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Charities and community
What a village or community hall management committee must insure by law, what the Charity Commission expects of trustees, and how cover usually works for hirers, events and the building.
Part of: Charity insurance guide
In short
In England and Wales, a village hall only has to carry employers' liability insurance if it employs someone, and motor insurance if it operates a vehicle. Everything else, including public liability and buildings cover, is recommended rather than compulsory. Trustees still have a duty to protect the charity's assets, and the Charity Commission's CC49 guidance recommends insuring a freehold hall for its full reinstatement value. Trustees who unreasonably fail to insure can be personally liable for the loss.
Most village and community halls in England and Wales are charities run by a volunteer management committee. Only two insurances are compulsory in law, and only in certain circumstances. The rest come from trustee duties, leases and hire agreements.
| Area | Compulsory or recommended? | What it means for a hall |
|---|---|---|
| Employers' liability | Compulsory if the hall employs anyone | A paid caretaker, cleaner or bookings clerk on a contract of service brings the hall within the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: cover of at least £5 million, a certificate displayed where staff can read it (electronic display is allowed), and fines of up to £2,500 for each day without cover (HSE40). A hall run entirely by volunteers is not normally caught, but the test is the real nature of the relationship, not the job title. |
| Motor | Compulsory for any vehicle the hall operates | Rare for halls, but if the charity runs a vehicle it must carry Road Traffic Act cover. Volunteers using their own cars on hall business need that use covered (CC49). |
| Public liability | Recommended (no statutory minimum) | The Charity Commission says there is no statutory minimum, but trustees who unreasonably fail to buy adequate cover could be personally liable for a shortfall. Duties to visitors arise under the Occupiers' Liability Acts 1957 and 1984 (CC49). |
| Buildings | Recommended, and often required by lease or governing document | Where the trustees own the freehold, the Commission recommends insuring for full reinstatement value, even without a legal duty to insure. |
| Trustee duties | Legal duty to manage resources responsibly | CC3 tells trustees to make sure the charity has sufficient insurance and to avoid exposing its assets to undue risk. |
| Fire safety | Compulsory | A hall the public can enter is non-domestic premises. The 'responsible person' must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment (GOV.UK). |
| Licensing | Compulsory for licensable activities | Alcohol sales and some regulated entertainment need a premises licence or a temporary event notice (TEN). |
| Martyn's Law | Not yet in force | Halls are a listed use in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. Premises expecting 200 or more people at once will have duties once regulations bring them into force (Home Office). |
Members of a hall management committee are usually the charity's trustees, whatever they are called. The Charity Commission's essential trustee guidance (CC3) sets six core duties, including managing the charity's resources responsibly and acting with reasonable care and skill. It says that in an unincorporated charity, trustees' personal liability is unlimited, and that incorporation gives trustees more protection.
Charities and insurance (CC49) adds that unincorporated charities have a power under the Trustee Act 2000 to insure property and pay premiums from funds, and that trustees who unreasonably refuse to use a power to insure may become personally responsible for the resulting loss. Section 189 of the Charities Act 2011 lets a charity buy trustee indemnity insurance from its funds where the cost is reasonable and it is in the charity's best interests. See trustee indemnity insurance for charities.
Hall committees often include a parish council nominee or representatives of user groups. It is worth confirming who the trustees actually are, because the cover should name the right people and the right legal entity.
A hall's main risk is other people using it. Hirers range from a toddler group every week to a one-off birthday party or a commercial fitness instructor. Three questions decide how the insurance should work:
Food is common at hall events. The Food Standards Agency says you do not need a food hygiene certificate to make and sell food for charity events, but you must handle food safely. Regular food provision may need registering as a food business with the local authority (FSA guidance).
Selling alcohol needs authorisation under the Licensing Act 2003. Usually a premises licence with a designated premises supervisor is needed, but community premises such as village, parish and church halls can apply for the management committee to be responsible for alcohol sales instead (Home Office guidance). For one-off events, a temporary event notice covers events with fewer than 500 people lasting no more than 168 hours.
Larger events can need more than the hall's standing cover: event cancellation, extra public liability where a hirer or landowner asks for a higher limit, and cover for marquees or hired equipment. CC49 notes that some venues require a minimum level of public liability. For crowd events, see event organisers insurance and Martyn's Law.
The building is normally a hall's largest asset, and underinsurance is a common problem. CC49 recommends that trustees owning the freehold insure for full reinstatement value. That means the cost of demolition, site clearance, professional fees and rebuilding to current planning and building regulations, not the market value of the hall.
If the sum insured is too low, the insurer pays only a proportion of a claim. The Commission's own example: a building worth £15 million insured for £10 million, with half of it damaged, would receive at most £5 million. Its guidance suggests:
Older halls, timber-framed buildings and listed buildings cost more to rebuild. See buildings underinsurance and reinstatement cost. If the hall is leased, the lease decides who insures the building and against what risks.
A combined hall policy typically brings together:
Our charity insurance guide covers how these fit together for small charities more generally.
Not normally. The legal duty applies to people employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship, and HSE says health and safety law will not normally apply if you have no employees. Once the hall pays someone such as a cleaner or caretaker, the duty usually applies. Most hall policies include employers' liability cover for volunteers anyway.
They can be. The Charity Commission says trustees who unreasonably fail to insure, or buy inadequate public liability, may be personally responsible for the shortfall. In an unincorporated charity, trustees' personal liability is unlimited.
Clubs, businesses and instructors should normally hold their own public liability, and the hire agreement can require it. Private individuals hiring for a party usually do not, which is why many halls extend their own policy to cover casual hirers.
The Charity Commission suggests having a surveyor confirm the sum insured regularly, perhaps every two years, and checking index-linked figures every three to four years, or sooner after alterations.
Only with authorisation under the Licensing Act 2003. Community premises can apply for the management committee to take responsibility for alcohol sales instead of a designated premises supervisor. One-off events can use a temporary event notice.
Not yet. Halls are a listed use under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, but the duties do not apply until regulations bring them into force. When they do, premises expecting 200 or more people at once will need public protection procedures.
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