Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel Information

During 2013, 227 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Royal Bank of Scotland. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel you are of course obliged to comply with individual lender requirements, as set out in Part II of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. Locktons have recently pointed out in an article that non-compliance with Part 2 requirements account for a number of high value claims, and it is therefore important to be aware of any particularly onerous terms that an individual lender may impose.

Remember: CML requirements are not guidelines; they are the lender client’s instructions.

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

There are various requirements you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. (a) You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Royal Bank of Scotland immediately. Second, You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Royal Bank of Scotland’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Royal Bank of Scotland know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Royal Bank of Scotland to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Royal Bank of Scotland are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (c) Royal Bank of Scotland recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Royal Bank of Scotland recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Royal Bank of Scotland have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers report or structural survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Royal Bank of Scotland or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel

Royal Bank of Scotland approved solicitors are bound by the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook instructions relating to Transfer of Equity. These are set out in Section 16.3. First, your firm must approve the form of Transfer of Equity (which should be in the Land Registry's standard form) and, if Royal Bank of Scotland require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check Royal Bank of Scotland CML Part 2 conditions to see if Royal Bank of Scotland have standard forms of transfer and deed of covenant. Please note that this requirement can change from one transaction to another so do check! Second,When drafting or approving a transfer, you should bear in mind that: although the transfer should state that it is subject to the mortgage (identified by date and parties), it need give no details of the terms of the mortgage; the transfer need not state the amount of the mortgage debt. If it does, the figure should include both principal and interest at the date of completion, which you must check ; there should be no statement that all interest has been paid to date. Further obligations are set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook which have to be followed by all firms on the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel

CQS accreditation is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms. A number of Lenders now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel acceptance as is the case with HSBC.

You should contact Royal Bank of Scotland to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook incorporates an explicit section for lenders to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Royal Bank of Scotland in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to quote your Royal Bank of Scotland solicitors panel reference.