How To Apply to Buy a Property

You are probably aware that Congregations are not legal entities and that the legal title in all property is vested in The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) or The Uniting Church in Australia (ACT) Property Trust (“Property Trust”).

What this means in practice is that whilst Congregations can decide that they wish to buy; when it comes to signing a legal document, Synod Property needs to do this.  

For this to happen, there needs to be a trail of approvals:

• Firstly Congregations / Church Councils.  There needs to be a clear motion approved and minuted as to the decision made to buy, with details of the agreed maximum purchase price and any conditions imposed. This is used when filling in the Application Form. The Application Form will also ask you about the missional motivation behind this decision.
• The GRP Property Committee needs to be kept informed as they are ones who will make a recommendation to Standing Committee on behalf of the Congregation
• GRP Standing Committee will receive the recommendation from the Property Committee and, if approved, will sign the application form which needs to be sent to Synod
• NB It is highly likely that Uniting Mission and Education will be asked to sign off as well, so it is best to discuss your missional intentions with them.

 Click Here for the full procedure on how to apply to Synod to purchase a property.