Ancient law could still haunt homeowners
08th August 2007

Chartered accountants Naylor Wintersgill are emphasising the importance of conducting Chancel Repair searches when purchasing a property on former Rectoral land. This follows the recent high profile case of a couple in Warwickshire who found that they were responsible for the repair of the chancel of 13th century village church and were ultimately faced with a bill of £200,000.

Under an arcane property law, if a property is located in or adjoins a medieval parish church the owner may be liable to pay for the upkeep of the chancel, the area surrounding the altar. Around 5200 pre reformation Church of England & Wales have ‘lay rectors’, the majority of whom are private individuals who could fall foul of Chancel Repair Liability, unless they carried out a search at the time of purchase.

Naylor Wintersgill Partner Alison Whalley comments,

‘Even in the 21st century, this ancient liability could come back to haunt homeowners whose properties are built on former Rectoral land. We would recommend that anyone considering the acquisition of a property which may be affected should carry out a full Chapel Repair search.’