Lease agreements and application process
Access the application forms and standard agreements required for certain third-party arrangements. Find out what types of lease or licence agreements need Ministry approval before moving forward.
| Level of compliance | Main audience | Other |
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Required
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Boards must use a standard Ministry agreement between their schools and third-parties when leasing or hiring school land and buildings. The Ministry approval is required in most instances.
- Overview
- Examples of common situations and appropriate agreements
- Renew an agreement
- Get Ministry approval for specific situations
- Further information
Overview
We provide schools with a range of standard agreements depending on the leasing or hiring situation. Only a Ministry standard agreement can be used. A board has the right to agree to a request to lease or hire out any school property. There is no automatic right for third parties to occupy schools.
A school can be leased or hired out for a variety of reasons such as:
- community groups hiring the school hall
- groups wanting to use school property for after-school care or weekend sports
- early childhood education centres leasing an empty classroom
- a swim school leasing the school pool
- the school being used as a polling booth on election day.
Dealing with a proposals
Proposals must be approved by the Ministry.
Third parties should not start any arrangements, like getting plans drawn for a building, until a proposal has been approved by the Ministry.
Before agreeing to any proposal, the board needs to consider:
- whether the proposal is in the public interest, has an educational or community benefit, and brings no disadvantage to the school
- risks to the school (costs or problems from having people on school property)
- insurances (property may not be covered if leased out)
- the future of the school (teaching spaces or land may be needed for roll growth)
- whether you'll be committing future boards to long-term agreements that may put extra pressure on school resources
- extra costs to the school, such as electricity and maintenance (these will usually be passed onto the hirer)
- whether your school community will consider it an acceptable use
- whether third party staff or employers need to be vetted by the police
- if the benefits to your school will outweigh inconveniences
- special rules around sleepovers in schools.
Examples of common situations and appropriate agreements
| Hirer | Situation | Casual Use Agreement | Other Agreement Types (License to Occupy or Lease to be prepared by the Ministry) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hall, library and sports facilities hire (including school pool) | One-off or once or twice a week (same user, for approximately 5 hours in total) | √ | |
| Greater than above → | √ | ||
| Before & After School care | No more than 2 days (approximately 5 hours per week) | √ | |
| Greater than above → | √ | ||
| School Holiday Programmes | No more than 2 days (approximately 5 hours per week) | √ | |
| Greater than above → | √ | ||
| Playgroups | One or two sessions (approximately 8 hours per week) | √ | |
| Greater than above → | √ | ||
| Night Classes | Once or twice a week for approximately 4 hours in total | √ | |
| Greater than above → | √ | ||
| Sleepovers | All sleepovers at a school (see also separate website commentary) | √ | |
| Early Learning Service | √ (usually a Lease) | ||
| Emergency Relief Centre | Training sessions and storage of equipment (not actual emergency situations) | √ |
Agreement types
This table sets out the types of agreements.
If you have any situations that are unclear, please contact your Property Advisor.
| Agreement types | |
|---|---|
| Casual Use Agreement |
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| Other agreement types |
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Download note: If you see a 'Please wait...' message, save the PDF file to your computer or device and open in Adobe Acrobat.
If you have any questions, email EIS.WebServices@education.govt.nz.
Ministry considerations
Before approving an application, the Ministry will consider:
- if your school needs the land and buildings during the term of the agreement
- if your school needs the property at all (if you are considering a long-term lease it may be better to dispose of the property. (see: Surplus school property)
- benefits to your school and school community, including any educational benefits (there does not have to be an educational benefit, but if the agreement will disadvantage the school, it will not be approved)
- day-to-day operation (e.g. administrative support to run a community facility)
- health and safety issues
- ownership (we will not approve Ministry-owned land or buildings being transferred to a third party)
- if you can afford to commit some of your own funding, if this is proposed (e.g. sharing the costs of building a sports facility with your council will need separate approval, see: Board funding for property projects)
- if the agreement would commit the Ministry to pay for buildings and facilities we would not otherwise provide
- if the agreement is in the public interest and will not affect the welfare of the general public (if this is a concern, you should consider consulting with your community before applying for consent from the Ministry)
- that the board has approved the occupation (supplied board minutes or letter approving occupancy).
For some situations your local council will need to grant a resource consent or a specific licence (in addition to Ministry consent) for the proposed activity (for example, a vegetable market). It's your responsibility to ensure that all council requirements are met.
Sign the agreement
If we approve the proposal in principle, we'll send you the appropriate agreement ready to be signed. Once the board and the third party have signed the agreement then it must be returned to the Ministry for final consent. After the agreement has been consented, a fully signed copy will be returned to you.
Council approvals
For some situations your local council will need to grant a resource consent or a specific licence (in addition to Ministry consent) for the proposed activity (e.g. a vegetable market). It is your responsibility to ensure that all council requirements are met.
Renew an agreement
To renew an agreement, submit the following to your local Ministry office.
- A completed Approval in Principle form (remember to tick 'renewal). Refer to the download link above.
- Board minutes (or letter approving occupancy).
Get approval for specific situations
There are some situations that have specific approval processes and agreements. We'll send you the one that suits.
| Approval for specific situations | |
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School buildings used for government-funded programmes |
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Early Childhood Education centre agreements |
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Internet access agreements |
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Dental clinic agreements |
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Leasing schools that have been closed |
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Solar panels in schools |
A school may choose to install solar panels that will be owned by a third party. When this happens, the school and third party will need to enter into an energy services agreement.
The school will need to send three documents to their Ministry Property Advisor:
The Ministry will check the contract to ensure consistency with the minimum requirements. The Ministry will confirm in writing to the board that the minimum standards have been met, at which time the board and the third party may sign the contract. |
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