Dilapidation is a term meaning in general a falling into decay, but more particularly used in the plural in
English lawEnglish law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...
for
- the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living
- the disrepair for which a tenant
A leasehold estate is an ownership interest in land in which a lessee or a tenant holds real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
is usually liable when he has agreed to give up his premises in good repair.
Dilapidation is derived from the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
for scattering the stones (lapides) of a building.
In general law a
tenant for lifeA life estate is a concept used in common law and statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms it is an estate in real property that ends at death...
has no power to cut down timber, destroy buildings, etc., or to let buildings fall into disrepair (see
WasteWaste is a term used in the law of real property to describe a cause of action that can be brought in court to address a change in condition of real property brought about by a current tenant that damages or destroys the value of that property...
).
Dilapidation is a term meaning in general a falling into decay, but more particularly used in the plural in
English lawEnglish law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...
for
- the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living
- the disrepair for which a tenant
A leasehold estate is an ownership interest in land in which a lessee or a tenant holds real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
is usually liable when he has agreed to give up his premises in good repair.
Dilapidation is derived from the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
for scattering the stones (lapides) of a building.
Ecclesiastical Law
In general law a
tenant for lifeA life estate is a concept used in common law and statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms it is an estate in real property that ends at death...
has no power to cut down timber, destroy buildings, etc., or to let buildings fall into disrepair (see
WasteWaste is a term used in the law of real property to describe a cause of action that can be brought in court to address a change in condition of real property brought about by a current tenant that damages or destroys the value of that property...
). In the eye of the law an incumbent of a living is a tenant for life of his
beneficeOriginally a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward for services rendered. The word comes from the Latin noun beneficium, meaning "benefit"...
, and any waste, voluntary or permissive, on his part must be made good by his
administratorsIn English law, Administration of an estate on death arises if the deceased is legally intestate. In United States law, the term Estate Administration is used....
to his successor in office. The principles on which such dilapidations are to be ascertained, and the application of the money payable in respect thereof, depend partly on old
ecclesiastical lawCanon law is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
and partly on
acts of parliamentAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
.
Questions as to ecclesiastical dilapidations usually arise in respect of the residence house and other buildings belonging to the living.
InclosuresEnclosure or inclosure is the process which was used to end some traditional rights, such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on land which is owned by another person, or a group of people. In England and Wales the term is also used for the process that ended the ancient system of...
, hedges, ditches and the like are included in things of which the beneficed person has the burden and charge of
reparationIn jurisprudence, reparation is replenishment of a previously inflicted loss by the criminal to the victim. Monetary restitution is a common form of reparation...
. In a leading case (Ross v. Adcock, 1868, L.R. 3 C.P. 657) it was said that the court was acquainted with no
precedentIn common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or other judicial body utilizes when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.-Binding precedent:...
or decision extending the liability of the
executorAn executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .Executor is also a legal term referring to a person named by a maker of a will, or nominated by the testator, to carry out the directions of the will...
s of a deceased incumbent to any species of waste beyond dilapidation of the house,
chancelIn architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
or other buildings or fences of the benefice. And it has been held that the mere mismanagement or miscultivation of the ecclesiastical lands will not give rise to an action for dilapidations.
To place the law relating to dilapidations on a more satisfactory footing, the Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act 1871 was passed. The buildings to which the act applies are defined to be such houses of residence, chancels, walls, fences and other buildings and things as the incumbent of the benefice is by law and custom bound to maintain in repair. In each
dioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
a
surveyorSurveying or land surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space position of points and the distances and angles between them...
is appointed by the
archdeaconA position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
s and rural
deansA dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
subject to the approval of the
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
; and such surveyor shall by the direction of the bishop examine the buildings on the following occasions viz.
- when the benefice is sequestrated
Sequestration may refer to:* Sequestration , the act of seizing property from the owner under process of law for the benefit of creditors or the state...
;
- when it is vacant;
- at the request of the incumbent or on complaint by the archdeacon, rural dean or patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
.
The surveyor specifies the works required, and gives an estimate of their probable cost. In the case of a vacant benefice, the new incumbent and the old incumbent or his representatives may lodge objections to the surveyors report on any grounds of fact or law, and the bishop, after consideration, may make an order for the repairs and their cost, for which the late incumbent or his representatives are
liableLegal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legal liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
. The sum so stated becomes a debt due from the late incumbent or his representatives to the new incumbent, who shall pay over the money when recovered to the governors of
Queen Anne's BountyQueen Anne's Bounty was a fund established in 1704 for the augmentation of the incomes of the poorer clergy. In 1890, the total amount distributed was £176,896. The bounty was the revenue from a tax on the Church prior to the Reformation, and from the Crown itself after the Reformation...
.
The governors pay for the works on execution on receipt of a certificate from the surveyor; and the surveyor, when the works have been completed to his satisfaction, gives a certificate to that effect, the effect of which, so far as regards the incumbent, is to protect him from liability for dilapidations for the next five years. Unnecessary buildings belonging to a residence house may, by the authority of the bishop and with the consent of the patron, be removed. An amending statute of 1872 (Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act (1871) Amendment) relates chiefly to advances by the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty for the purposes of the act.