Chancel Repair Liability

LOUY_2

I am in the process of buying a property.

The search noted that "Thechancel repair search was provided by Chancel Check on 23rd October2013. The result of the search showed that the Property is within thehistorical boundary of a parish which continues to have a potential chancelrepair liability"

Researching into this issue on the internet I found "the Government have intervened and a Transitional Provisions Order was made which came into effect on the 13th October 2003. This order effectively means that ALL chancel repair obligations will cease on the 13th October 2013 unless a the chancel of any Church has noted their interest in any particular property or land with the land registry before this date." Source: www.chancel.org.uk

Now I am confused. Do I have a Chancel Repair Liability ?
How do I check ? and do I need to insure against ?

bouicca21

Others will comment on the current legal situation, which I think means you are clear. If you are worried then note that the check that has been carried out only identifies that some properties in that parish might have carried a liability, not all properties. To find out if your property was actually affected you would have to take the next step in the search.

This guide tells you how to do it. If you are not near the National Archives you have two choices. Employ a researcher to do it for you or buy the document for £3.30, identify the land affected and go to your local archive and marry up the plot numbers with their copy of the tithe map.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/chancel-repairs.htm

For what it is worth my ex has just bought a property. I did the search for him, he took the plot numbers to the local archive, worked out they were nowhere near his new house. The archivist was very helpful and turned up correspondence on chancel repairs from the local parish council who stated that they had no intention of pursuing identification of liable plots of land. Despite all this the vendors were still pressured into buying an indemnity policy. Go figure who is profiting.

needabed

Is the property in a city or in the countryside.

Basically if the property is very large (farm) and next to a church you will probably need to get insured. If the property is 1 of 1000s and small (flat, terraced house) the risk is tiny, plus any bill will be divided by all the properties.

pmlindyloo

Have you checked to see whether the owners have insurance against this already? I would be surprised if they didn't already have it,

If they haven't, then for peace of mind get some insurance. I believe you can then pass this on to any future buyers.

Faffing around about individual cases can take hours.

Recent 'take' on the present situation:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2514550/Chancel-repair-liability-I-insure-against-it.html

To be

bouicca21

With all due respect to Lindylou, a full chancel repair search can take anything from minutes (the downloaded document says no liability anywhere in this parish) to hours (the downloaded document tells you exactly which plots are affected and you have to key in to a tithe map) to weeks (the downloaded document tells you there is rectorial liability but doesn't say where it is).

I was asked to provide an indemnity on the sale of my mother's house because some outfit said there was a potential liability. It took 5 minutes to check that although the parish concerned appears in the index that outfits like chancelcheck use, the actual document said there was no liability anywhere in the parish. It took a bit more effort to find that chancel repair liability had been extinguished in an enclosure act of 1815, but I did that bit just for fun.

And needabed, proximity to a church is no indication whatsoever of a potential liability.

TBagpuss

As I understand it, the change in rules last October meant that parishes had to register their rights against affected property. BUT they can do so at any time up to when the property changes hands and is registered to a new owner. So if you buy, and then register your title, they cannot then claim against you, or any subsequent buyer.

However, if they register their claim before you complete and register your purchase, you could be liable. Your solicitor (if local) may well be able to ell you whether this is likely, and will also be able to advise you whether it is worth your while to get insurance.

Some parishes have made a decision that they will not, on principal, seek to register claims so it's also worth checking whether they have made any statements - look on the website for the parish council, and the local diocese

tgon

This is such a con created by a loophole in law that is now partially plugged. Can you or your neighbours ever recall the local vicar targetting you specifically with a bill of repairs to his chancel?

Secondly, along the "con" lines, try and get an indemnity insurance quote from anywhere else but chancel.org.uk. You wont - they exploit the loophole for gain based on a single case in 2003.

The risk is greater in [mis]perception than in reality.

bouicca21

And in that case the liability was well known to the owners as it was on their deeds. Plus the horrendous costs were not the cost of contributing to the repair but the costs of fighting their case not to pay right up to the House of Lords.

bmunky7

Our chancel repair indemnity insurance was £14.95. Not really a lot of money to save a lot of time and effort and worry.

sleepymara

You could sign the e-petition (54504) "Repeal of Chancel Repair Liability Act of 1932" on the direct.gov.uk e-petition site to try to get the law fixed.

LOUY_2

Buying Insurance seems like an easy option to put the mind at ease. I do worry about throwing away money for something which may or may not be a con. But also fear their might be a liability claim one day.

My solicitor is not local. In fact, I went for a cheap one on the internet so she does not seem to helpful with my questions, but is efficient in completing the transaction.

If I was to purchase the Insurance, how would I even know at what level of cover I require ? Obviously the higher the cover, the higher the cost