Chancel repair liability ancient, unusual, obscure and onerous…

Chancel Repair Liability is a historic legal obligation requiring certain landowners to contribute to the cost of repairing the chancel (the eastern end containing the altar) of a parish church. This liability dates back to the feudal system and was originally imposed on lay rectors who acquired church lands following the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.

Despite its historic origins, chancel repair liability can still arise and result in significant liability for landowners.  A notable example is the Wallbank case where the owners of Glebe Farm in the parish of Aston Cantlow were required to pay a chancel repair bill of £189,000 plus VAT together with legal costs of £250,000, following an unsuccessful legal challenge.

Given the potential sums involved, it is perhaps surprising, and certainly unsatisfactory, that determining whether a property is affected by chancel repair liability can be particularly difficult.  While it is possible to purchase a relatively inexpensive search of the relevant parish records, the results are often inconclusive.  In many cases, the only satisfactory solution is to obtain insurance against any potential liability.

The Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA) included measures intended to address these uncertainties.  The intention was that, from October 2013, a buyer of registered land would only be liable for chancel repair liability if the liability was noted against the Land Registry title for the property.  However, the law relating to chancel repair liability has evolved over centuries and is far from straightforward.  As a result, there remains considerable uncertainty as to whether the provisions in the LRA do in fact operate as intended.

The Law Commission has published a detailed consultation paper “Chancel repair liability and registration” including a fascinating, albeit lengthy analysis of the historic origins of chancel repair liability.  The consultation does not look to abolish chancel repair liability, which it describes as “ancient, unusual, obscure and onerous”.  Instead, it seeks views on proposals to amend the LRA, in essence, to make certain that the relevant provisions of the LRA operate as originally intended and outlined above.

The proposed reforms are set out in Chapters 6 and 7 of the consultation paper and include:

• Clarification that a purchaser of registered land will only be bound by chancel repair liability if it is noted against the Land Registry title.
• Clarification of the effect of chancel repair liability when dealing with first registration of unregistered land.
• Provision for the changes to have retrospective effect from October 2013.

The consultation has been broadly welcomed by those dealing in both residential and commercial property.  Interested parties are encouraged to submit a response and should not be deterred by the length of the consultation. The relevant issues and proposed reforms are summarised in Part 2 of the consultation, which is intentionally accessible to non-specialists with the consultation questions set out in full in Chapter 9.

The consultation closes on 15 November 2025 after which the Law Commission will analyse responses with a view to publishing a final report with recommendations in 2026.  The full consultation can be viewed here.