the dreaded Chancel Liability

pearlygates_2

Hi Folks

I have read a lot about this, here and otherwise but hopefully this is a bit different.

The property we are in the course of buying is set on land that was sold by the church commissioners but and here is the thing it was sold by them in 1986. To the company that built the houses. I cant believe that land sold so recently by the church would have this arcain liability. Can anyone shed some light on this aspect please.

Regards P

JuniperJane

I can't advise you on if it would or not but if your search reveals a potential liability it is fairly simple and inexpensive to deal with. If you were to find out you had an actual liability it could cost you a whole heap more. It is very irritating though!

Richard_Webster

The fact that the land was sold recent;y has nothing to do with anything.

The point is whether it is in a parish (going on 1836 boundaries not modern ones) where there is some liability.

Alternatively wait to complete your purchase until after 13th October this year and you would then be free of liability altogether unless the Church had registered against the property you are buying.

The cost of insurance through a solicitor with a block policy is very little - my practice gets 25 year cover for £10 and perpetual cover for £15 up to £1million so it is hardly worth getting into in too much detail.

pearlygates_2

Thanks for that Richard, shame my solicitor wants £60 for 25 years

sheeppappar

we told our solicitor we would prefer not to pay for the insurance and take the risk on not ending up with any liability but weren't allowed to and for £16 we didn't bother arguing.

we got ours through chancelsure which was £15.90.. check them out an get other quotes - surely your solicitor can't make you use a particular insurer...

pearlygates_2

Was just looking at the chancelsure CLS web site and the prices are not that low now

smudger1964

It seems that most of the houses sold now end up with you paying this "extra tax" guess we all have to bend over and take it

sirmosh

sheeppappar wrote: »

we told our solicitor we would prefer not to pay for the insurance and take the risk on not ending up with any liability but weren't allowed to and for £16 we didn't bother arguing.

we got ours through chancelsure which was £15.90.. check them out an get other quotes - surely your solicitor can't make you use a particular insurer...

Granted this isn't common, but when you see this http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/130669/Old-law-forces-couple-to-sell-up-to-pay-for-church-repairs it immediately seems worth the £16.

pearlygates_2

from what I have read this liability goes back to when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and sold their land, or the colleges sold such land, and the chancel repair liability passed with that land. surely if the church still owned the land in 1986 it would not have been able to pass the liability to the development firm who built the estate.

Land_Registry

Public Guide 25 was produced in November 2012 and seeks to provide guidance the issues which may arise between then and October 2013, the date mentioned by Richard Webster above.