Charities Act 2022 – further changes come into force

The third phase of updates to charity legislation through the Charities Act 2022 is set to be implemented on Thursday 7 March 2024. Below are the changes being implemented which may affect your charity.

The key changes that will come into force from 7 March, are as follows:

1. changes to the way that charities can make changes to their governing documentation;
2. the provisions required for selling, leasing and disposing of land; and
3. changes to the way that funds are handled when part of a Charity merger

Making changes to governing documents

The changes include provisions around:

• a new power for unincorporated charities to change their constitutions in some circumstances without the consent of the Charity Commission.
• new requirements that the Charity Commission must take into consideration when making decisions on changes to the objectives of CIOs and charitable companies.
• standardising criteria applied by the Charity Commission to CIOs and charitable companies who request 'regulated alterations' to their governing documents.

Selling, leasing or otherwise disposing of charity land

The following changes will come into 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 to what must be included in statements and certificates for disposals by a charity (and mortgages)

These provisions were due to come into force on 14 June 2023 but were delayed and will now be effective from 7 March 2024.

Charity mergers

For certain mergers, new rules will allow most donations to charities that merge to take effect as gifts to the charity they have merged with. The current legal procedure for merging some small charities without incorporation will be removed.

Our summary of the key changes made in June 2023 can be found here.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who are responsible for implementing these amendments, have indicated that there will be further changes to the Charities Act throughout 2024. Keep an eye on our insights pages and our social media channels to be kept up to date with further changes.

To find out more and read the full Charities Act 2022: implementations plan, see here.