CHANCEL REPAIR LIABILITY (CRL) – A STEP BY STEP GUIDE
Before you start your research, I recommend you download and print a copy of “The National
Archives Legal Records Information Leaflet 33 – Chancel Repairs.”
There is no easy short cut to finding out whether your parish has CRL. You will need to physically
look at the records in the National Archives, because the on line index for the initial research doesn’t
drill down as far as individual parishes. You can do this either by going to Kew to look at the
records, or by ordering a photocopy.
Examine the index to the Record of Ascertainments (R/A) at the National Archives (IR 104 series)
to see whether CRL for your parish is indicated. The abbreviations are explained at the front. If your
parish is listed, it should show one of the following:
D/N
declaration of no rentcharge liability at commutation
R/AN
Record of Ascertainments showing cessation of liability
R/AN(Cty) in Composite County Record, showing cessation of liability
R/A
Record of Ascertainments showing liability as at 1October 1936
R/A(L)
Liability on land
R/A(SA)
Special Award (for which see IR 106)
If the annotation is one of D/N, R/AN, or R/AN (Cty), then there is no R/A in IR 104. This doesn’t
mean there is no CRL! If the name of the parish is annotated R/A, R/A (L), or R/A (SA), there is a
R/A. IR 104 is arranged in alphabetical order of County (names as at 1936) and then parish.
If IR 104 indicates that there is CRL for your church, the first page of the R/A will show a
breakdown of the liability. Any liability listed on the front page under Paragraph 2(a) will have been
discharged. Liability under 2(b) continues to be borne by a corporate body. This may be the Church
Commissioners or a university or college. This liability is usually in the form of stock and is not land
based and does not require registration. Liability listed under 2(c) or 2(d) is land based and does
require registration. Subsequent pages of the R/A will have a list of the tithe fields that hold rent
charge and the amount of rent charge for each field. This is expressed in old money. There will also
be a liability proportion, such as 1/49130, shown on the front page. This tells you the proportion of
liability for a tithe rent charge of 1d for each field with rent charge. Suppose a field has a rent charge
of £2 0s 11d. In old pence this is 491d, which is 1% of the liability proportion. If chancel repairs
were to cost £10,000, then the liability for the owner of that particular field is 1% of £10,000, which
is £100.
You will also need to obtain a copy of the 19th century Tithe Map from the National Archives (IR 30
series). This map shows the rent charge number and location of each field referred to in the R/A. In
order to progress your enquiries and find out whether the land holding CRL is registered at Land
Registry, you will need to cross reference the field numbers on the Tithe Map onto a more recent
map such as the District Record Maps (IR 90 series) and then onto a modern and larger scale map,
minimum size 1:10,000, such as OS Land Plan. If your R/A refers in one of the schedules to a field
number “and other tithe fields jointly charged with this rent charge by such apportionment” this is a
farm apportionment and you will need to obtain a copy of the appropriate IR 29 series of tithe
apportionment to find the numbers of the individual fields within the farm apportionment. It is
helpful to know that individual parishes have the same sub-reference in IR 29, IR 30 and IR 90.
Strensall is IR 30/42/355.
In order to find out whether the land you wish to register for CRL is registered with Land Registry,
you will need to apply to Land Registry for a registration search of each field or a group of fields
using form SIM. All Land Registry forms are available on line. This is where you need the up to date
large scale map! The fee is £5 per search but you can amalgamate your searches as long as each
search area is adjoining and you can search up to five separate registration numbers before Land
Registry asks for an additional search fee! I would suggest that it is uneconomical to conduct a
search where the field in question has been turned into a housing estate, since the cost of the search is
likely to exceed what the PCC might recover from each householder in CRL. There are pastoral
considerations to take into account as well. Ultimately this is a matter for your PCC.
If the land is registered, it will have a title number such as NYK 123456. In this case you register for
CRL unilaterally using form UN1 and the land owner will receive a copy of the registration notice.
If the land is not registered, there is no title number and you must apply for what Land Registry calls
a Caution against First Registration using form CT1. This means that the PCC, as Cautioner, has
registered an interest in that particular estate, though the owner will not be aware of this until the
estate is eventually registered, which is most likely to happen if it is sold. The Caution will trigger
the creation of a title number. In both cases there is no fee to pay. Use precise wording on both
forms. For the statement of truth (box 10) on the CT1 and the interest in the property (box 11) on
UN1, I used: “Being entitled to recover the cost of chancel repairs to St Mary’s Church, Strensall”
and for the cautioner (box 5) on CT1 and applicant (box 6) on UN1, “Parochial Church Council of
St Mary The Virgin Parish Church, Strensall.” Be prepared to submit documentary evidence to
Land Registry that you are acting on behalf of your PCC. I was asked to do this by Land Registry
solicitors about 90% of the way through the registration process. Accept the fact that Land Registry
solicitors don’t talk to each other and appear to make policy as they go along!
There is an objection procedure against unilateral registration and you should be prepared that some
landowners may object. This is a very drawn out process, but it does offer the opportunity for
mediation, which I recommend you accept. This usually involves you going to see the land owners or
their solicitors and showing them documentary evidence of your audit trail. I have had eight
objections, of which three involved solicitors. Happily, all these complaints have been resolved with
the landowners acknowledging their CRL. Be aware also that if and when the owner of unregistered
land decides to register it, you will have to file an objection with Land Registry in order to retain the
CRL registration against the title.
Keep a record of what documents you send off to Land Registry and when. The time taken by Land
Registry to process documentation means that you will probably have several sets of searches and
registrations in the pipeline at any one moment. All Land Registry forms have a box for a reference
number. Finally, I suggest you record that you have received the Completion of Application form
from Land Registry on a spreadsheet. Don’t forget, the deadline to have completed CRL
registration is October 2013!
Please feel free to contact me for advice, or clarification on any aspect of these guidance notes. I’ll
try to help in any way I can, but I will not undertake the CRL registration process for you or for your
PCC!
Chris Chambers crc2021@o2.co.uk
01904 491123