Chancel repair liability - why have I got to pay for both?!

kasqueak

I’m currently in the process of selling a flat and buying a house. 

Chancel repair liability is causing me a headache on both the sale and purchase and I’m not sure why I’m being asked to foot the bill for both? 

Ok so my sale - the buyers solicitors have said that my flat is in a parish liable for chancel repair and we as the sellers need to provide suitable indemnity insurance. 

When I bought this flat in 2015 there was nothing whatsoever mentioned regarding chancel repair. 

My solicitor acting for me now says if we pay for a search to see if this property specifically is liable then we lose our right to purchase indemnity insurance? So because of that and the ‘risk’ to the buyer we have to buy an indemnity policy and have been quoted £95. 

Then on my onward purchase, our solicitor has picked up that there is potential liability for chancel repair on that house. Again I’m being told to find out for sure we lose the right to buy an indemnity policy. The vendors of the house I’m buying also have no knowledge of chancel repair and say they have no policy to pass onto us and they won’t provide one. So again I’m being asked to buy one and this one is £115. 

I just can’t get my head around why as both a buyer and a seller I have to buy these policies, spend money and have an added hold up and delay to my sale/purchase (which is already taking an age!). 

Surely on the sale of my flat it’s up to my buyer to get the policy if they want one? And on my onward purchase it would be up to me....and if I didn’t get one I assume it would only be an issue again when I tried to sell? (Planning I’m staying long term though). 

I’ve googled chancel repair and am getting mixed messages about this seemingly outdated law! 

Anyone have recent experience with this and how is the easiest way to make it all go away - just swallow it and pay for both? 

Robin9

Both are trying it on.

After the Aston Cantlow fiasco there is not a Parish in the land that will try to enforce Chancel Liability even it can be proved to be valid.   Imagine if your house is one of 100 on a patch of land to which CL applies  and the Parish has a bill of £50k - they have to contact every one and they can all say "not on your Nelly" 

You could write to the Church Councils concerned and get confirmation that they would even try to enforce CL

Brock_and_Roll

100% tell them to do one!

Thrugelmir

Your mortgage lender may make it a requiremement.  Your buyer is simply trying to pass the cost onto you (they'll have the same issue with their lender).  

theoretica

The sellers of the house you are buying have been asked to provide this insurance and said no  your choice is to buy it yourself, do without, or walk away from the sale. The buyers of the flat you are selling have asked you to provide this - if you say no they have the same options you do and might walk away from the sale, but that doesn't seem very likely.

FreeBear

kasqueak said: When I bought this flat in 2015 there was nothing whatsoever mentioned regarding chancel repair.

As I understand it, if the property had been sold or first registered after 2013, there would be a note on the Land Registry record of a chancel liability. If none is listed, then the property is free from any liability, so no indemnity insurance is required. Your solicitor should be able to confirm simply by looking at the LR record for any Parish Church Council  caution that may have been registered.

NameUnavailable

My understanding - perhaps others can correct me if I'm wrong - is that chancel liability only applies to churches built in or prior to the medievel period?

I think it is down to the purchaser - not the seller - to buy the indemnity insurance if it's a potential issue.

Yet another 'trip wire' to the home buying process!

bouicca21

I get rather tired of pointing out that most of these 'potential' liabilities don't exist.  The profits of certain pieces of land were once set apart for the maintenance of the parish church.  In some cases the liability continues, in some it was extinguished. The liability does not attach to the whole of the parish, only to the speciifc plots reserved for the support of the church.  You can find out whether it is worth purchasing an indemnity policy in one or both of two ways. The first is to ask the local diocese whether they have a policy of pursuing claims for chancel repairs.  If no, then as soon as your purchase completes any liability (if it exists) will be extinguished under a recent statute.  The second is to do a proper search: find the parish record in The National Archives, download it and read it. 

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/chancel-repair-liabilities-england-wales/

eddddy

kasqueak said:

I’m not sure why I’m being asked to foot the bill for both? 

There's no hard and fast rule about whether the buyer or seller pays for the indemnity insurance - it's down to negotiation.

TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if some solicitors routinely tell the other party that their client won't pay for indemnity insurance - without even asking their client. Then wait to see if the other party accepts it or challenges it.

As with most indemnity insurance policies, there's a distinct possibility that they're not needed and a waste of money. But you might need to spend lots of time and effort proving that to your mortgage lender etc - so it might be easier to just pay £100 or £200 to make the problem go away.

nnewtoarea

Your buyer pays for your flat. You pay for the seller's house. Prices quoted are high. I got it for around 40.

AdrianC

kasqueak said:

Ok so my sale - the buyers solicitors have said that my flat is in a parish liable for chancel repair and we as the sellers need to provide suitable indemnity insurance. 

When I bought this flat in 2015 there was nothing whatsoever mentioned regarding chancel repair. 

My solicitor acting for me now says if we pay for a search to see if this property specifically is liable then we lose our right to purchase indemnity insurance? So because of that and the ‘risk’ to the buyer we have to buy an indemnity policy and have been quoted £95. 

Then on my onward purchase, our solicitor has picked up that there is potential liability for chancel repair on that house. Again I’m being told to find out for sure we lose the right to buy an indemnity policy. The vendors of the house I’m buying also have no knowledge of chancel repair and say they have no policy to pass onto us and they won’t provide one. So again I’m being asked to buy one and this one is £115. 

I just can’t get my head around why as both a buyer and a seller I have to buy these policies, spend money and have an added hold up and delay to my sale/purchase (which is already taking an age!). 

Surely on the sale of my flat it’s up to my buyer to get the policy if they want one?

It's up to whoever agrees to pay for it, if one is required.

You don't NEED one.
Your vendor has said they won't pay for it - if you want one, pay for it yourself. So why don't you say the same to your buyer?