Housing

The Diocese of Ely supports clergy and their families with suitable housing which is safe, comfortable and fit for purpose, both as a place of work and as a home.

The Property Department is responsible for the provision and maintenance of these houses. It is also supports clergy house moves and parishes with empty properties can also benefit from their advice.

If you need support with any aspect of your clergy home, please contact stella.green@elydiocese.org.

Diocese Property Office Contact Details

• Contact Name: Stella Green, Property Manager
• Email: stella.green@elydiocese.org
• Telephone (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm): 01353 652704
• Out of hours: 07956 252325

Approved Ely Diocesan Emergency Contractors

If you have an emergency with your property and need to contact someone to resolve it, please view a list of approved contractors on the link below.

A Guide to Living in a Parsonage House

As responsibility for maintaining a property is shared between the diocese and the the occupant, a housing guide has been produced which explains how our houses are maintained, who is responsible for what, and when.

This guide has been produced in conjunction with the Houses Committee's current policies. It provides vital information for the day-to-day maintenance and running of your home. If there are any aspects of housing you are unsure of, please contact the department.

• Click here to download the Guide to Living in a Parsonage House - 28 October 2025

Retirement Housing 

Information on retirement housing on the Church of England webpages.

Cold Weather Procedure

General Advice on Protecting Your House During Extreme Cold Weather Conditions.

• It is essential that every precaution be taken to avoid frost damage and burst pipes during cold weather.  If in doubt, please contact the Property Department for further advice.
• Please take all necessary measures to ensure that there is sufficient background heat in your house at all times to prevent either hot and cold pipes or the boiler freezing up. It would be also helpful if someone was asked to keep a watchful eye on the house.
• Where radiators are fitted with thermostatic radiator valves, it would be sensible to turn these down to the frost stat setting after which they will only come on when the room temperature reaches around 4 or 5 degrees centigrade. The boiler can operate normally and its internal thermostat will allow it to cut off when the water temperature has reached the pre-set limit, thus saving expenditure on unnecessary heating. With relatively low temperatures in the house, should your roof accommodate any water supply tanks, it would be sensible to leave the roof void access door open.
• If you are going away, it is also sensible to ensure that the stopcock is turned off to limit any damage in the unfortunate event of a serious leak.
• Where a house is heated by oil, it would be prudent to check oil tank fuel levels beforehand to ensure a sufficient supply of heating oil. Please remember that should the heating oil run out, the cost of enabling the system will not be met from the Houses Committee budget.
• Where your boiler is a condensing boiler, the condensate pipe can easily freeze up in extremely cold weather. This pipe is normally located on the outside of the wall close to where the boiler flue can be seen.  You will need to check this pipe is not frozen before you contact this office. If found to be frozen, it can normally be defrosted by pouring hot water over the bend of the pipe.
• Do not underestimate the onset of a severe cold spell.  It must be stressed that if repair costs arise from negligence by not taking reasonable precautions, then the Houses Committee will not be expected to pay for reinstatement and repairs – nor possibly will its insurers.

Should you need the services of our heating engineer, please contact any of the following:

• Property Department - 07956 252325 
• Out of hours - N R Plumbing & Heating Ltd 01353 665323; or 07710 990397