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.

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Scottish Building Society Conveyancing Panel: Recently Asked Questions

Do Scottish Building Society or the Council of Mortgage Lenders run training seminars for the Scottish Building Society approved conveyancing panel in the same way that CQS run CPD Courses for accredited firms?

No such training is arranged by the CML although they do organise numerous general legal related conferences which are attended by firms on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel. It is our intention to run specific lender focused seminars in the coming months including a webinar on Scottish Building Society’s Part 2 requirements. Practitioners on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel are welcome. Information about the webinar will be made available as part of the LENDERmonitor P2 change Notifications.

Is there a standard appeals process to prevent solicitors from being unfairly removed them from lender conveyancing panels?

We have come across many solicitors who feel they have been removed from lenders’ panels without an explanation or a good reason. It is highly unlikely, given that lenders have distanced themselves from creating a standardised appeals process for brokers, that an appeals process will be introduced for lawyers. Commenting on the call by brokers to have a standardised process the CML said’ “While we understand that some lenders do have an appeals process, it would not be appropriate for a trade body such as the CML to seek to be prescriptive about such a process.” Some lenders do of course set out an appeals policy. The Law Society does have information on it’s site that may be of assistance. If you would like to talk to one of our compliance experts about our Lender Panel Protection Service please click here.

Do you have any idea what Lenders such as Scottish Building Society are asking for when it comes to applying to be on their approved solicitor list?

Each lender has different criteria. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Whether the firm has ever accepted instructions in respect of property clubs and investment schemes

Automated alerting to inform lenders when there is a fundamental change to the firm (e.g. change of management)

Whether any lender has ever made a claim against the firm’s PII cover

Full disciplinary history for each conveyancing solicitor

Full complaints history for each conveyancing solicitor

Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

Summary of annual accounts

List of fee-earners who are foreign qualified

Charge registration history

A recent SRA survey reveals that 76% of solicitors have been removed from a lender conveyancing panel. Scottish Building Society and other lenders have restricted their panel over the years. Why?

In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Scottish Building Society face a number of fraud and negligence risks. While there is no authoritative source of data on lender exposure to solicitor–led mortgage fraud, anecdotal evidence from lenders indicates exposure on individual cases are often in the millions of pounds. The National Fraud Authority estimates that £1bn per year is lost in mortgage -related frauds in total, which is seen as a conservative estimate.

These risks are exacerbated by the lack of a comprehensive set of data on all conveyancing firms (which, for the avoidance of doubt, would include solicitors and conveyancers across the UK) which is in a readily accessible format. Currently, lenders vet the suitability of their panel firms against a variety of disparate, incomplete and potentially inaccurate sets of information. One top 5 lender pointed out to us that it is almost impossible to track individual fraudsters who move from firm to firm, especially where they are no longer registered or no longer hold a valid practicing certificate.

Scottish Building Society and other lenders are in varying stages of reviewing their approach to vetting firms on their conveyancing panels, to ensure their ongoing exposure to unsuitable firms is reduced. There is also regulatory impetus on lenders to ensure that they have satisfactory oversight of their third party panels, including a due-diligence process.

JLT’s PI Insurance renewal form enquires if my practice had been excluded from any mortgage panels in the last year. I recently discovered that the firm is no longer on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel? Is this likely to effect my insurance?

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.

Our practice is on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel and due to complete a purchase shortly. My papers do not include a Legal Charge for the client to execute. Who do I contact at Scottish Building Society to request substitute deeds?

You need to get in touch with Scottish Building Society to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an express inquiry for lenders to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Scottish Building Society in their Part 2’s state:

It helps to quote the firm’s Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel reference.

Find a Lawyer on the Scottish Building Society Solicitor Panel

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.

Year	Days*
2025	[no data]
2024	[no data]
2023	[no data]
2022	[no data]
2021	[no data]
2020	[no data]

* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor

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