National Parsonage Grants Programme

The Charity makes grants to support parsonages of the Church of England and the Church in Wales.

The Charity makes three different types of grant available to the dioceses for the support of parsonages. The property must be a clergy house which is subject to The Repair of Benefice Buildings Measure 1972 within the Church of England or the Church in Wales (but including the Diocese of Sodor and Man which is not covered by this Act) and be occupied by a Rector, Vicar, Team Rector, Team Vicar or Priest-in-charge. This includes properties provided on a 'House for Duty' basis.

A) Grants for the purchase or improvement of a parsonage: - Every year dioceses that have indicated that they require a grant will be allocated funds, calculated on the number of parsonages, for the purchase or improvement of a parsonage.

B) Grants for the installation of burglar alarms in a parsonage: - In 1991, as a result of the rising levels of violence which were experienced by parish clergy, the Trustees offered to support the purchase and installation of burglar alarms in parsonages. Each grant is for a maximum of £500 with a maximum of 50% of the cost of installation. To the end of 2020, some £443,455 has been granted to support installations in 1,019 parsonages.

C) Grants for the installation of CCTV systems at a parsonage: - In 2001, the Trustees agreed to extend the above scheme to support the installation of CCTV systems in parsonages which were particularly at risk. Each grant is for up to £1,000 with a maximum of 50% of the cost of installation. Since 2001, some £245,749 has been granted to support installations in 297 parsonages.

Applications for grants for burglar alarms and CCTV are open throughout the year.

Grants applications are made by the relevant diocese. Please note, we cannot accept applications from individual clergy or other denominations.

Guidelines - National Parsonage Grants Programme: *In January each year dioceses will be asked to confirm that they require a grant for that year. *At the end of January, each diocese will be notified of the amount of their grant for that year. *To claim the grant each diocese must log on to the online system and submit details of the parsonage and project for which they wish to claim. Once that is approved, the diocese needs to upload a completed copy of the Certificate provided, as well as proof of expenditure. The claim must be submitted by the end of September.

The property/properties for which a grant is claimed must be a clergy house which is subject to The Repair of Benefice Buildings Measure 1972 within the Church of England or the Church in Wales, and is occupied by a Rector, Vicar, Team Rector, Team Vicar or Priest-in-charge. This includes properties provided on a 'House for Duty' basis. The work must be for building, purchasing, altering, dividing or modernising parsonages (excluding repairs or non-consequential decorations) and includes the installation of electrical car charging points. Any work carried out before 1 February in that year is not eligible for a grant. No parsonage house will be eligible for a further grant within 5 years of a previous grant. Grants will be paid in October.

By allocating a grant to a parsonage, the Diocese confirms that there are no plans, mooted or otherwise, which would indicate that the parsonage would cease to be used for the qualifying purpose (eg proposed pastoral re-organisation).