Overriding interests- time to call it a day?

Today's post will concern something quite archaic but nonetheless of the utmost importance to both property Lawyers and clients. On 13th August 2013, at the stroke of midnight, some rights/interests in land will lose their overriding status.

So what are overriding interests? They sound like a throwback to some bygone era. To an extent they are. Overriding interests are unregistered interests (i.e. those not registered on the title registers at the Land Registry) which survive first registration of property and will bind any subsequent sales, purchases or other dispositions of land. The central purpose of the Land Registration Act (LRA) 2002 was to make the register an accurate version of title as possible. The LRA tries to reduce the number of overriding interests by replacing them with registered entries. On 13th August 2013 the following rights will lose their overriding status:

• A franchise
• A manorial right
• A right reserved to the crown on the granting of any freehold estate (whether or not the right is still vested in the crown)
• A non - statutory right in respect of an embankment, river or sea wall
• A right to payment in lieu of tithe
• A right in respect of repair of a church chancel

Pretty ancient then. The most important right, so far as Lawyers and clients are concerned, is the last one- a right in respect of repairs to a church chancel. If a property is located, in the vicinity of a medieval church, the owner may be liable for repairs to the chancel- the space around the altar in the sanctuary of a church. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) may charge property owners to carry out repairs to the chancel. The PCC are, in effect, Trustees and must discharge their duties to the church. The famous case of Aston Cantlow v Wallbank showed that chancel repair liability could even run into the thousands- a major expense for any property owner. Lawyers have therefore always done chancel searches and taken out Insurance policies should a risk arise.  From 13th August 2013, a right in respect of chancel repairs will lose its overriding status. This means that it will cease to bind subsequent purchasers of land. If a purchaser buys a piece of land/property, ignorant of this right, then after the 13th August they will not be liable for the chancel repairs.

The LRA seeks to call it a day on these ancient unregistered rights in land by removing their overriding status. About time some would say.

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