Chancel Repair Liability Insurance

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 James Malloch 22 Nov 2020

We’ve been told that the House we’re buying is liable to claims from the local church for repairs, something to do with rules dating back to Henry VIII. 

Anyway, we keep being told that you basically buy a cheap policy (£15-30) and this would generally cover you as a one-off payment for 25 years or until you sell. 

However I’m struggling to find anywhere that I can actually buy it online.

Can anyone help point me in the right direction? Or is it something you need to arrange through your solicitor - I’ve seen a few places that will only sell it to them, and not the public. 

Thanks

James

 london_huddy 22 Nov 2020
In reply to James Malloch:

Our solicitors sorted this for us - I think it cost us £20. It's a pretty low risk but not zero so worth mitigating for that price. Good luck!

OP James Malloch 22 Nov 2020
In reply to london_huddy:

> Our solicitors sorted this for us - I think it cost us £20. It's a pretty low risk but not zero so worth mitigating for that price. Good luck!

I will ask our solicitor tomorrow, thanks. 

I did find one online with a company called SearchPoint, but their reviews leave a lot to be desired: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/searchpointuk.co.uk

 Climber_Bill 22 Nov 2020
In reply to James Malloch:

As for Andrew, our solicitor sorted this out when we bought our current house.

However, just to make sure nothing untoward happened I paid a visit to the parish vicar, to whom any chancel repair bills would go, and advised him that it was in the churches best interests not to attempt to try and invoke an outdated and medieval tax on the populace and suggested that if they did, the English Reformation would seem like a garden party. 

Imagine my surprise when he informed me that this was not the parish church but the local Buddhist temple. How we both laughed.

 Toccata 22 Nov 2020
In reply to James Malloch:

This is a very real issue and CofE have been encouraged to use it to fund big bills (see any number of recent BBC articles for reference). Cheap policies often only cover the theoretical possibility that your house is built (and freehold) on land that was owned by a property liable to it. If you are specifically listed then you may find cover more expensive.

 pec 22 Nov 2020
In reply to James Malloch:

> However I’m struggling to find anywhere that I can actually buy it online.

Have you tried comparison sites like this?

https://home.gocompare.com/home/Start

Googling "chancel repair liability insurance" brings up lots of results but perhaps clicking on them leads to a blind alley?

 LastBoyScout 22 Nov 2020
In reply to James Malloch:

We did this when we moved house this summer, basically as because the solicitors couldn't tell us we "definitely were" potentially liable, they couldn't tell us we "definitely weren't", which is the bigger risk.

Solicitors arranged it for the princely sum of £5.03 - no idea who it's with, I'd need to dig the paperwork out.


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