Chancel repair: the risk lives on

On the face of it, forthcoming changes to the archaic chancel repair liability (CRL) law will bring an end to the need to advise clients to run a check when purchasing a property.

But the government has actually chosen not to end the 500-year-old law altogether, allowing churches to continue claiming if they register an interest before 12 October. '¨This means solicitors still '¨need to explain to homebuyers that a chancel repair liability search must be carried out. '¨It is a difficult situation for solicitors caused by parliament's reluctance to sever a potential funding stream for '¨ageing churches.

With so much talk about the looming deadline, it is easy to see how many homeowners may believe that CRL is no longer a concern. But churches, aware of the future need for financial assistance for major repair work to the chancel area of the parish church, are likely to register to ensure they can make claims in future.

CRL allows churches to make claims on parish occupants to fund major repairs to the chancel of the parish church. Those parishioners do not have to be churchgoers and their connection to the parish may only be due to an ancient boundary line which bears no resemblance to current community boundaries.

The 12 October date is the deadline set by the government for churches to register their interest in an area or lose the right to make a claim. But while homebuyers may believe that CRL checks and indemnities can be struck off their checklist, that is not the case.

Churches that register their interest before 12 October will have a right to claim in perpetuity. However those that do not will still be able to claim after the deadline until the property changes hands, after which their right will end.

CRL is believed to affect around 5,300 parishes in England and Wales and the only way to check if a property is affected is for a client to ask their solicitor to carry out a chancel repair liability search.

It is important to get it right, because CRL can lead to some very expensive claims. And if solicitors involved in home or land purchases fail to inform their clients of the need for a CRL check to see if they might be affected, even after the deadline, they themselves could face legal action from their client if a claim is made.

In 2007 the High Court ordered couple Andrew and Gail Wallbanks to pay £250,000 to a church whose parish their farm was situated in after they challenged a claim.

The deadline makes it crucial that CRL checks remain part of the standard list of checks carried out to identify if clients need to take out CRL indemnities or cancel existing transferable ones.

Huge claims like the Wallbanks case are rare, but solicitors have to make sure their clients are fully informed so they can protect themselves. SJ