In the following situations property/land sales are exempt from the Community Right to Bid legislation:
- Disposals which are gifts (including transfer for no payment to trustees by way of settlement upon trusts)
- Disposals by personal representatives in accordance with the will of the deceased owner or under intestacy rules
- Disposals by personal representatives of the deceased owner in order to raise money for matters connected with administration of the estate
- Disposals between family members – defined as the owner’s spouse or partner and descendants of grandparents
- Disposals of part-listed land where the non-listed land with it is one coherent parcel of land all owned by a single owner (including joint owners and trustees) so that it is possible to reach one part from another without crossing land owned by somebody else (ignoring the fact that it is crossed by a road, railway, canal or river in other ownership).
- Disposals of closed Church of England churches (subject to certain conditions)
- Disposals by any owner for the purpose of continuing health service provision on the land
- Disposal of land to be held for the purpose of a school (excluding independent schools), further education institution or 16 to 19 Academy
- Disposal of land subject to a statutory requirement regarding the making of the disposal, where that requirement could not be observed if the Assets moratorium rules were complied with
- Disposals occasioned by somebody becoming or ceasing to be a trustee
- Disposals by trustees in connection with the trust, as specified
- A disposal occasioned by a person becoming or ceasing to be a partner in a partnership
- A disposal made in pursuance of a legally enforceable requirement that it should be made to a specific person, including disposals required under planning obligation agreements; and in the case of an option to buy, nomination right, pre-emption right or right of first refusal only if the agreement was entered into before the land was listed (and in this context it should be noted that an option etc entered into after the land is listed would count as a relevant disposal under section 96(4) of the Act)
- Disposals of a description which brings them within the Crichel Down rules (where the land was acquired by compulsory purchase but is no longer needed, and the disposal is by way of return to the original owner or their descendants)
- Disposal of land under bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings
- Compulsory purchase disposals
- Transfers made in pursuance of a court order
- Transfers (not in pursuance of a court order) as part of a separation agreement between spouses or civil partners (or ex ditto) including agreements for care of dependent children
- Transfers between connected companies in a group of companies
- A transfer (not in pursuance of a court order) for the purposes of any enactment relating to incapacity, with ‘incapacity’ being widely defined to include physical and mental impairment and any interference with capacity to deal with financial and property matters
- Sale by a lender under a power of sale (i.e. where the land was security for a loan)
- Sale of land on which a business is carried on, together with sale of that business as a going concern (in such circumstances there would normally be payment separately for the business as a going concern, e.g. the value of equipment, stock and goodwill)
- The grant of a agricultural tenancy to a successor on the death or retirement of the current tenant pursuant to Part 4 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986
Notification of exempt disposals
If the owner of a listed asset is not sure that they will succeed in making an exempt disposal, they should notify the Local Authority as a precaution. If the owner then proceeds to arrange an exempt disposal, a legally binding contract could be concluded within the moratorium period.