Church repair

[claresommers]

Whilst our solicitors were doing the local searches, they came across a clause that means if the local church needs repair we have to (along with our residents) foot the bill. Can you get insurance for this??

[vicki2]

I've never heard of that one. You mean even if you aren't a member of the church and just live in the same town???? Hmmm.

[brian]

That sounds very interesting indeed - and considering the cost of a lot of church repairs, definitely not something to enter into blindly! Are you able to get a report on the current state of repair of the church, whether there are any likely costs in the near future, and also whether the church has its own insurance policy in place to protect against unseen damage?

[claresommers]

I did a search on a few other sites and it's fairly common surprisingly. We've been advised by our vendor's solicitor that they'll pay the insurance! Which is great news. However I have read some real horror stories, mainly involving people with no insurance for church repair and having to pay a massive bill. This subject might be worth a look into by someone in the know.

[simhar]

Otherwise you might have to start praying ! :-)

[tater03]

I have never heard of such a thing. I can understand if you belong to the church. Is this something that they make people aware of before the buy? I sure would hope so.

[stuartvin]

I have recently had a conveyancer do a search on a property i am in the process of buying and they have found a potential risk of chancel repair liability on the property. Below explains what this means if your property is in the same situation. Dont panic you can get chancery indemnity cover which starts at around £50 for a 25 year policy. Small price to pay for peice of mind.

Chancel repair liability is an ancient interest benefiting some 5,200 pre-Reformation churches in England and Wales. It allows the Parochial Church Council to require owners of former rectorial land to meet the cost of repairing the church chancel.

Because the chancel of a church was the area where the rector, or parish priest, officiated, the duty of repairing the chancel of an ancient parish church fell on the owner of property attached to the rectory. Such rectorial land was and is not necessarily situated in close proximity to a church building.

Making a Chancel Repair search

London Law determine the Diocese and the parish to which a property belongs. Armed with this information and the address of the property a Chancel Repair search is made by checking the Public Records Office to ascertain if there are any entries against that property in that Parish, which may link the address to Church of England (or Church of Wales) land.

Land searches include the areas of Local Authority, Land Registry, Environmental Search and the oft overlooked Chancel Repair plus Company Conveyancing where a search on a new property is required.

[Richard Webster]

Have a look at my website where there is an explanation of all this at:

Chancel Repair Liability | Solent Area Hampshire Conveyancing Solicitors Richard Webster & Co