To ask the Minister of Finance to detail the policies and procedures governing the disposal of surplus public land and property.

The disposal of public sector assets is subject to a range of policy, guidance and legislative requirements.

The transfer of surplus assets must comply with the Stormont Regulation and Government Property Act (NI) 1933, which states that any sale, exchange or lease of land must be 'at the best price, best rent or best terms'.

All public sector bodies are expected to adhere to the Disposal of Surplus Public Sector Property guidance when disposing of their surplus public sector owned assets, and by doing so must comply with the requirements of Managing Public Money NI.

Land & Property Services’ (LPS) Central Advisory Unit (CAU) manages, oversees and provides advice in relation to the disposal (or D1) process.

There are two pathways to disposal, the internal market and the external market.

CAU first circulates the D1 to the internal market which is all public sector bodies, Councils and third sector organisations (TSO) represented by Development Trusts NI (DTNI). The market value of the property is provided by LPS valuers.

If a potential purchaser is identified through the internal market process, a timeline is agreed between the parties to bring the transfer to conclusion. There are specific requirements if the property is to be transferred to a TSO as a Community Asset Transfer.

Should an internal market transfer not occur consideration of any legal requirement to offer the asset back to a former owner will take place. An offer back to former owners may be necessary if the asset meets the criteria set out within the Land Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 (LCCA) or because of the application of the Crichel Down rules as applied in Northern Ireland. A summary of these is contained in the LPS disposal guidelines.

An asset owner may also consider a sale to an adjoining owner, for example, when portions of surplus land have no marketing potential such as “small plots of publicly owned land that may be of interest to adjoining homeowners to provide additional garden.”

Only when all the above disposal options have been discounted will the asset move to an open market for disposal, and these are also managed by CAU. Links to relevant documents are listed.

Stormont Regulation and Government Property Act (Northern Ireland) 1933

Disposal of surplus land and property - publications | Department of Finance

Community Asset Transfer: Guidance for Asset Owners | Department for Communities

Community Asset Transfer policy framework | Department for Communities

Better Business Cases NI Supplementary Guidance | Department of Finance