Denise Tottman
Legal
What Is a Chancel Search When Buying a Property?
When purchasing a property in England or Wales, one of the lesser known but important checks your solicitor may carry out is a chancel repair search.
A chancel search investigates whether the property you’re buying is liable to contribute to the cost of repairs to the chancel (or altar area) of a medieval parish church. This legal obligation dates back centuries and, surprisingly, still applies in some cases today.
Historically, certain landowners were responsible for maintaining parts of their local church. Even though it may sound outdated, chancel repair liability remains enforceable — and ignoring it can be costly. In one well-known case, a couple spent 18 years fighting a legal battle against their local parish. In 2009, they ultimately lost and were forced to sell their home to pay a £230,000 repair bill for St John the Baptist Church in Warwickshire.
The good news is that chancel searches are quick, inexpensive, and purely precautionary. Your solicitor usually carries this out early in the conveyancing process. If a risk is identified (there is no definitive register of liability and so search results are not always conclusive), you can usually take out chancel repair indemnity insurance to protect yourself from future claims. This involves a one-off payment and, as they are generally linked to the property rather than the individual, they typically also benefit future buyers of the property.
Since 2013, churches must register any chancel repair obligations with the Land Registry to enforce them against new owners. However, if a liability was already in place but not yet registered, it could still apply—making a search worthwhile.
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Esther Marshall
Esther Marshall
Vernon Sellahewa, a Solicitor in our Residential Property department said:
“A chancel search or indemnity helps protect you from unexpected financial responsibilities related to ancient chancel repair laws. It’s a small but important step in the conveyancing process that offers peace of mind and may save you from a surprise bill in the future.”