Chancel repair liability: what it is and whether it matters when you buy or sell

HM Land Registry's practice guide defines it as the liability of the owner of land to pay for the repair of the chancel of a parish church. The chancel is the part of a church around the altar. In England the parochial church council has the right to collect the money, and in Wales the Representative Body of the Church in Wales does.

It can apply where land was formerly attached to a rectory. The guide says such former rectorial land is not necessarily close to the church building. The owners affected can be private individuals, ecclesiastical bodies, universities and colleges and other organisations, and they are known as lay-rectors. The House of Lords considered the liability in the case of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley Parochial Church Council v Wallbank in 2003, which the guide cites.

A diocesan registry's guidance describes it as a legal obligation to meet the cost of repairs to the church chancel, which usually stems from the rector's historic ownership of glebe land or right to tithes. We have not found an official figure for how many properties are affected, and we do not give one.

Until 12 October 2013, chancel repair liability was an "overriding interest". That meant it bound a buyer of registered land even if it appeared nowhere on the register. It was listed in Schedule 3 to the Land Registration Act 2002 for a ten-year transitional period, from 13 October 2003 to 13 October 2013.

HM Land Registry's practice guide 66 says it, along with some other old rights, lost its overriding status at midnight on 12 October 2013. A church can still protect it by asking for a notice to be entered in the register, or for unregistered land by a caution against first registration.

The practical effect depends on the title:

Two further points from the guide. First, until the buyer's registration is completed, the church can still apply to protect the interest by entering a notice. Second, the guide says the Registry will serve notice on the owner before making an entry of an agreed notice for chancel repair.

Ask your conveyancer whether chancel repair liability is a concern for the parish, and what they recommend. Peterborough Diocesan Registry's guidance advises purchasers to have a search carried out by a company that specialises in chancel repair searches. A search result can be inconclusive, because there is no definitive list, so ask what it does and does not tell you.

Some things to raise:

• Whether the register has a notice. This is the key question for registered land.
• Whether your lender requires anything. Your conveyancer will see the lender's instructions.
• Whether the property is registered at all. If it is unregistered, the position differs, as the table shows. See our article on possessory and unregistered title.
• The date your registration will be completed, and whether a last check of the register is made just before completion. The guide notes that the church can apply to enter a notice until the buyer is registered.

We do not quote the cost of a search or policy, because it varies by provider and property. Nothing in law requires you to buy insurance. Whether it is worth having is a decision for you with your conveyancer.

Free checks do not replace a conveyancer, but they help. Our list of free checks before you make an offer is a good start, and our guide to what searches cover explains why a chancel check is a separate item. Before you offer, our OfferCheck report sets out tenure and other sourced risk facts for the address in one place.