Learning Outcomes
This article explains chancel repair liability and pre-contract chancel repair searches, including:
- Nature and significance of chancel repair liability
- Process and timing of chancel repair searches
- Post-13 October 2013 position for registered land and risk profile for unregistered land before first registration
- Meaning of “purchaser for value” and outcomes for gifts and other non-value dispositions
- Practical risk management, including indemnity insurance and circumstances limiting availability
- HM Land Registry priority searches and index map searches, including management of the “registration gap”
- Application of these principles to SQE1-style problem questions
SQE1 Syllabus
For SQE1, you are required to understand the role of chancel repair searches as part of pre-contract due diligence in property transactions, with a focus on the following syllabus points:
- The legal basis and historical context of chancel repair liability
- The process and timing of chancel repair searches in conveyancing
- The effect of registration (or lack thereof) on enforceability in registered and unregistered land
- Practical steps for managing risk, including indemnity insurance
- How chancel repair liability interacts with other property interests and the importance of advising clients appropriately
- The relevance of notices, cautions against first registration, and buyer protection through priority searches
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
- What is chancel repair liability, and when is it enforceable against a purchaser of registered land?
- How does the Land Registration Act 2002 affect the enforceability of chancel repair liability?
- What practical steps should a solicitor take if a chancel repair search reveals potential liability?
- When is indemnity insurance for chancel repair liability usually available?
Introduction
Chancel repair liability is a historic legal obligation that can require certain landowners to contribute to the cost of repairing the chancel of a parish church. For property lawyers, the risk of this liability unexpectedly binding a client makes chancel repair searches a key part of pre-contract due diligence. This article explains the legal background, the process of conducting searches, the impact of registration, and practical steps for managing risk in property transactions.
Key Term: chancel repair liability
A legal obligation requiring certain landowners to contribute to the repair costs of the chancel (the eastern part) of a parish church.
The liability is unusual because it is not always apparent from the title documents and can arise even where the landowner has no actual notice. This makes it a potential trap for buyers and their solicitors. Although claims are rare, a well-known modern case confirmed the liability’s enforceability and brought it back to professional attention. Conveyancers and lenders now routinely consider the risk and, where appropriate, mitigate it using searches and insurance.
Chancel Repair Liability: Legal Background
Chancel repair liability originates from medieval arrangements where certain land—often “rectorial land”—was used to support the rector of a parish. Over time, ownership of this land could pass into lay hands, but the obligation to contribute to chancel repairs could remain attached to the land. The liability is enforceable by the Parochial Church Council (PCC) under statute and common law principles and may be apportioned among liable landowners.
Key Term: Parochial Church Council (PCC)
The parish body responsible for the upkeep of the parish church, including enforcing chancel repair liability where applicable.
The modern registration regime affects whether and how the liability binds purchasers. Key developments came with the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) and transitional provisions which, from 13 October 2013, changed how chancel repair liability interacts with registered titles. The result is a clear divide between (a) registered land and (b) unregistered land before first registration, with different risk management steps for each.
Chancel Repair Searches in Conveyancing
A chancel repair search is a standard pre-contract search in many property transactions, especially where there is any doubt about the property's history or location. The search is usually carried out by a specialist provider and will indicate whether the property is within a parish where liability may exist.
Key Term: chancel repair search
A search conducted before exchange of contracts to identify whether a property may be subject to chancel repair liability.
The search result will typically state one of the following:
- No risk identified (the property is outside a liable parish)
- Potential risk (the property is within a parish where liability may exist)
- Confirmed liability (rare, but possible if liability is already registered)
If a search reveals potential risk, further investigation or indemnity insurance may be recommended.
In practice, many firms either:
- Obtain a screening search and, if it reveals potential risk, recommend insurance; or
- Proceed straight to indemnity insurance without a search (more commonly where there is no lender requirement for a search result and insurance premiums are modest).
Historical investigations—for example, reviewing tithe maps, parish records, or National Archives materials—are time-consuming and often inconclusive. They are rarely cost-effective compared to the clarity and speed provided by insurance.
Registration and Enforceability
The enforceability of chancel repair liability depends on whether the land is registered or unregistered, and whether the liability has been protected by registration. Timing is critical: the position changed on 13 October 2013 under LRA 2002 transitional provisions.
Registered Land
Since 13 October 2013, chancel repair liability is enforceable against a purchaser for value of registered land only if it is protected by a notice on the Charges Register at HM Land Registry at the point of registration of the purchaser’s title.
Key Term: notice (chancel repair liability)
An entry on the Charges Register of a registered title protecting chancel repair liability, making it enforceable against a purchaser for value.
Key points:
- If no notice exists and the property is transferred for valuable consideration on or after 13 October 2013, the liability will not bind the purchaser.
- Notices entered prior to completion and registration of the buyer’s title will bind a purchaser for value.
- HM Land Registry may accept applications for unilateral notices without assessing the substantive validity of the claimed right. If a notice is entered, a buyer may need to apply to cancel it and provide evidence that it should not remain (for example, that there has been a qualifying transfer for value after 13 October 2013).
- Importantly, the “purchaser for value” rule means that gifts, assents, or other non-value dispositions are treated differently. In such cases, earlier interests (including chancel repair liability) are not displaced by priority rules and can continue to bind even if unprotected by notice.
Unregistered Land
In unregistered land, chancel repair liability is not an overriding interest in the technical sense (that term applies to registered land). However, the liability can still bind a buyer on completion unless it is shown not to apply. Protection for the PCC can be achieved by two routes prior to first registration:
- Reference in the title deeds
- A caution against first registration lodged at HM Land Registry
Key Term: caution against first registration
A protective entry lodged at HM Land Registry in respect of unregistered land which alerts the registrar and applicant on first registration to the existence of a claimed interest.
Key points for unregistered land:
- If there is no deed reference and no caution, there remains a risk that a caution could be lodged before the buyer completes first registration (the “registration gap”), potentially affecting the buyer’s position.
- An index map search (SIM) will reveal whether any caution against first registration is already lodged.
- If there has been a transfer for value on or after 13 October 2013, new protective entries for chancel repair liability should not validly bind such a purchaser for value. However, HMLR may still accept a caution or notice application; the buyer may then need to challenge it.
- Practically, pre-completion planning and prompt first registration are important to minimise the registration gap risk.
Key Term: overriding interest (chancel repair liability)
Historically, chancel repair liability had overriding status for registered land. From 13 October 2013, it ceased to be overriding and will only bind a purchaser for value of registered land if protected by notice. The “overriding interest” concept does not apply to unregistered land.
Practical Effect
- If a notice is present on the Charges Register, the liability will bind the buyer.
- If no notice is present and there has been a transfer for value after 13 October 2013, the liability will not bind the buyer of registered land.
- In unregistered land, liability can still bind unless and until first registration occurs and there has been a transfer for value after 13 October 2013; the registration gap remains a practical risk.
- Gifts and other non-value dispositions of registered titles may still be caught by unprotected chancel repair liability, even post-2013.
Worked Example 1.1
A client is buying a registered freehold property. The chancel repair search reveals the property is in a parish with potential liability, but there is no notice on the Charges Register. The seller bought the property in 2015.
Answer:
Because the property was transferred for value after 13 October 2013 and no notice has been entered, chancel repair liability will not bind the buyer.
Worked Example 1.2
A client is buying unregistered land. The chancel repair search reveals potential liability, but there is no entry in the title deeds. What is the risk?
Answer:
In unregistered land, chancel repair liability can still bind the buyer. To manage risk, carry out a SIM to check for any caution, insure, and complete first registration promptly to reduce the registration gap during which a caution could be lodged.
Worked Example 1.3
A client is buying registered land in a parish identified as potentially liable. There is currently no notice on the register, and the seller acquired before 2013. The PCC could attempt to enter a unilateral notice before completion.
Answer:
A unilateral notice entered before completion could bind a purchaser for value. Use an OS1 official search to obtain a 30-working-day priority period, exchange and complete within that period, and apply to register promptly. If a notice is entered after the OS1 search date, the buyer’s application lodged within the priority period should take priority, preventing the late notice from binding.
Worked Example 1.4
A buyer completes a purchase of unregistered land for value without a caution in place. Before the buyer’s first registration application is submitted, the PCC lodges a caution against first registration.
Answer:
The caution could complicate first registration. The buyer should submit the first registration application immediately and challenge the caution, providing evidence of the transfer for value after 13 October 2013. While HMLR may have accepted the caution administratively, the buyer can argue that the liability should not bind given the transfer for value and seek to have the caution removed.
Worked Example 1.5
The buyer’s solicitor contacts the PCC to ask whether the property is liable. The insurer later declines to offer chancel repair indemnity insurance.
Answer:
Indemnity insurance is usually unavailable once the PCC has been approached or put on notice of a potential claim. As a result, the buyer faces higher risk and may need to renegotiate, withdraw, or accept exposure. Avoid contacting the PCC if insurance is the intended solution.
Managing Chancel Repair Liability
If a chancel repair search reveals potential risk, the main options are:
- Further investigation: This may involve checking parish records or consulting the National Archives, but this is rarely conclusive or cost-effective.
- Indemnity insurance: Most buyers and lenders prefer to take out indemnity insurance to cover the risk of future claims.
Key Term: indemnity insurance
An insurance policy that protects the insured against financial loss if a claim for chancel repair liability is made after completion.
Indemnity insurance is usually inexpensive and can be arranged quickly. Typical features include:
- Cover for the buyer (and lender) against liability to contribute to chancel repairs and associated legal costs
- No excess and a one-off premium
- Standard exclusions where the insured has created or increased the risk (e.g., contacting the PCC, admitting liability, or making disclosures beyond the policy terms)
- Often available without a prior search or even where a screening search indicates potential risk
Insurers generally require that:
- No contact has been made with the PCC, church authorities, or any party likely to assert liability
- There is no existing notice on the registered title or caution against first registration indicating confirmed liability
- The buyer will not make enquiries that could alert the PCC to the property’s potential liability
Where insurance is unavailable due to contact with the PCC or other reasons, practical options include renegotiating the price, seeking the seller to insure (if possible), or reconsidering the transaction.
Exam Warning
If a solicitor or client contacts the PCC or makes an enquiry that puts the PCC on notice of the property's potential liability, indemnity insurance may become unavailable or much more expensive.
Additional practice points:
- For registered land, obtain an OS1 official search with priority post-exchange to protect against late entries before completion and registration.
- For unregistered land, carry out a SIM to check for cautions, and lodge the first registration application promptly to reduce the registration gap.
- Report any chancel repair risk to the lender; many lenders require indemnity insurance as a condition of lending.
Revision Tip
For SQE1, remember that chancel repair liability ceased to be overriding for registered land on 13 October 2013. It will only bind a purchaser for value of registered land if protected by a notice. In unregistered land, the risk persists until first registration, and a caution against first registration or deed reference may protect the liability; manage the registration gap and consider insurance.
Chancel Repair Liability and Other Property Interests
Chancel repair liability can affect the value and marketability of a property. Lenders may refuse to lend or require indemnity insurance if a risk is identified. The liability may also affect:
- Leases: Where a tenant is on full repairing terms, a landlord should consider the potential exposure and whether to address this in the lease (for instance, clarifying responsibility or ensuring insurance is in place).
- Mortgages: Mortgage offers typically require the solicitor to report adverse matters; insurers often include the lender as a co-insured.
- Title defects: If a notice is already present, advise on the financial and practical implications, renegotiating the contract and/or obtaining insurance where available.
Contractual tools can help manage the risk. For example, special conditions may require the seller to provide a clear title (no chancel notice), commit to insuring against risk, or prohibit either party from making contact with the PCC before completion to preserve insurance availability.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- Chancel repair liability is a historic legal obligation to contribute to the repair of a parish church chancel.
- A chancel repair search is a standard pre-contract search to identify potential liability.
- For registered land, chancel repair liability ceased to be overriding on 13 October 2013 and is only enforceable against a purchaser for value if protected by a notice on the Charges Register.
- Gifts and other non-value dispositions of registered land can still be caught by unprotected chancel repair liability.
- In unregistered land, liability can still bind before first registration; protection may be by deed reference or a caution against first registration, and the registration gap must be managed.
- Indemnity insurance is the main practical solution if a risk is identified, but is usually unavailable if the PCC has been approached.
- Use OS1 priority searches and prompt first registration to protect the buyer’s position and reduce the risk of late protective entries.
- Solicitors should advise clients and lenders of any risk and arrange insurance where appropriate.
Key Terms and Concepts
- chancel repair liability
- chancel repair search
- notice (chancel repair liability)
- overriding interest (chancel repair liability)
- indemnity insurance
- Parochial Church Council (PCC)
- caution against first registration