Chancel Liability

[exiledmancityfan]

We are in the the process of buying a house and the solicitor has suggested a chancel search. Just done a quick Google and it says that most searches will come back as a potential risk and the church has to register its title before October this year. It also said that we are going to a civic parish. Is it worth doing one or not its only £15 + VAT

No idea whether its worth doing for you. People have lost their houses because of the liability so it depends whether there is nearby church you think there is any reason you right be liable for.

I have chancel repair liability insurance but I live 100 yards from a medieval church in a medieval house right next door to the vicarage so I thought there was a chance and the search was inconclusive.

I live in London and our solicitor did a search which stated that we were near a church. Our solicitor said that it wasn't worth getting the insurance as the church would never try to claim because it would cost more in admin fees trying to claim from the thousands of houses in the parish.

Sorry, not helpful but I'd it's only £15, you may as well do the search.

The simple question is, do you want to pay £15 for something that might save you thousands or save making your house unsaleable in the future (to someone who will pay the £15 to find out!).

Yes, you need to get it done! If you are found to have chancel liability then you can take out indemnity insurance (ours was £25) which will cover you against any future claim. The church need to let everyone know by October but if people don't take out the insurance, they cannot then do it retrospectively if the church comes knocking for money. I would read this before you dismiss it.

Get the search done - there was a big case about 10 years ago in Aston cantlow, Warks

the couple inherited the house so no legal searchers - they can't sell the house as no one wants to buy it and they got in a right mess with it
www.chancelrepair.org/2.html

Ivykaty - that's a shocking story! The poor family.

My aunt lives about three mikes away from there. Next door to a church...

CV - yes it seemed a need to just give someone the bills for the repairs took over. Which wasn't really what the act was about - it was about that perosn getting the craftsmen in to do the job and then paying them. But now of course it would cost far more as these types of crafts are not common place as they were back then and it is far great skill etc and therefore costs thousands more pounds.

There are a lot of church wardens trying to seek out documents to prove who has liability so they can get this in by October, fortunately the parishes are generally rubbish at keeping and filing records and they are getting in a pickle trying to find their proof and they don't have my sympathy.

There are other parishes that are just letting things rest as they are and will not seek to claim from any properties

You could ask the church what their policy is. Insurance companies are selling policies round here for chancel liability, and we've already agreed as a PCC that we would NOT be registering our title - hence in our case its not necessary.

We are getting the basic search done and will see what happens with that. The problem for me is tgat we are s civic parish but the church parish is in the next town.

the country is divided up into counties and then within the counties you have parishes, so every house will be within a parish, whether you have a civic parish council or not is different as this is civic business
www.oakleys.org.uk/blog/2009/04/which_parish_do_i_live_in

this explains it in more detail
pop in your postcode and it will show which parish you live in, or pop in the postcode of the house you wish to buy and see which parish it lies in

exiled - you live within a parish now and will move and live within a parish, parish boundaries have changed over time but everyone lives in a church parish.