The Church Property Trustees of Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) have reminded parishes of their responsibilities as landlords, as they shared about regular issues of property maintenance, the Presbyterian Investment Fund and residential and commercial leases recently.
The Trustees also updated about the newly introduced ability for parishes to borrow from the Presbyterian Investment Fund (PIF) for major capital works or refinancing. With rising property maintenance costs and falling income, parishes face budget cuts for property repair, and some even spent capital on strengthening for earthquake resistance.
PCANZ Trustees revealed the new long-term investment option for the PIF, which offers parishes the option to receive a better return on their funds. They have elected to use Mercer Socially Responsible Investment Balanced Fund as the investment vehicle for the Long Term Fund, even though they cautioned that higher returns require higher risk.
Lastly, they reminded parishes to keep up with new residential tenancy requirements. Many parishes lease out property to raise income for mission, such as former manses for residence or buildings for commercial operations. Legal amendments were recently made, which means rent can only be increased once every 12 months.