Have a say on thorny issue of specialist liability search: Knights Plc, Lincoln, explain the issue of Chancel Repair Liability

Have you bought land or property in recent years? If so, you will undoubtedly have encountered the thorny issue of Chancel Repair Liability, known by the inevitable acronym, CRL, writes Andrew Fearn, a consultant with Knights Plc, Lincoln.

It is the bane of property lawyers and usually a complete mystery to lay people who cannot understand it or why they have to pay extra for either specialist searches and/or insurance to cover a prospective but doubtful liability.

So, what is it?

It emanates from the time when Henry VIII was falling out with the church in Rome and started to reform and sell off the monastic institutions and land in this country.

The Rector of a church was often liable for the repair of the chancel (the area at the east end of the church comprising the sanctuary and choir) and, as land was sold, that liability was passed on to Lay rectors and other landowners.

In such circumstances, the Parochial Church Council could ask the landowner or, sometimes, a number of them, to pay for, or contribute towards, the repair of the local church.

That potential liability still exists in some areas today.

In a famous case, which occurred about 20 years ago, the Wallbank family had to make a significant contribution and, in doing so, were forced to sell their house.

It wasn’t great PR for the church and disastrous for the Wallbanks.

Nevertheless, it concentrated minds and the law was tightened up in 2013 to make it compulsory to register such a liability at the Land Registry.

Unfortunately, the move failed to close all the doors and it is still usual to find buyers (and their lenders) opting to search and insure.

A further complication is that if you search and a potential liability is disclosed, the subsequent insurance premium is escalated.

If, on the other hand, you simply insure without searching, the premium will be relatively modest.

The potential for delay remains!

It remains a fact that actual liabilities are few and far between which only serves to add to the frustration felt by lawyers and their clients by having to navigate around the issue.

Before the high profile case of Wallbank, the issue was largely ignored but the good news now is that the government is having another look at how this problem can be resolved.

It has announced a period of consultation and is encouraging people who have been affected to contribute their experiences.

The consultation finishes in mid-November so there is plenty of time to make your views known!