A chancel repair liability is the requirement for an owner of
land to pay for the repair of the chancel (the part of the church
containing the altar and the choir) of an Anglican parish
church.
Where previously the local rector owned land in the parish, he was
responsible for repairing the chancel of the church out of the
money the land produced. Monasteries often acquired this land
together with the responsibility for paying for the repair of the
chancel. When Henry Vlll sold the monasteries' land, the
liability to pay for the repair of the chancel remained with the
land sold. That's the history out of the way!
How does this affect me?
If your property (residential or commercial) is within the
vicinity of a church and subject to chancel repair liability then
you could be required to pay significant amounts of money towards
the repair of the chancel. Chancel repair liability is currently an
"overriding interest", which means that even if it is not
protected at
