Scottish Building Society Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

COMPLETIONmonitor is web-based pre- and post-completion checklist for residential conveyancing lawyers. Supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and PI insurers such as AmTrust. It is a unique risk mitigation tool.

This system assists the way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their instructions, with notifications given on Scottish Building Society’s changes. Even though utilising the software is not a condition for being on the Scottish Building Society panel, demonstrating you can stay up to date with Scottish Building Society’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your panel application and, more importantly, safeguard your panel status.

The software creates real-time alerts, automatically produces SRA and CQS reports, and will enhance your firm's efficiency. In addition it is simply to use, cost-effective and, for many firms, leads to reduced PII premiums.

Find a Law Firm approved by Scottish Building Society

Banks and building societies frequently change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Scottish Building Society are not guidelines, they are instructions from a client. As with many clients, instructions can change - and they do change, over time:

A Timeline of Policy Changes


Since 2008, Scottish Building Society has made 288 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 9.5 days. In total, 90% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Scottish Building Society have been changed since 15/12/2008.

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
6.14.1d 01/12/2014 CML
maximum excess re building insurance
10.7 02/12/2010 CML
Mortgage Advance and Certificate of Title
In the event of a delayed completion, when and how is advance to be returned to Scottish Building Society by the conveyancing panel?
16.3.2 02/12/2010 CML
Transfer of Equity
Scottish Building Society details for requesting debt amount
4.5a 02/12/2010 CML
Mortagge valuation - Reinspections
Contact details at Scottish Building Society for approved lawyers where re-inspection required
6.10.2 02/12/2010 CML
Conveyancing : retenions by mortgage company
Scottish Building Society clarification to panel lawyers clarification as to who they release retentions (or instalments of the advance) to
6.12.1 02/12/2010 CML
Pre-emption Rights, Options and Pre-emption Rights
Contact details at Scottish Building Society for approved lawyers to used where Scottish Building Society needs to be notified where property is affected by pre-emption rights, resale restrictions, options etc .
6.1.3 02/12/2010 CML
Mortgage offer not taken up
Contact details at Scottish Building Society for approved lawyers where for reporting purposes if borrower is not taking up the mortgage offer
6.14.1a 02/12/2010 CML
contact point if property is not insured in accordance with lender requirement
6.7.1 02/12/2010 CML
New Build Conveyancing
Scottish Building Society approved conveyancer requirements for New Build Conveyancing : Home Warranty Schemes
6.8.1 02/12/2010 CML
Roads and Sewers
Contact details at Scottish Building Society for conveyancing panel lawyers if no agreement and bond for an unadopted road or sewer
Adoption of Road or Sewer Indemnity Insurance

Last update 22/03/2019

FAQs for the Scottish Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public

My husband and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Scottish Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.

In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyers should contact Scottish Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Scottish Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

can you help? My solicitor is informing me me that she is duty-bound to order a Local Authority search because the firm are on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel. The searches cost a lot of money. Can this be avoided?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with Scottish Building Society your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Scottish Building Society’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Scottish Building Society. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
I require the services of a Scottish Building Society panel solicitor in Stirling. Could you help me?
It is not clear why you need a Scottish Building Society panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Scottish Building Society to find out which solicitors in Scottish Building Society are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site
I am considering applying for a Scottish Building Society mortgage for purchase of a new build (under development) with 70% LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Scottish Building Society?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel, but Scottish Building Society would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
My wife and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from Scottish Building Society as we wish to carry out alterations or improvements our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Scottish Building Society do not ordinarily instruct a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they did require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Scottish Building Society panel
I have paid off my mortgage with Scottish Building Society. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the Scottish Building Society panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Scottish Building Society mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Scottish Building Society mortgage from the register. Scottish Building Society,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage: but are not moving to another property where the Scottish Building Society has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and the Scottish Building Society has instructed the Land Registry to do so The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your Scottish Building Society mortgage has been paid off.
Scottish Building Society have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Scottish Building Society or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Scottish Building Society will tell you what documents they want. Scottish Building Society will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Scottish Building Society will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.