A-Z of Property Matters

Most of our properties are protected by an alarm, which is supplied by the diocese, and is serviced on an annual basis by Salamander. If you do not wish to use the alarm, please let us know. Please note that your contents insurance may be affected if you do not use your alarm so please check your policy carefully.

It is not the responsibility of this Diocese to install CCTV unless in exceptional circumstances and this will be considered on a case by case basis.

Information coming soon.

The asbestos surveys for clergy houses (where necessary) are held by the property office to whom all enquiries should be addressed. No work should be undertaken in your property by anyone until you have obtained a copy of the asbestos survey.

Bats are a protected species and there are expensive fines for disturbing them. If you think you have a colony of them in the property, please notify the property office immediately.

Central heating is provided in the property as standard and the diocese is responsible for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the boiler if necessary. The heating system is serviced annually and is arranged by the Clergy Housing team.. If you have problems with your boiler within office hours, please contact the Clergy Housing team who will arrange for an approved contactor to visit. If, however, it is an out-of-hours emergency, please contact our boiler contractor, either TBM or HMS.

If your central heating is fuelled by oil at the property. It is the occupant’s responsibility to make sure that tank always has enough oil to fuel the boiler. If the tank runs empty and the boiler stops then the occupant will be responsible for the purging of the pipes.

The provision and maintenance of fences to those boundaries that are the responsibility of the parsonage house to maintain, will be undertaken by the Clergy Housing team. Consideration will NOT be given to additional fencing or ‘dog proofing’ gardens. Please note that some boundaries will not have fencing at all and will simply be demarked by trees and shrubs. It is not policy to replace a mature hedge boundary with fencing. Fencing will only be repaired and maintained where it already exists.

Carpets will be reviewed at vacancy.

Where hardwood block flooring is present, it will be the responsibility of the occupier to have it sanded and treated if so required. The Clergy Housing team will assist, if requested, regarding the specification of any treatments.

The Clergy Housing team will arrange for the sanding, polishing and staining of any woodblock flooring that is damaged or excessively worn at the ingoing stage of the occupancy.

Householders are responsible for chimney sweeping. The Chimney sweep will check the chimney and flues for any faults and these must be reported to the Clergy Housing team. The Clergy Housing team will arrange for chimneys to be swept prior to occupation.

Cookers are NOT provided by the Diocese. In cases where a house has a built in cooker, there may be some discretion regarding repair work but if an appliance fails it will not be replaced by the Diocese.

The Diocese will pay for council tax payments for Householders. The Clergy Housing team has arranged for demands to be sent to the Diocesan office for payment.  If a demand is received directly, it should be forwarded to the Clergy Housing team.

The Clergy Housing team should be kept informed of moving in and moving out dates at properties and the number of adult occupants, to ensure that the correct council tax is charged.

Battens will be provided above each window but the supply and fitting of curtain poles, blinds and/or curtains are the responsibility of the Occupier

The Diocese are responsible for external decorations to the property and these are reviewed at every quinquennial.

The occupant is responsible for internal decorations. It is requested that neutral pale colours are used. The house must be returned to the Diocese with neutral colours on the walls and no motifs or stickers applied. The internal decorations will be reviewed in vacancy.

The Diocese will fund the cost of a Ring Doorbell providing you arrange for this to be purchased and fitted yourself. If you require a Ring Doorbell, or have recently fitted one yourself, please let us know and we can reimburse you for this cost.

In order to keep the drais and seweage system working well, please avoid pouring fatty substances including cooking oil down the sink and drain. Do not put paint, wet wipes or other non-biodegradable items down the WC. Please contact the Clergy Housing team if the drains are blocked.

Electrical installations will periodically be inspected as part of the quinquennial process and any necessary upgrading work will be undertaken. In between quinquennials, if the occupant is concerned with any aspect of the electrical installation, they should contact the Clergy Housing team immediately.

There is currently no 24/7 heating engineer or electrician and so it is acknowledged that in an out of hours emergency another contractor may need to be called to make a fault safe. Such a company must be Gas Safe or NICEIC registered and preferably known to the occupier or members of their congregation.

In the event of any other emergency, a storm for example, please familiarise yourself with local contractors that you can contact for help when the office is closed. Any other repair which is not an emergency should be reported to the Clergy Housing team when the office is open.

See ‘Boundaries’ for further information.

Please do not use the garage for storage of items.

The garden should be well maintained throughout the year with grass cut and drives free of weeds and moss. This includes the maintenance of hedges, pruning of fruit trees and similar work. Occupiers may decide to employ a local gardener in this regard.

Greenhouses, garden sheds etc are not considered to be part of the building’s fabric and as such will not be provided or maintained by the Clergy Housing team.

The Clergy Housing team no longer supply gas fires as part of our Net Zero Carbon policy. Where there is a gas fire in the property, these will be capped off by our heating engineers and will be replaced by an electric fire. Any requests for additional fires should be submitted to the Clergy Housing team for consideration.

For ALL gas leaks telephone NATIONAL GRID GAS direct on 0800 111 999. Please refer to the Clergy Handbook for further details.

The Clergy Housing team will arrange for gutters and rainwater gullies to be cleared as part of the quinquennial process but, in-between quinquennials, the periodic clearing of gutters and gullies is the responsibility of the occupant and arrangements should be made, if necessary, for their window cleaner or other contractor to undertake this.

Improvement work is usually undertaken during a vacancy due to the level of disturbance to the house and occupants. If, however, an occupant considers an improvement to be sufficiently important and it is needed to enable them to continue their ministry, such proposals will be considered by the Clergy Housing team.

Any building proposals should be directed at bringing the size and layout of the house in question, closer to the guidelines specified by the church commissioners in the Green Guide. Copies may be borrowed from the Clergy Housing team.

Householders will be required to implement their own pest control measures by way of self-sourced treatments or employing a local contractor if required.

The Clergy Housing team’s advice in relation to wasps and bees’ nest is to leave them alone as much as possible. They will leave at the end of the season when an empty nest can be removed safely and easily if desired.  A beekeeper, as opposed to a pest control firm, may need to be consulted in certain situations if they are causing concern.

The provision of additional loft insulation is undertaken if necessary. The current industry standard is 250mm, or 10 inches of mineral fibre quilt. Existing roofs will have additional insulation to meet that standard provided wherever possible as part of the quinquennial or ingoing works.

All parsonage houses are insured for their replacement value on a block policy held with the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.  Occupiers are responsible for their own contents’ insurance and for occupier’s liability and are strongly advised to ensure that their cover is adequate.  Advice can be obtained from EIG, who run a special contents insurance scheme for the clergy. Please note that, should additional security precautions be required because of the nature or value of contents, the occupier will be expected to fund them.

All claims on the building insurance policy will be dealt with by the Clergy Housing team.

The replacement of locks and keys as a result of loss or theft rests with the occupier and is often covered by the contents insurance policy. The responsibility does not lie with the Board. All keys including garage keys should be left at the property upon vacation.

Information coming soon.

The occupier is responsible for replacing locks.

Lofts should not be used for the storage of any items. This can compromise the insulation of the property and any existing pipework and cabling. Please arrange to store any items that are not required at the house in an alternative storage facility. See 'Insulation' for information about loft insulation. 

A survey will be carried out every five years. The inspection reviews the internal and external fabric of the property. It does not include internal decorations, although it may comment on the state of these.  As well as the schedule of building work the quinquennial process will also include a tree survey and an electrical installation inspection to be carried out by specialist contractors. Work resulting from these inspections will be carried out as required and in consultation with the occupant.

Information coming soon.

See Alarm Systems and Security

The Diocese are responsible for the maintenance and contract of sludge removal.

The Diocese will not provide or install wood burning stoves. Where there is an existing stove the occupant is responsible for burning untreated and seasoned wood only and for the day to day maintenance, chimney sweeping and cleaning of the appliance. Similarly, where an open fire is present the occupier is responsible for regular chimney sweeping. The Clergy Housing team will ensure that the chimney is swept when the property is vacant and prior to occupation.

Occupants are required to hand over their houses with vacant possession when they leave and, therefore, they are strongly advised not to allow tenants or lodgers to occupy any part of the parsonage house without entering into legally binding agreements with a clear termination process for when the main occupant vacates the property. The Diocesan Registrar will be able to provide advice on the suitable forms of agreement.

Where an incumbent does intend to sublet part of their house, they must also familiarise themselves with the appropriate legislation relating to gas safety, smoke alarms and furniture standards. Advice in this regard can be sought from the Clergy Housing Team.

Although a telephone line is normally available, the parish or occupant is responsible for the line rental and any other charges in connection with the telephone and/or internet installation. It may be that the telephone number is retained by the parish for use by the new occupant. See item 7 below.

Should a re-connection charge be levied by BT when a property is re-occupied, it should be paid by the account holder and details forwarded to the Clergy Housing team for reimbursement.

A 5 yearly arboriculturist tree survey report will be carried out as part of the quinquennial process and will be shared with you once completed. The diocese will then instruct a tree surgeon to undertake any recommended tree work of a more significant nature, with householder remaining responsible for the recommendations suitable for a gardener.

The Clergy Housing team will not consider the felling of a healthy tree unless it threatens the structure of buildings; has become dangerous; or has grown too large for the site.

Please refer to Clergy Handbook for further information.

The Diocese is not responsible for washing machines or for the plumbing in thereof. If there is one left at the property from a previous occupant and householders do not want to use it,   please contact the Clergy Housing team who will arrange for its disposal prior to occupation.

The Diocese will pay for water and sewerage payments for Householders. The Clergy Housing team has arranged for demands to be sent to the Diocesan office for payment.  If a demand is received directly, it should be forwarded to the Clergy Housing team.

Any defects with windows and doors will be picked up at the quinquennial survey. 

The property office will arrange for the sanding, polishing and staining of any woodblock flooring that is damaged or excessively worn at the ingoing stage of the occupancy.