We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Chancel Liability Search
Comments
-
If it wasn't for those pesky rules and regulations I'd start offering it myself, so convinced am I that there's no chance of claim being necessary.0
-
I thought it worth mentioning that the company I work for provides chancel repair liability insurance. I'm only authorised to deal with insurance intermediaries, so I couldn't sell anything via this site even if I wanted to (which I most definitely don't lol).
If anyone has any questions about this issue though, or any other type of defective title matters (restrictive covenants, easement problems, lack of planning permission/building regulations, etc.), please feel free to ask away, as I may be able to help shed light on the matter.
Cheers,
Laffers0 -
Laffers,
Why sell only via an insurance intermediary?"You were only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!!"0 -
If the flat is leasehold, surely it would say in the lease if the owner had such liability? However if the freeholder of the building was liable, could he pass the costs on to the individual flat owners?
We are currently buying a leasehold flat and this has not been mentioned, but as there is nothing in the lease I assumed it would not be relevant in our case. Is it safer to get the check done anyway? Our solicitor has not mentioned it at all.I haven't bogged off yet, and I ain't no babe
0 -
It would be highly unlikely that the lease would have any mention of the potential liability. Think about it. If mention or lack of mention in a lease was sufficient one way or another, why would anyone be bothering with these searches and insurance policies?
Although the risk in general terms is small, it is something that needs to be checked, at least until 13th October 2013, after which a buyer will take free of any possible liability if the potential liability has not in the meantime been registered at the Land Registry.
It would have been a lot easier if the liability had been abolished altogether in one fell swoop. It does nothing for the Church's reputation to be potentially asking people to pay for the maintenance of part of a local church building. As a Christian I am appalled that the Church of England allows the right to continue to exist at all.RICHARD WEBSTER
As a retired conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful assuming any properties concerned are in England/Wales but I accept no liability for it.0 -
What I can't understand is where this information is stored in such a way that it can only be obtained by payment of a search fee. If these agents can find out then why can't the general public if they have a vested interest?
It is hard to comprehend the legality of demanding payment for something that was not made clear to the property owner in any official format prior to their ownership of the house or flat. I am amazed that this practice stands up in a law court actually. It's like buying a car and then being told you are liable for repairs to the garage it used to stand in.I haven't bogged off yet, and I ain't no babe
0 -
We are selling a "freehold" property which has a chancel support registered in the deeds.
The insurance indemnity premium demanded by the buyers solicitor is now
£1050 plus £52.50 tax.0 -
chancel support registered in the deeds.
Has this been registered fairly recently at the Land Registry? I am fascinated to know, because there has been much talk about the possibility of Churches making such registrations, I have not actually heard of it really happening.
What general area is the property in?RICHARD WEBSTER
As a retired conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful assuming any properties concerned are in England/Wales but I accept no liability for it.0 -
so does one have to buy this insurance for every property in the uk. because in olden days at some point or the other most properties i guess would have borne responsibilty for church repairs.
what happens if u buy a house now (before 2013) and have not got the insurance. if the church does register an interest subsequently before 2013 does ur property become liable for potentially an unlimited amount of claims till eternity. that would make that property virtually of no value to any potential buyer unless the church relinquishes that claim.
in an alternative scenario. what happens if a buyer now gets the chancel insurance on a property presently without any claim registered by the parish. that insurance would be for 25y i gather. later if the parish registers a chancel interest in the property at the land registry before 2013 then they still would have a valid claim on the property till eternity. so the buyer of the property would use the insurance payout if there was a claim in next 25y but for any subsequnt claims the buyer themself would be responsible. this would again make the property become packaged with potentially unrestricted claims till eternity making the property virtually worthless for any potential buyer. it would just give a buyer a 25y glorified 'leasehold' of the land or similar and at end of 25y if there was a claim on the land with a big enough amount or repeated claims then they could potentialy not be able to afford that and need to go bancrupt.
hope the govt puts an end to this unfair process and uses the 'royal perogative' powers or uses parliament to outlaw any such claims. doesnt look like any such thing is happening any time soon though. so guess people will be stuck to buying 25y chancel insurance for all properties bought before 2013. after 2013 one could always only buy properties without the chancel claim registered against the property. any property in the meantime before 2013 stands the risk of serious devaluation of the property if there is a subsequent claim registered against the property or an interest registered with the land registry before 2013.
am just looking at the worst case scenario as once a claim / interest is registered one becomes a sitting duck for any claim at any time. virtually playing with a fire if that happens. with church attendances falling all over uk, they wont be able to ask church goers for funds and when the purse gets tight there is a risk that there will be a search for any other source of funding and such properties are sitting ducks if that happensbubblesmoney :hello:0 -
bubblesmoney wrote: »so does one have to buy this insurance for every property in the uk. because in olden days at some point or the other most properties i guess would have borne responsibilty for church repairs.
what happens if u buy a house now (before 2013) and have not got the insurance. if the church does register an interest subsequently before 2013 does ur property become liable for potentially an unlimited amount of claims till eternity. that would make that property virtually of no value to any potential buyer unless the church relinquishes that claim.
in an alternative scenario. what happens if a buyer now gets the chancel insurance on a property presently without any claim registered by the parish. that insurance would be for 25y i gather. later if the parish registers a chancel interest in the property at the land registry before 2013 then they still would have a valid claim on the property till eternity. so the buyer of the property would use the insurance payout if there was a claim in next 25y but for any subsequnt claims the buyer themself would be responsible. this would again make the property become packaged with potentially unrestricted claims till eternity making the property virtually worthless for any potential buyer. it would just give a buyer a 25y glorified 'leasehold' of the land or similar and at end of 25y if there was a claim on the land with a big enough amount or repeated claims then they could potentialy not be able to afford that and need to go bancrupt.
hope the govt puts an end to this unfair process and uses the 'royal perogative' powers or uses parliament to outlaw any such claims. doesnt look like any such thing is happening any time soon though. so guess people will be stuck to buying 25y chancel insurance for all properties bought before 2013. after 2013 one could always only buy properties without the chancel claim registered against the property. any property in the meantime before 2013 stands the risk of serious devaluation of the property if there is a subsequent claim registered against the property or an interest registered with the land registry before 2013.
am just looking at the worst case scenario as once a claim / interest is registered one becomes a sitting duck for any claim at any time. virtually playing with a fire if that happens. with church attendances falling all over uk, they wont be able to ask church goers for funds and when the purse gets tight there is a risk that there will be a search for any other source of funding and such properties are sitting ducks if that happens
Are the any statistics available on how many property owners have been subject to an actual chancel repair claim by the C of E ???"You were only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!!"0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 258.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards