Chancel Repair Liability: How to Research It

Wildy's Book of the Month - February 2006
The owner of any property, however small, in England and Wales can be liable in certain circumstances to pay for repairs to the chancel of a medieval parish church in his locality. Until a recent case decided in the House of Lords led to a farmer and his wife being called on to pay a £95,000 bill, many property owners, convenyancers and parochial church councils had ignored this apparently remote corner of the law.

Now, especially as a result of the Land Registration Act 2002, chancel repair liability has become a live issue. The need for searches to establish whether any particular land may be affected is increasingly recognized. This book - believed to be the first of its kind - provides practical information on how to make these searches.

It does not set out to be a legal textbook, but to enable lawyers, laymen and churchmen to understand the background and sources of information available so that they can discover so far as possible when, and to what extent, liability may exist.