough or raise too much
There are now simpler requirements for trustees to follow if an appeal does not raise the amount needed to deliver its aim, raises too much or circumstances change and the donations cannot be used as intended.
Read our guidance:
You can read a blog produced by the Fundraising Regulator about these changes.
Power to amend Royal Charters
These charities have a new statutory power to change sections in their Royal Charter with approval from the Privy Council.
Read our guidance:
In addition, the following changes are now in effect:
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the Charity Tribunal has the power to make “authorised costs orders” following an application by a charity. Read our guidance about decision reviews and the Charity Tribunal
- the Commission’s scheme-making powers include making schemes for charitable companies
- trust corporation status is automatically conferred on existing and future corporate charities in respect of any charitable trust of which the corporation is (or, in the future, becomes) a trustee
- updated provisions relating to giving public notice to written consents and orders of the Charity Commission under various sections of the Charities Act 2011
- when a charity amends its governing document by parliamentary scheme under section 73 of the Charities Act 2011, the scheme will by default always be under a lighter touch parliamentary process (known as the negative parliamentary procedure)
Updates to this page
Last updated 7 March 2024 + show all updates
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Information on the implementation of Phase 3 of the Charities Act 2022.
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Updated information on the implementation date of Phase 3 of the Charities Act 2022.
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Updated information about the implementation of phase 3 of the Charities Act 2022.
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Updated as a result of Charities Act 2022 phase 2 provisions that came into effect on 14 June 2023.
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Updated information about the implementation of phase 2 of the Charities Act 2022.
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Updated with information on further changes due to be introduced in Spring 2023.
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Updated as a result of Charities Act 2022 provisions that have come into effect on 31 October 2022.
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Timetable change
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First published.