Chancel Indemnity: What It Is and Why You Need to Know

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Chancel indemnity, what exactly is that?

A day doesn’t go by without someone getting in touch with us asking about chancel indemnity policies. So let me explain what it’s all about and why you need to get involved.

You need a chancel indemnity or chancel repair policy when your conveyancer has spent more money than was entirely necessary checking whether the property you’re buying is at risk of a chancel repair financial contribution.

So, what is a chancel? A chancel is the part of a church that surrounds the altar area. Chancel repair liability is a historical financial responsibility placed on properties within the parish of that church. If the chancel needs repair, the cost is split among the properties in the parish.

The amount you could be liable for depends on the number of properties in the parish. In very rural areas, where there are only a few properties, the cost per property can be significant. In larger parishes with hundreds or thousands of homes, the potential cost per property is much smaller.

A common misconception among some conveyancers is that chancel repair liability relates to the value of your home. It doesn’t. The cost of cover is determined by the level of cover you choose, not the value of your property.

Here’s the kicker: why pay for a chancel repair liability search if you could instead get a chancel repair insurance policy that costs less than the search itself? In other words, you can insure against an unknown risk, rather than paying for a search to identify a potential or known risk and then buying insurance anyway.

Many buyers end up paying twice, first for the search, then for the insurance, sometimes at a higher cost if the search flags a risk. We hear from clients whose conveyancer wants to charge £170+ VAT just to arrange a policy after carrying out a search.

Let’s keep it simple: if you ask your conveyancer not to carry out a chancel repair search, you can buy a No-Search Chancel Repair Policy for as little as £25, including VAT, which provides £500,000 worth of cover for your entire ownership of the property.

For context, the largest chancel repair claim ever was around £100,000 — so a £500,000 policy gives you more than enough protection, unless you happen to be the only property next to a very large cathedral, in which case you may want to review your cover.

At Property Searches Direct, we offer both:

• No-search policies for unknown risks

• Liability policies for potential or known risks Both start at £25, providing £500,000 cover, without the heavy administration fees that some conveyancers may charge.

  
  

The takeaway? Don’t overpay, don’t rely solely on a conveyancer, and take control of protecting yourself with a chancel repair policy. We’re here as the consumer champion to make it simple and affordable.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Moving Home, Uncovered. If you found this useful, subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes, and head over to propertysearchesdirect.co.uk/podcast to send me your questions. I’ll cover them in future episodes to help make moving home a smoother, less stressful experience for everyone.