Don't Chance It When It Comes To Chancel Repairs

Chancel repairs – what are they?

Chancel repair liability arises under an ancient law that benefits around 5,200 churches in England and Wales by imposing obligations on properties within the parish to repair and maintain the local church. The amount of money the church is able to claim for these repairs has no limit and the church can request money as and when they believe the need for repair arises and as many times as they decide is necessary.

Recent examples:
In the recent case of Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank and another that went all the way to the House of Lords a couple, who inherited a farm, were ordered to pay around £200,000 for chancel repairs together with legal fees amounting to nearly £250,000. The couple sought to argue that this infringed their human rights, but failed and now have to pay for the repairs and a hefty bill for legal costs. Purchasers should be careful not to ignore the possibility of chancel repair liability when purchasing a property, as it could prove to be an extremely expensive oversight by lawyers.

The current situation 

There is no single register of chancel repair liability that a potential purchaser can refer to when buying a property. The current position is that as an ‘overriding interest’ the liability for chancel repairs does not have to be registered with the Land Registry to be protected and enforced under English law, resulting in liabilities often being difficult to discover. The situation changes in 2013 when, under the Land Registration Act 2002, any interest that has not been noted at the Land Register will not bind any new purchaser, but current owners will continue to be liable for repairs.

The Church of England has until 2013 to register all land liable for chancel repairs, which may lead to an increase in demands made by the church, as they realise and seek to enforce liabilities before the 2013 deadline.

Advice for land owners

Purchasers should check deeds and make enquiries of the Land Registry and the current owners to try and discover any potential liabilities. It is possible to undertake a search using the National Land Information Service or obtain insurance against the possibility of a property having a liability or the possibility of a property with the liability having it enforced. Purchasers can also take practical steps, such as, checking the state of repair of the church chancel and if they are aware of any potential liability trying to negotiate the purchase price down or set aside a sum for any liabilities that may arise.

In short though, there is no absolute way to protect against liability for chancel repairs. The risk can be mitigated in various ways as stated above, but if a purchaser has real concerns then insurance may be their only option. The Law Society has strongly recommended the abolition of this antiquated law, but as it is still very much in force – buyer beware!