Chancel Liability Search

bubblesmoney

maninthestreet wrote: »

Are the any statistics available on how many property owners have been subject to an actual chancel repair claim by the C of E ???

i just know about the reported case in the link given in one of the other posts. but since that risk has already been identified, for any buyer it would be prudent to minimise risks.

statistics is afterall what i learnt in school about it. all black balls, red balls, ultimately it is all balls etc but if u get the wrong end of the stick no matter how statistically small the chance then u get screwed. one wouldnt normally ignore a possibility of a transaction having the risk of rendering u bankcrupt if things go pear shaped. atleast i wouldnt. in the absence of any clarification / guidance from the govt etc in this matter i think it is safer spending a 50-100£ and buy the insurance rather than risk going bancrupt like the family in the news article linked to in the above posts. if the cost is that less then why spend money on the search at all, isnt it cheaper just buying the insurance without the search.

merlinthehappypig

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.

No. The one we are hopefully buying amazingly doesn't have any potential chancel liability, despite being originally built in 1900. The three previous aborted purchases all did and one of them was three years old.

It must relate to the land and type of parish I guess, not the house. Perhaps the age of the church has something to do with as well?

trabbott

Richard_Webster wrote: »

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?

The chancel repair covenant was in the deeds when we bought the house almost 20 years ago. It was a new development and all 20 houses were registered. We live in West Wellow, Hampshire, in the parish if St Margarets, the church used by Florence Nightingale, and most of the houses have this covenant; about 800. The church is well endowed and 10 years ago the roof was replaced at no cost to the house owners.
In my case, the buyers solicitors have obtained the insurance quote, and asked me to pay for it. Surely my solicitor should be arranging indemnity?Since there are so many houses with this covenant, the cost would be minimal if there was a charge. We are only a normal detached house. The whole thing seems very vague. How is the risk and premium decided, and is commission paid on the premium? Are the buyers solicitors milking the system? We have asked the buyers to share the cost as it is a risk over which we have no control, albeit very small, and was apparent in the HIP and land registry when negotiations started. Would be grateful for any comments as we are about to exchange contracts.

trabbott

On 19th June I posted my recent experience about chancel repair indemnity insurance, which you may wish to read as it is rather detailed. There is a chancel repair covenant recorded in our deeds, which is also in the land registry and the HIP. The buyers solicitor have asked me to pay a premium on £1050 +tax for an indemnity insurance. If you read my post you will see that in our case there circumstances which clearly mitigate and minimize the risk.
How can they possibly ask for such a large premium? Is commission paid to the solicitor?
Can my solicitor find a more reasonable quote from another company?
Should I approach the Law Society?
Would be grateful for any comments.
Dr Tom Abbott

Trentenders

Trabbott - I've PM'd you about this.

Solicitors generally do not take a commission from these, but they may charge a fee for the time they spend getting the terms for you, and will not usually want to spend time searching markets for best terms.

There are several insurance brokers in the UK, who are not tied to a single insurer, that specialise in legal indemnities/title insurance, so try giving one of them a call. They will be able to speak drectly with underwriters, who may be willing to take your individual circumstances into consideration.


Laffers