Chancel repair liability and registration

This project aims to close a historic loophole and save homeowners millions in insurance costs.

Consultation open until 15 November 2025

The Law Commission is consulting on reforms to the law governing land registration and chancel repair liability. If you have an interest in this area of law, or are affected by or have the benefit of a chancel repair liability, we want to hear your views.

Find out how to respond

Read the full consultation paper and consultation paper summary.

Respond using the online response form.

If you need any of the documents in an alternative format, email us at chancelrepair@lawcommission.gov.uk.

Problem (Back to top)

Chancel repair liability is an obligation on a landowner to pay for certain repairs to a local church. It has its origins in the feudal system and is rarely enforced, but when it is the liability can be huge.

The intention of the Land Registration Act 2002 was that chancel repair liability should not bind purchasers of land after 2013 unless protected on the register. However, since the 2002 Act was brought into force, a question has arisen about the legal status of the liability and whether homeowners are nevertheless bound despite that Act.

As a result, home buyers and land purchasers spend millions each year on searches and insurance to help protect themselves from unexpected costs.

The 2002 Act also only governs registered land. Purchasers of unregistered land can still find that they are bound by an unexpected and undiscoverable chancel repair liability.

Project (Back to top)

This project came out of our 13^th Programme of Law Reform.

The project aims ensure that chancel repair liability does not bind purchasers of land, unless it is registered – and therefore visible – to purchasers.

It will also help avoid the need for purchasers to undertake chancel repair searches, or to pay for insurance – potentially saving millions.

We published a consultation paper on 15 July 2025. The consultation paper includes:

a detailed discussion of the history of chancel repair liability and its legal nature (see Chapters 2 to 4);
an examination of whether the Land Registration Act 2002 applies as expected to chancel repair liability (see Chapter 5);
provisional proposals (in Chapter 6) to amend the Land Registration Act 2002 to clarify that:
- it is possible to register a notice relating to a chancel repair liability that affects a registered estate; and
- a purchaser of a registered estate is not bound by a chancel repair liability unless the liability is protected by a notice registered against the estate;
a discussion of the law governing unregistered land (see Chapter 7);
provisional proposals (in Chapter 7) to amend the Land Registration Act 2002 to clarify that:
- it is possible to lodge a caution against first registration relating to a chancel repair liability; and
- a chancel repair liability that is not recorded in the register during first registration ceases to bind the newly registered estate; and
draft legislation that could implement our provisional proposals (see Appendix 3).

Next steps

We are currently conducting a public consultation, following the publication of our consultation paper on 15 July 2025. After the consultation closes on 15 November 2025, we will analyse responses, with a view to publishing a final report with recommendations in 2026.