Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel Information

The criteria to join the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

Royal Bank of Scotland make no specific obligation to carry out any of the searches listed. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook simply states that ‘you must ensure that any other searches which may be appropriate to the particular property, taking into account its locality and other features are carried out’.

Please note that most ‘less usual searches’ (as described in the Law Society’s Conveyancing Handbook) are not optional as far as Royal Bank of Scotland are concerned if they are ‘appropriate’. Most lenders will not require environmental searches (you should Check Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook to be sure), but you are obliged to explain risks and availability to the client.

Ground stability, Plansearch,flood searches as well as the searches listed in the question are optional – but only to the extent that you have allowed the borrower client to make an informed choice. Regardless of whether there is a mortgage, If you have not advised the client that these (and other) searches are available and what risks they cover, then you will be liable if the client suffers loss through not conducting one. Does your ROT and Ts and Cs cover this?

A leading search supplier lists over 72 property searches – do you know what all of them are and when they may be relevant? If you are unsure as to which searches are appropriate based on location call your search provider or call one of the leading search companies such as Searchflow.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland to take a much more pro-active approach in relation to the management and make up of their conveyancer panels. The knock on effect of this is that it is more likely that there will be a higher number of cases where a conveyancer is not on the Royal Bank of Scotland panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Royal Bank of Scotland have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new CML Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires Royal Bank of Scotland’s panel solicitor to ‘ ...transfer the mortgage advance directly to the Seller’s conveyancer. The Seller’s conveyancer must be required to hold the mortgage advance on the terms of the required undertaking. The example borrower’s conveyancer’s undertaking letter includes a specific example of the seller’s undertaking’. You should expect to be advised to received the mortgage advance directly from the conveyancing solicitors for Royal Bank of Scotland. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Royal Bank of Scotland’s solicitors to discharge any charges secured on the property and to send directly to them the executed transfer and any other documents required to enable us to effect registration. Please remember to carefully consider undertakings in accordance with your firm’s protocol and record them in your undertakings logg. Please remember that as well as this breach of this undertaking having regulatory and compliance implications it’s breach could also result in your firm being removed off the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel.

There are various requirements are to followed if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. First, 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. Thirdly, 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 survey 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

The Law Society’s CQS membership 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 conveyancing solicitors. A number of Lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as Santander.

You would be advised to get in touch with Royal Bank of Scotland to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an express section for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Royal Bank of Scotland in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to quote the firm’s Royal Bank of Scotland solicitors panel number.