Church of England to sell 480 London homes to RSLs

The church is in talks with three associations about buying the homes in Waterloo, Maida Vale and Stoke Newington in London.

A spokesman for the church declined to name the three associations or give the value of the homes being sold.

The church owns more than 3500 homes in London, worth a total of £333m. These include about 2000 homes on the Hyde Park estate in central London and 1590 on the Octavia Hill estate in south London.

Paul Clark, chief surveyor of the Church Commissioners, said: “Unlike the commissioners, the new owners are focused housing providers and so are likely to be in a position to invest in the properties for the long term.

“The Church Commissioners have a wider investment portfolio and our duty is to deliver the best possible returns on our investments to help fund the work of the church across the country. This duty sometimes involves making changes to our portfolio such as this.”

The current tenants will be able to remain in the homes after they are sold to an association.

The church spokesman added: “The sale of the freehold would be subject to the existing tenancies and rights of the tenants already there.”

He said the church was not considering selling more property at this stage.