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Chancel repair liability is an obligation which attaches to certain properties and requires the owners of those affected properties to contribute towards the upkeep of the chancel of their local church. The chancel is the part of the church near the altar which is usually reserved for the priests and choir and so on.
A property’s proximity to the church in question does not necessarily have any bearing on whether it will be affected by this liability or not, therefore you cannot assume that just because the property is not situated close to a church, that it will not be caught by this obligation.
Since 13 October 2013, chancel repair liability has ceased to be what is called an overriding interest under the Land Registration Act 2002. Prior to this date, this meant that even where a property owner was unaware of the presence of this liability to contribute, it would still affect the property in question and did not need to be registered on the title to the property in order to be enforceable.
This does not mean that this liability has been abolished, it simply means that the Parochial Church Council (‘PCC’) is required to take certain steps in order to enforce that liability, and that it is no longer automatically applicable to affected properties.
The steps in question require the PCC to, in the first instance, identify the affected properties, and then to apply to the Land Registry in order to enter a notice against the title to registered land, or a caution against first registration in relation to unregistered land.
If the PCC does not take this action, as from 13 October 2013 once a purchase or transfer for valuable consideration (i.e. in exchange for money) has taken place, the theory is that the ability for such a notice to be entered should fall away. However, the Land Registry’s guidance on this topic suggests that they will still accept applications after this date, and as part of their work to process such applications, they will not check the title to the property to see if such a transfer has taken place since 12 October 2013.
There is also a cost involved to the PCC in respect of investigating what properties are affected and subsequently the legal costs and Land Registry fees in order to pursue the steps they need to in order to enter the notices or cautions to protect this liability. It may be therefore that the financial benefit of taking these steps may be outweighed by the costs of doing so. It also seems that the PCC is aware that making such applications is likely to have an adverse effect on the Church’s relations with the local community, as was seen in Gorleston, Norfolk in October 2013 Gorleston residents angry over church repair liability – BBC News.
Furthermore, whilst the liability to contribute may continue to affect certain properties, there is no guarantee that the obligation to contribute will actually be called in.
The upshot remains however that existing owners are therefore still very much at risk from such liability and open to such applications being made to secure this obligation against the title to their property.
It is possible to obtain insurance against potential chancel liability, in some circumstances. A search will indicate if the area the property is located in is potentially at risk but this is not a guarantee that a property is specifically affected. Insurance can be obtained in many instances whether the property lies in an area considered to be at risk or whether there is actually an entry specifically lodged against a property. The expense does vary as a result but it can be a useful protective step.
If you have any queries regarding this issue or any other property matter, please contact our Commercial Property or Residential Conveyancing teams on 01603 620508.
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This article was produced on the 12th August 2025 for information purposes only and should not be construed or relied upon as specific legal advice.
