Chancel Repair Liability

teapot_3

I am selling my property and it has just come to light thru my buyers solicitors that my house is subject to Chancel Repair Liability. Not having ever heard of this before I did a little research and it appears that if your property is on former rectorial land of medieval churches the Church council of the parish could potentially request payment from you for repairs to the church and this could potentially very high.

I have been asked by my buyers solicitor therefore if I am willing to meet the cost of an indemity policy which is £59.88. Should I pay this?

Any more info on this subject would be very helpful. I suspect that the majority of people have never heard of this.

nickinoo

I've never heard of Chancel liabilty but if by paying the indemnity policy your buyer will proceed then surely it's worth £60? I would imagine any other potential buyers will have the same problem.

matto

http://www.churchlaw.co.uk/faq.asp?cat=Buildings&section=Chancel%20Repairs

This issue was on the telly not so long ago. Possibly Houses from Hell or something of that ilk. People are being landed with bills running to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

If I was buying a property with such a liability I'd want to make sure the insurance was watertight. If the local PCC find its covered by insurance I'm sure they won't have any qualms about putting in a claim.

lynzpower

for the price of an evening in the pub I would just pay it

Bossyboots

Yes, pay it. This is a big thing at the moment and with church congregations falling they could be looking elsewhere for funds. If I was the buyer I would actually withdraw if you are not prepared to pay for the policy.

teapot_3

thanks very much for your reply folks. Advice taken on board and much appreciated. Looks like paying will be the right thing to do.