Chancel repair insurance

silewis22

Hi

We are in the process of buying a house and our searches came back saying we are in an area where we could be liable to pay for chancel repair to the local church.

We have been quoted £80 for an Aviva insurance policy against this through our solicitor which seems quite steep compared to some on here (wondered if the solicitors were marking it up heavily).

Can anyone recommend any companies to get comparative prices from as when i phoned up Aviva direct they said they didn't offer it direct to the public?

Thanks!

jamei305

I think I was charged £35 the last couple of time, but is it really worth quibbling with your solicitor? Do you know that cheaper policies offer the particular level of cover appropriate for your circumstances?

Hoploz

I thought all this chancel repair stuff had been stopped a year or so ago. Someone who knows will be along soon I'm sure!

Shahni

Seems quite high, yeah. The search provider may be able to offer insurance which may be a bit cheaper. See if your solicitor can get a couple more quotes for you. About £30 to £40 sounds more reasonable, unless its a very expensive property.

Some solicitors (the old school ones) use purely self-issue paper policies from one company, but in my experience its cheaper to get a range of quotes online with an example policy from each. You can't really force them to use the online ones though, if they don't already.

Dird

My solicitor recommended these: http://www.conveyancingdata.com/chancel-liability-solutions

Up to £500,000.00 worth of cover £14.95 inc IPT
Up to £1 million worth of cover £29.95 inc IPT

Apparently it's valid until the value is reached (e.g. multiple claims possible) and can be passed on to new owner's. Not able to buy directly though & solicitor adds £25 for his fee =/

My solicitor said the liability should no longer apply if buying the house after 2013 (only to owners who have owned the house since before then) but for a one off fee of £40 it's not worth the gamble of some child molesters finding a loophole in the law

Landofwood

All these indemnity insurances are a nightmare. It must be very lucrative for the providers of these pointless policies.

flora48

You can get it for about £25 with successor rights. See if my previous reply is under my other posts.

fed_up_and_stressed

Hoploz wrote: »

I thought all this chancel repair stuff had been stopped a year or so ago. Someone who knows will be along soon I'm sure!

Parochial Church Councils had until 12th October 2013 to register their right to receive a contribution towards the upkeep of their church chancel but if the liability was not registered by that date it did not cease to exist, and even now it is possible to register a notice of chancel repair liability for registered land or a caution against registration for unregistered land.

Properties purchased and registered before 12th October 2013 still remain vulnerable until the property is next sold.

Unless a previous purchase of the property took place after 12 October 2013 Most conveyancers will continue to recommend a chancel search and/or chancel repair liability insurance.

silewis22

Thanks for your help everyone.

I was trying to work out which church we would potentially have to repair as our local one was only built in 1911. The next nearest one which would be old enough as far as i can see is a good couple of miles away. I then discovered that there was an 11th century church that got knocked down in 1881 which was only about a mlle away.

Would this likely to have been the church which we would be liable to repair, and as such this liability would now be defunct? I've know idea how far these sort of boundaries would have extended to.

jamei305

silewis22 wrote: »

Thanks for your help everyone.

I was trying to work out which church we would potentially have to repair as our local one was only built in 1911. The next nearest one which would be old enough as far as i can see is a good couple of miles away. I then discovered that there was an 11th century church that got knocked down in 1881 which was only about a mlle away.

Would this likely to have been the church which we would be liable to repair, and as such this liability would now be defunct? I've know idea how far these sort of boundaries would have extended to.

It's not that easy. Maybe the 1911 church retains obligations from a previous church. Maybe someone will build a new church in the future and claim. Maybe the Bursar for the Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge will turn up claiming they own some land near by and you're to repair their college chapel in Cambridge

Hoploz

silewis22 wrote: »

Thanks for your help everyone.

I was trying to work out which church we would potentially have to repair as our local one was only built in 1911. The next nearest one which would be old enough as far as i can see is a good couple of miles away. I then discovered that there was an 11th century church that got knocked down in 1881 which was only about a mlle away.

Would this likely to have been the church which we would be liable to repair, and as such this liability would now be defunct? I've know idea how far these sort of boundaries would have extended to.

Tbh I think you're using too much energy on this! I would just pay the charge. My mum had to pay it when she bought in 2010 and from memory it was about £35. Oddly, when i bought and sold last year, both houses much closer to a church, it didnt come up! There's so much important stuff to get stressed about while buying and selling, but this is easily sorted out. Save your energy for the big stuff, and just look forward to life in your new home