the Crichel Down Rules - a summary of the key considerations
for government departments
For government departments considering the
sale of surplus land, thought must be given to the Crichel Down
Rules. Before placing land for sale on the open market, it is
important to consider whether the Rules apply and if so, what steps
should be taken to ensure compliance. This article offers guidance
as to when the Rules apply and the practical steps which must be
taken in the event that they do.
what are the Rules?
The Crichel Down Rules provide that
surplus government land which was acquired by, or under a threat of
compulsion should be offered back to its former owners or their
successors. (For this purpose, government departments include
executive, agencies and other non-departmental public bodies.)
when do the Rules apply?
The Rules apply to all land if acquired
by or under the threat of compulsion. A threat of compulsion will
be assumed even in cases of a voluntary sale, if the power to
acquire the land compulsorily existed at the time (unless the land
was offered for sale to the public immediately before the
negotiations for the acquisition).
when don't the Rules apply?
The obligation to offer back will not
apply to the following land:
- agricultural land acquired before 01
January 1935
- agricultural land acquired on or after
30 October 1992 which becomes surplus and available for disposal
more than 25 years after the date of the acquisition
- non-agricultural land which becomes
surplus and available for disposal more than 25 years after the
date of the acquisition
- where the land has materially changed
in character since the acquisition (for example where houses have
been erected on agricultural land).
There are also further exceptions to
the general obligation to offer back the land, for example where it
is decided on specific ministerial authority that the land is
needed by another department and is therefore not surplus to
government requirements.
the Rules
In cases where the Rules apply, the
department wishing to dispose of the land must give former owners a
first opportunity to repurchase the land that was formerly in their
ownership.
The land should be offered back to the
former freehold owner, however if it was subject to a long lease
and the residue of the term is significant (for example 21 years or
more), the department may at its discretion offer the land back to
the former leasehold owner instead.
For the purpose of the Rules, former
owner means either the former freehold or long leasehold owner or
their successors in title. (A successor in title is the person who
would have inherited the land under the former owner's will or
intestacy, had the land not been acquired by compulsion.)
In cases where the property is a
tenanted house, the right of the former owner to repurchase the
land is subject to the prior right of the tenant. Consequently
where a house had a sitting tenant at the time of the acquisition,
the freehold should first be offered to the tenant. If the tenant
does not wish to purchase the freehold, it can then be offered back
to the former owner, although this may be subject to the tenant's
continued occupation.
applying the Rules – practical steps to take
Where the address of the former owner is known, the following
steps should be taken:
- A letter should be sent to the former owner
by recorded delivery, inviting them to purchase the property at a
value decided by the department's professionally qualified,
appointed surveyor.
- The former owner will be given a period of
two months from the date of the letter to accept the offer to
purchase. If the former owner does not wish to purchase the land or
does not provide a response, the land can be sold on the open
market. The former owner should be informed that this step is being
taken.
- If the former owner expresses an intention to
purchase the land, there will be a further period of two months to
agree terms other than value, from the date of an invitation made
by the department. After the terms are agreed, there will be a
further period of six weeks to negotiate the price.
- If the price or other terms cannot be agreed
within these periods, the property can be disposed of on the open
market.
Where the address of the former owner is unknown, the following
steps should be taken:
- The department disposing of the land
should contact the solicitor or agent who acted for the former
owner on the original acquisition. If an address is then obtained,
the procedure outlined above should be followed.
- If an address for the former owner is
not obtained, the department should attempt to contact the former
owner by an advertisement inviting them to contact the disposing
department. The advertisement should be placed as follows:
- for all land including
houses, in not less than two issues of at least one local
newspaper
- for all land, other than
houses, in the London or Edinburgh Gazette and in
the Estates Gazette
- for agricultural land – in
the Farmer's Weekly (for England and Wales) or the
Scottish Farmer (for land in Scotland).
- Where no intention to purchase is
indicated within two months of the date of the latest
advertisement, the land can be disposed of on the open market.
- Where an intention to purchase is
expressed by the former owner within two months of the date of the
last advertisement, he or she should be invited to negotiate terms
and agree a price within the time limits as set out above. If no
agreement can be reached, the land can be sold on the open
market.
