Requesting a redemption statement from Bank of Ireland
Where to apply, how much notice to give, and what to check on the statement before you send a completion statement to your client.
- Minimum notice
- 5 working days
- Handbook reference
- Part 2 · 17.2.1a/b
- Discharge route
- See Part 2
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook is amended by lenders without notice. Check the current version before relying on any requirement described here.
What Bank of Ireland needs from you
Two things decide how a redemption statement goes: the general law, which is settled, and the lender's requirement, which is not, and which the lender can change between the offer and completion.
Request the figure at least five working days before the expected redemption date. Quote the expected repayment date, state whether you act for the borrower or hold their written authority, and list every mortgage account or roll number you are aware of.
Notice period
Five working days minimum, so a revised figure can be obtained if the completion date moves.
Authority
A redemption figure should only be requested where you have been retained by the borrower or hold their written authority. Say which applies when you ask.
Account numbers
Quote every account or roll number you know of. A partial list produces a figure that does not clear the charge.
Payment by cheque
As a guard against fraud, make the cheque payable to Bank of Ireland and quote the mortgage account or roll number and the borrower's name.
Telegraphic transfers
A transfer that cannot be matched to an account creates exactly the delay you are trying to avoid. Send the borrower's mortgage account number and your firm's name and address with the transfer.
Four checks on a Bank of Ireland redemption statement
Undertakings to discharge are a recurring source of conveyancer negligence claims, and most of that risk sits in reading the statement rather than in obtaining it. Do not stop at the redemption figure.
Which charge the figure relates to
Confirm it matches the charge on the official copies, and not a different secured account in the same borrower’s name.
Whether it covers every loan on that charge
One charge can secure several loans. A figure covering one of them will not discharge it, and there may be further loans you need to ask about separately.
The assumption about the final monthly payment
Where a mortgage is redeemed mid-month, some lenders still require the whole month and others exclude future payments. The approach is often in the small print. If it is not explicit, get written confirmation of the assumptions used. Otherwise the client cancels the direct debit at the wrong time.
Early and final repayment charges
These should be itemised. Send the client a copy of the statement so they can confirm every loan they intended to redeem is included, and send a completion statement before completion so payment is authorised.
Discharging the Bank of Ireland charge, and registering it
On the day of completion, send the discharge, if one is required, together with your remittance for the repayment. Part 2 of the Handbook is where the route is set out: one paragraph asks where the discharge and repayment remittance go, and the next asks whether the lender discharges by DS1 or direct with HM Land Registry. Check the current answers for Bank of Ireland before completion.
An electronic discharge is sent from the lender's system straight to HM Land Registry, which runs its checks and, in most cases, cancels the charge entries immediately on receipt. It needs no separate paper application and no manual intervention, and it can only be used for a discharge of whole. An e-DS1 is a distinct route: the lender indicates on the redemption statement that it will use one, you tell them which charges are being redeemed and pay in the normal way, and the lender submits the e-DS1 once the correct payment has been received.
Where the position is not explicit, the guidance the Building Societies Association and the Law Society issued to their members in 1985 still describes the expectation: lenders should aim to return the receipted mortgage or Form DS1 within seven days, and should tell the seller's solicitor if there is likely to be a delay beyond that, so the buyer's solicitor can lodge an application to protect priority.
Is your firm listed where borrowers are looking?
Panel membership decides whether you can act at all. LenderPanel maintains the directory borrowers search when they are choosing a conveyancer, including for Bank of Ireland.