Voluntary Land Registration

Why is Voluntary Land Registration necessary?
Since the introduction of the Land Registration Act 2002, the Land Registry is encouraging voluntary registration with the object of ensuring that all land in England will become registered. The advantage of registration is that a registered title is a guaranteed title and so registering church property will protect church land from appropriation by adjoining landowners or other claimants.

How is church land going to be registered?
The Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) has engaged a volunteer administrator who will initially contact churchwardens for help in confirming the property held in "church" ownership in each parish. They may be asked to assist in identifying boundaries where these are in question, or to nominate a long-standing member of the local community to make a Statutory Declaration if there are no deeds.

What will it cost?
The DBF has negotiated Service Level Agreements with the Land Registry and special agreements with its solicitor and the Diocesan Registrar. The Board will pay the Land Registry fee and meet the legal costs of registering benefice houses, Glebe and the Board's corporate property. The legal costs of registering churches and churchyards and PCC and trust property will fall to the parishes concerned. A few cases may be complex but the vast majority of registrations will be straightforward and should incur legal costs of around £90 including VAT.

What about Church schools?
The Diocesan Board of Education and the Local Education Authorities will be coordinating the registration of church schools as a separate exercise.

School buildings and Finance
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What happens if our parish doesn't participate in the diocesan project?
The cost of making a single application is likely to be much higher. The legal costs alone are currently at least £250 +VAT.  The Land Registry fee is likely to increase when registration becomes compulsory, and would be payable by the parish. It should be also borne in mind that the legal costs of resolving disputes where others have laid claim to church land can be considerable.

Who can give us further advice?