Bayoumi v Women’s Total Abstinence Union Ltd and Another: CA 5 Nov 2003

A charity entered into a contract for the sale of land. It failed to comply with the requirements under the Act. The purchaser assigned the benefit of the contract, to the claimant who sought to enforce the contract.
Held: The section only allowed a completed transaction to be rescued. An uncompleted contract was not itself a sale or transaction to which 36(1) could apply. The section did not f make the transaction void, but in the absence of an order of the court or the Charity Commission a transfer made following the contract would be void. Because the purchaser had become aware of the failure before completion, he could not compel completion. Directors of a charitable company would be acting ultra vires in entering into such a contract, and therefore the transaction could not either be saved under sections 35, 35A of the 1985 Act. The transaction could not be rescued.

Judges:

Chadwick, Rix LJJ

Citations:

Times 05-Nov-2003

Statutes:

Charities Act 1993 36(1) 37(4), Companies Act 1985 35 35A

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

DisapprovedMilner v Staffordshire Congregational Union (Inc) ChD 1956
The plaintiff had contracted to buy land from a charity. The consent of the Charity Commissioners had not been obtained, but the contract was not conditional on such consent. When the charity trustess realised that consent was required they told the . .
Appeal fromBayoumi v Women’s Total Abstinence Union Ltd and Another ChD 21-Jan-2003
The claimant sought specific performance of a contract to purchase land from the defendant charity. The defendant had not complied with its obligations under the Act. The cliamant sought to say at the transaction came within s36(3) (that it was . .
CitedAttorney General v South Sea Co 1841
Subject to the terms upon which the land had been conveyed to them, charitable corporations and charity trustees had the power to sell, lease or mortgage charity land. But any such transaction might be set aside in equity unless it was shown to be . .
CitedIn re Clergy Orphan Corporation CA 1894
The court considered the extent of the prohibition on restrictions on the sale of land by a charity to land forming part of the endowment of the charity.
Held: Davey LJ said: ‘All property of every description belonging to or held in trust for . .
CitedManchester Diocesan Council for Education v Commercial and General Investments Ltd 1969
The school governors were required to obtain consent before selling land formerly used as a school.
Held: The court rejected a submission that that consent was a necessary pre-requisite for a contract could be made at all: ‘Reliance is placed . .
CitedMichael Richards Properties Ltd v Corporation of Wardens of St Saviour’s Parish Southwark 1975
Property was offered for sale by tender. The tender documents contained all the detailed terms upon which the contract was to be based. The successful tender was accepted by letter, but by mistake the secretary who typed it typed in the words . .
CitedHaslemere Estates Ltd v Baker 1982
A contract for the sale of land by a charity was expressed to be subject to and conditional upon the grant of a consent before 31 March 1982 and if consent was not granted before that date then the contract was to be ‘null and void and of no further . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Charity, Land, Company

Updated: 29 May 2022; Ref: scu.187941