It is not necessary to attend church to be liable for chancel repairs; it is simply a matter of living within the parish borders of a medieval church.
In theory, those who bought land after 2013 should be immune from chancel repair duty – unless the church registers the liability. However, in practice, it’s a difficult area to navigate.
The Law Commission has stated that it will investigate and consult on ways to resolve past gaps around chancel restorations. The project was supposed to be finished by 2020, but it hasn’t started yet, and no deadline has been given.
Do you need chancel repair insurance?
The legal requirement on some property owners in England and Wales to pay for repairs to the local parish church is known as chancel repair liability.
The historic power to levy these fees dates back hundreds of years, and it was once assumed that a church could not compel property owners to pay for repairs.
The Wallbank decision, which was decided in 2003 in favor of the Church Council, which won the power to levy a £100,000 penalty on a householder, put an end to that line of thought.
More information regarding the case can be found here House of Lords Wallbank and others (Respondents) v Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire (Appellants) (parliament.uk)
The government revisited chancel repair liability in 2012, and while they opted not to totally remove it, they did make several adjustments to make it simpler to locate impacted buildings.
Previously, churches did not need to defend their right to claim for chancel repairs because the right alone was sufficient to allow them to lodge a claim.
However, as a result of the new regulations, chancel repair liability (along with a slew of other overriding interests) has to be registered by October 13, 2013.
As a result, several churches applied to the Land Registry to have a notice placed on the concerned registered titles.
These warnings make sure that churches don’t lose their right to file a chancel repair claim later.
However, just because a church failed not file a notice by October 2013 does not mean it has forfeited its ability to apply for registration.
Only when a property with registered titles changes hands for “valuable consideration” would the right be lost.
Yes.
On homes that are currently unregistered or have not been transferred for valuable consideration since October 13, 2013, conveyancing lawyers must continue to propose chancel repair liability searches and indemnity insurance.
A church could still file a notice up until the last minute of the process, when a priority search is conducted. If this occurs, the transaction will be jeopardized, and the buyer will be responsible for unrecoverable costs such as legal and survey fees.
The identified buyers are covered for the duration of their ownership of the property by Chancel Indemnity insurance, which is a one-time payment.
The policy should be obtained from a specialized provider and can be bought separately or in combination with other Legal Indemnity policies.
Alternatively, contact Alex O’Donnell, their Legal Indemnities expert:
How do you know if you need chancel insurance?
You should ask your solicitor to conduct a relatively inexpensive check to see if your house is at risk of chancel repair liability. The search result will indicate whether or not the property is located within a potentially liable parish.
Is a tenant liable for chancel repair?
No. There is still the possibility of chancel repair liability, so be cautious.
The Land Registration Act 2002 no longer recognizes chancel repair responsibility as an overriding interest as of October 13, 2013. This means that individuals who benefit from the interest (such as churches and parish councils) must safeguard their ability to pursue their rights against anyone who purchase land on or after October 13, 2013.
The official title register will reflect such an interest. If this is the case, you may be asked to contribute to chancel repair at some point by the parish.
What is entered in the official register provided by the seller’s attorneys or retrieved by your own solicitors should not be relied upon. A notice can be filed into the register at any time before a land transfer is recorded at the Land Registry, which implies that an interest resulting in chancel repair responsibility could be lodged during the interval between completion and registration of the transfer, which could take months. As a result, it’s critical that your lawyer file an official search application as soon as possible to protect the transfer before it’s registered. A valid official search allows you to lodge the transfer within 30 business days (the “Priority Period”). During the Priority Period, you, as the applicant, will take possession of the property free of any interest that a third party has requested to register against it during that period, excluding those protected by an earlier official search.
If the land is transferred for no consideration after October 12, 2013, for example, as a gift or inheritance, or as a result of insolvency, you may still be subject to chancel repair liability, even if the liability is not protected on the register, because you will be deemed to have taken the land subject to whatever interests affected the land at the time of the registerable disposition, i.e. the previous transfer for consideration.
If you are a tenant who is obligated to pay chancel repair liability, either directly or indirectly, under the conditions of the lease, you may still be liable unless the freehold has been sold for a fair price since October 13, 2013.
You should get an insurance coverage as soon as possible to protect yourself against future liabilities. Although the premium is likely to be substantial, it is a tiny sum to pay in comparison to the contribution you may be expected to make. A House of Lords judgement in 2003 forced a couple to pay the church £186,969 plus VAT to rebuild the chancel. In order to pay for the chancel restoration, the couple had to sell their home!
Chancel restoration extends back to medieval times, when a church’s repair was the parish’s responsibility, and the church had the option of asking for contributions from all affected landowners or demanding that the wealthiest landowner pay the entire price. The responsibility for the repair of the chancel went to the new owners of the land after Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and sold the rectorial land. The residents of such homes were known as lay rectors.
Has chancel repair liability been abolished?
Although chancel repair liability is a medieval relic, it has not been repealed…
The foundation of chancel repair obligation can be traced back to Henry VIII and the creation of the Church of England hundreds of years. Some residences (and flats) are built on land that is still subject to a perpetual duty to pay for repairs to the parish church’s chancel. The chancel is the area of a typical church where the altar is located, as well as where the clergy and choir sit. It is normally located at the east end of the church.
For many years, it was assumed that this was only of interest to academic attorneys, and that churches could no longer compel property owners to pay for repairs. In 2008, however, the courts confirmed that a homeowner in the community of Aston Cantlow, Warwickshire, was still liable to contribute to the cost of repairing the local church.
Previous owners of the property had no idea there was a problem because churches rarely requested for payments for many years. When churches were faced with rising maintenance costs and dwindling finances, some realized they could reclaim part of their costs by suing select property owners.
When the current land registration system in England and Wales was established in 1925, it attempted to ensure that all legal matters affecting a property were recorded. When someone was looking to buy a house, they could check the register to determine exactly what had an impact.
There was, however, a snag in the legislation. A vast variety of issues were labeled as such “overriding interests” that have an impact on a property even if they aren’t specified in the title. Chancel repair responsibility was one of the dominating objectives.
In 2012, the government considered reforming the chancel repair liability and, although opting against doing so, made modifications to make it simpler to identify homes that were affected. However, as part of its commitment to law reform, the Law Commission said in December 2017 that it will evaluate chancel repair liability over the next three years.
In most circumstances, it would be unimportant if something later came to light, as it would normally not result in any financial liability for buyers. However, following the Aston Cantlow case, it became clear that owners of homes subject to chancel repair duty may be hit with thousands of pounds in payments, even if prior owners had never received such requests.
Chancel repair liability, like many other overriding interests, had to be registered by October 13, 2013, or risk losing automatic protection. Churches that have identified properties in their parishes that were liable could petition to have a notice registered against the title of those properties.
Prior to October 13, 2013, churches did not need to defend their right to claim for chancel repairs because the right alone was sufficient to allow them to lodge a claim. In anticipation of this altering, a number of churches that benefit from the right to claim for chancel repairs appealed to the Land Registry to have a notice of this right placed on relevant registered titles: around 250 churches registered notifications against over 12,000 properties. These notices ensure that churches will be able to file a claim at a later date – it does not imply that they intend to do so; rather, it ensures that they will not lose their right to do so.
The possibility of being held liable for chancel repairs has not been eliminated. The fact that a church did not register a notice by October 13, 2013 does not mean they have lost the right to apply for registration; the right to apply for registration is only lost when a property with a registered title changes hands for the first time “When an unregistered property is first registered, it must be for “valuable consideration” (i.e. for money or something else of value, not as a gift).
On homes that are currently unregistered or have not been transferred for valuable consideration since October 13, 2013, conveyancing lawyers must continue to propose chancel repair liability searches and indemnity insurance.
What is no search chancel insurance?
There will be no search. Chancel Indemnity Insurance is purchased when the buyer is unsure whether or not the property has a chancel liability. If the insurer can show that the buyer was aware of the chancel liability, the policy will be voided. 2. Insurance for Chancel Repair (Known Liability) – taken out when the buyer is aware of the possibility of a chancel liability.
What is the chancel used for in a church?
The east end of a church, where the high altar is normally positioned. The nave, on the western end, and the chancel, on the eastern end, had little or no separation in early Christian churches. The nave and chancel were frequently separated in medieval times by a screen, which was usually made of wood and might be extremely ornately carved.
A choir may be seated in the chancel, and there may be minor chambers off the chancel, such as a vestry or a priest’s ‘office space.’ A big east window above and behind the altar dominated many chancels.
What is a chancel search when buying a house?
During a domestic transfer, a solicitor conducts a Chancel search to see whether the property a buyer is considering purchasing is affected by a prospective chancel “The local Parish Church has a “Chancel Repair” requirement. Chancel repair duties date back to the medieval period, when land originally owned by the Church and used to fund the local rector was sold, and the new owner assumed the repairing obligation.
So, which houses are likely to be impacted by chancel repair obligations? Basically, any property within the parish limits where such a responsibility exists could be liable “I’ve been caught.” What are the ramifications of a chancel repair liability? Well, they’re mostly financial commitments, such as paying for the upkeep and restoration of the local medieval parish church’s chancel.
While medieval legal responsibilities may appear abhorrent and redundant in the twenty-first century, they can still be costly, so make sure your counsel thoroughly investigates the situation. The Church sought payment from the owners of the rectorial land (it was part of a property called Glebe Farm) in the case of Aston Cantlow v Wallbank, 2003, to rebuild the chancel of the local mediaeval Church. The rectorial landowners (known as lay rectors) did not deny culpability, but argued that the bill was unreasonable and arbitrary, and hence refused to pay. As the structure continued to deteriorate, the original £6000 bill quickly grew to £186,969 by the time the Law Lords considered the matter. The Church eventually won the case, and the whole cost, including legal fees, was estimated to be around £500,000.
What sort of Chancel searches might your solicitor commission?
A solicitor can order one of two types of Chancel searches: a Chancel Check or a Full Chancel search. The basic Chancel Check Search determines whether a property is inside a parish that may charge for chancel repairs. It does not, however, indicate whether the actual subject property is situated on land that is subject to this liability. It does, however, represent a certain level of risk. The Full Chancel Search is more expensive, but it will show whether the subject property is liable. If it is, the attorney must file the liability with HM Land Registry.
What happens when a Chancel search comes back positive?
If a property is found to be subject to a chancel repair liability, indemnity insurance can be purchased to protect the property owner from future claims. If this were the case, a solicitor would supply a client with full details as well as a cost estimate.
Chancel Repair Liability: the future?
After considerable debate with the Church of England Synod, the Law Commission proposed the removal of Chancel Repair Liability in 1985. The liability was suggested to be phased out gradually, but no action was taken. Changes to Chancel search repair liability enacted by the 2002 Land Registration Act took effect in October of that year. To avoid losing overriding interest status and to bind successors in title, the new regime obliged PCCs (Parochial Church Councils) to declare any such liability with the Land Registry by October 13, 2013. However, chancel repair responsibility ended only for those who bought damaged land after October 12, 2013, and filed the transfer before a PCC tried to register the liability. The Chancel Repairs Bill received its first reading in Parliament in July 2014. The Bill was introduced in order to completely eliminate the responsibility. However, a date for the Bill’s second reading has yet to be set.
What does a chancel repair search show?
Chancel restorations could affect up to 500,000 dwellings in England and Wales, where there are roughly 5,200 pre-Reformation churches. As a result, those purchasing residential or commercial property should conduct a Chancel Repair Search.
Many responsibilities are not recorded on title documents due to the medieval nature of chancel restorations, but they are nevertheless legally enforceable. If a property is located inside a parish with a potential chancel repair liability, a Chancel Check report will indicate this.
A Certificate will be issued to confirm that there is no risk of liability for chancel repairs.
What does indemnity insurance cover mean?
An insurance policy that compensates an insured party for certain unforeseen damages or losses up to a specific limitusually the value of the loss itselfis known as indemnity insurance. In exchange for premiums paid by the insured parties, insurance firms provide coverage. These insurance are frequently meant to cover professionals and business owners who are determined to be at blame for a certain incident, such as a misjudgment or malpractice. In most cases, they take the form of an indemnity letter.
Why do I need indemnity insurance?
As part of their individual industry body’s regulatory obligations, several professions are required to acquire professional indemnity insurance. Even if you are not required to get PI insurance, failing to do so could result in you being liable for thousands of pounds in legal expenses and compensation payments, not to mention lost wages due to time spent defending any charge. If you’re a lawyer, you’ll almost certainly need professional indemnity insurance.
- You give your clients advise or expert services (including consulting or contracting)
- You create designs for your customers (such as working as an architect or design engineer)
- You want to be safe from accusations of faults or neglect in the work you’ve done for your client.
- You’re a contractor, consultant, freelancer, or self-employed professional, and your client has asked you to obtain professional indemnity insurance before beginning a project.
Professional indemnity insurance may be required in the following fields (but is not limited to):
- Marketing consultants, training consultants, and education consultants are examples of management and business consultants.
- IT contractors, consultants, programmers, and developers are all examples of IT professionals.
- Contractors who work in the technical and engineering fields include CAD designers, project engineers, and offshore oil and gas engineers.
- Personal trainers, dancing instructors, and yoga instructors are among the fitness professionals.