Chancel Repair Liability

Oxymoron

Hi there,
Has anyone heard about 'Chancel Repair Liability'.
Apparently it is a medieval charge on homes built on certain Parish lands. The Parish church can charge you for repairs to the chancel of that church. It only applies to Church of England churches. Has anyone got any information on this archaic law that expects everyone whether they are religous or not, to pay for the up-keep of Church of England churches. From the info that I have seen the value of your property will be affected by one of these Chancel Repair Liability Orders been in force in your area.
There was a case in 2003 where a couple had to pay for the repairs of their local church, £325 000 believe it or not. So if anyone has anymore info I will be very pleased. Thanks.

opinions4u

Probably better posting in the mortgages section or one of the property sections.

You can insure against the risk.

chattychappy

All law students will know this one.

PCC of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank & Anor [2003] UKHL 37

You can google the above case or "chancel repair liability".

In a nutshell.. yep, this ancient liability came back to bite. The liability can be huge, but is rather rare and uncertain. It's normally dealt with via insurance at a relative low cost.

Agree off -topic, but thought I'd chip in!

guesswho2000

Indeed, when I bought my house I paid £15 for an indemnity policy to cover against this, whether or not it existed.

In this case, the unknown is the best option, if discovered that a liability does indeed exist, the cost could be horrendous, so for the sake of fifteen quid, no brainer.