Chancel madness.

[Mrs oOple]

Has anyone had any experience with this Chancel repair liability madness?
http://www.chancel.org.uk/

Our solicitors are suggesting that we pay a 60pound insurance premium against potential liability, just wondered if anyone else had had any experience of needing to purchase insurance, claim on insurance, or pay for some Chancel repair madness?

[bodgit]

There was aprogram on tv a while back on this. You may be liable for costs to maintain your local church if your home is built on land once owned by the church. When the church sold the land they may have installed a clause legally binding the owner to pay such fee,s. Its your legal responsibility to pay for things like new roofs etc. The couple on the program had to sell their home to pay off the repair bills to the church. May be worth checking if your home is on such land.

http://www.countrylife.co.uk/propert...el-repair.html


The Wallbanks, the couple who had inherited the farm, fought the case to the House of Lords, but, in the end, the Church prevailed, and they had to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds. As a result, nobody else has dared fight another case, and, for now, those who own land with this particular liability can, in theory, be asked for funds at any time. The position taken by the Church of England is that the law states that it’s actually legally required to seek these funds from owners (instead of from other funding agencies, for example), and that those who do pay had prior knowledge of the possibility. ‘We don’t know of anybody being asked to pay chancel-repair liability when they weren’t previously aware of the risk,’ says a spokesman.

[j.m.]

Seems like a wonderful thing for a church to do!

Very 'christian like'.

[jimmy]

proper crackers

[racingdwarf]

Originally Posted by j.m.

Seems like a wonderful thing for a church to do!

Very 'christian like'.

Funny you should say that, one of the most nasty people I ever met and worked with was a hard core christian... he was one nasty Ba*#ard

[Huckster522]

not forgetting that the church of england is the wealthiest organisation in the country, and they still like adding such clauses.

like already mentioned, not very christian like.

[bodgit]

Not nice but as it says in the article its a medievil law that they have to abide by. Although in that example to find the owners of just one field seems they would go to extreeme,s to avoid spending their own money.
That is not an isolated example many people have been forced to sell up and lose everything to pay of the chancel. If you think about it the value of their homes would plummet once it has a chancel deed attatched to it, future buyers would be taking a great risk unless they are premiership footballers who could pay it off with a few weeks wages.
The goverment are looking to close this law in 2013 but meantime how my other people will lose everything.
Next time you have the vicar round for "more tea vicar" charge him for it.
In the meantime that £60 ins looks a safe bet. Take it out then go nick all the lead off the church roof to pay for it