About vesting land in the Official Custodian for Charities

Charity land must be held in someone’s name. Unless your charity is a company or other corporate body, it is not possible simply to register the title in the name of your charity. Instead it has to be held in the names of individuals on behalf of the charity.

When the trustee body changes this can cause expense as the land may have to be registered in the name of the new trustees.

A simpler, free, alternative is for the Official Custodian for Charities (‘the OCC’) to hold the title for your charity. This gives trustees peace of mind that the charity’s land is still held for the charity even though they have resigned or been replaced.

The advantages of vesting land in the OCC are that:

• the charity is saved the expense of making the new deeds needed when holding trustees change
• there is no risk that the land will remain vested in people who are no longer involved with the charity and who may be difficult to trace
• the OCC holds only the legal title to the land and has no say in how it is used
• it does not change any the trustees’ legal powers to sell or mortgage it
• the charity will keep or have control of the land certificate or title deeds to any vested land

More detailed information about the OCC and other custodians can be found in our guidance:

• The Official Custodian for Charities' Land Holding Service (CC13)
• Appointing nominees and custodians (CC42) 

How to vest land in the Official Custodian for Charities

You can apply to vest land in the OCC online:

• Online application form to vest charity land in the OCC
• Guidance on completing the vesting application form (PDF)

Frequently asked questions

• How do we dispose of land that is vested in the Official Custodian for Charities?
• Can we vest land in a charity we are merging with?
• If our charity's land is vested in the OCC, does he hold the title deeds?
• Who manages land vested in the OCC?

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