Searches

HelzBelz

My brother currently buying a house and his solicitor has turned up the possibility of the house being subject to some medieval church tax which apparently the government has put a deadline of 1013 for churches to persue the tax, but that he could take out an insurance policy against the church levying this tax with a 1 off payment (approx £100) that covers the property for 25 years (by which time the deadline would be up and the chuch wouldn't be able to claim).

So a couple of questions:
1. does anybody know anything more about this tax?
2. what are peoples opinions about the insurance?

Doozergirl

It's cheaper to buy the insurance than it is to run full searches to find out whether a property has a real chance of being affected. And once you've run those searches, you can't insure against it being affected, so the best thing to do is to simply pay for the insuarance policy

It's all a bit backward and a super money makeing exercise for the company that has brought in this cheapish insurance policy but it is a small, but real threat. There was a couple who owned a house near Stratford-on-Avon who got stung for £95,000!

We had a big old chat about it a little while back and Richard Webster gave a superb account of what it is all about but i'm running searches and can't find it. I'm sure it's called Chancel Liability Insurance.

merlinthehappypig

The previous thread is here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=573445

I kept it because we have the same problem.

It's basically another money making exercise, with the basis in an ancient medieval law that gives churches the right to demand money from householders in certain cases. There was one, highly publicised, case in Stratford upon Avon and since then it's become the norm to do this Chancel Liability Search and then pay for indemnity insurance if considered necessary.

As far as I can tell this is supposed to be abolished in 2013. Personally I can't see any other church trying this on, but you have to decide whether not having the insurance is worth the risk.

We aren't bothering, but then I dislike money grabbing insurance companies about as much as organised religion.

Richard_Webster

but you have to decide whether not having the insurance is worth the risk.

See the other thread - if you are getting a mortgage you don't have a say in it and it is generally easier to arrange the insurance than waste time trying to get the lender to say it doesn't require it.

merlinthehappypig

I wasn't aware of that, Richard, thanks (I think...)