Scottish Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

The information on this page is designed to keep solicitors and licensed conveyancers abreast of latest requirements changes by Scottish Building Society and to assist in remaining on the Scottish Building Society Solicitor Panel.

Scottish Building Society Conveyancing Panel: Recently Asked Questions

Scottish Building Society have asked me to act for them alone on a residential conveyancing transaction , using the CML Lender’s Handbook. The borrower has his own solicitor (not on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel) How does this work and are there different instructions from Scottish Building Society in this circumstance?
The CML, along with Scottish Building Society and other stakeholders created a standard set of instructions where a solicitor is representing a lender such as Scottish Building Society alone in a residential conveyancing matter. These legal instructions are contained at Part 3 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook and are to be followed in conjunction with Sections One and Two. The CML have published an example requirements letter to the borrower’s conveyancing solicitor for adaptation by the lender's conveyancer, and sets out to the borrower's conveyancer, the documentary and information requirements of the lender's panel solicitor.

Read More

Is it the case that the Law Society has recommended that firms check their status on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel?
The Scottish Law Society has advised that solicitors should check their panel status with lenders prior to accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel. The recommendation arises from the practice of a number of mortgage lenders who remove solicitors from their panels without prior notice as part of their panel management system, which can lead to some solicitors discovering this only once instructed. This is sensible advice as a client finding out midway through a transaction that their lawyer is not on the approved lender panel is very frustrating and can lead to complaints. Many online consumer forums contain posts where someone is complaining about finding that their lawyer is not on a lender conveyancing panel. Such forums include mumsnet.com
Do lenders such as Scottish Building Society operate an independent conveyancing panel for buy to let mortgages?
The majority of lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with Scottish Building Society as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from Scottish Building Society we suggest that you call Scottish Building Society to check the position.
As the COLP for my firm what do I need to consider in terms of disclosures to the SRA if my firm is suspended off the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel?
The answer to this question really depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows:
  1. lack of transactions
  2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
  3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction.
In these three circumstances it is unlikely that you would expected to take any action. Disclosure and other compliance considerations are more likely to be relevant if the reason for removal is due to breaches of lender requirements or allegations of fraud or negligence. Whether the reasoning should trigger a disclosable 'material' breach will depend on the firm and the circumstances around possible failures to comply with the SRA Authorisation Rules, and the SRA will judge each case on its own merits. Factors such as the detriment or risk of detriment to clients, the scale of the issue and overall impact on the firm will need to be considered in deciding whether a failure is 'material'. As the compliance officer you will need systems to identify patterns of breaches. Even if you don't consider there to be regulatory implications the firms COFA should give some thought to whether she/he needs to take any action as result of being removed from the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel.
Are there any specific Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel requirements relating to Transfer of Equity Conveyancing?
Scottish Building Society 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 Scottish Building Society require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check Scottish Building Society CML Part 2 conditions to see if Scottish Building Society 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 Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel
St Giles’ PI Insurance renewal form questions if my firm had been removed off any bank panels in the last 12 months. I recently became aware that the firm is no longer on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel? Is this likely to effect my PII premium?
Your insurance brokers are your best port of call to address this question. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Scottish Building Society solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.
My firm is listed on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel and scheduled to complete a purchase within the next week. My file does not contain a Mortgage Deed for the client to execute. Who do I contact at Scottish Building Society to get a duplicate Deed?
You need to communicate with Scottish Building Society to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook has a specific question for lenders to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Scottish Building Society in their Part 2’s state:
It helps to disclose your Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel number.

Find a Lawyer on the Scottish Building Society Solicitor Panel

powered by LenderPanel

Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Scottish Building Society
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
YearDays*
2025 [no data]
2024 [no data]
2023 [no data]
2022 [no data]
2021 [no data]
2020 [no data]
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor