Find a Lawyer on the Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel

It is true that some banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said, UK Finance have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.

We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the RBS conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).

Many lenders operate a restricted conveyancing panel, while others allow any solicitor to join so long as they meet the lender's criteria. Each lender sets its own requirements. For example, the RBS conveyancing panel requirements differ from those of other lenders.

RBS would not normally instruct a member of their conveyancing panel 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 RBS list

As you are obtaining a mortgage with RBS your lawyer must to check the RBS conveyancing instructions contained in the Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook for RBS. The UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to RBS where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales. UK Finance are developing guidance for Northern Ireland and Scotland.

You will need to appoint solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the RBS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the RBS through the process.

It would be sensible to have your start your search soon rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the EA. As you are getting a mortgage with RBS, ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the RBS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

If you have finished paying off your RBS 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 RBS mortgage from the register. RBS,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 RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and the RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your RBS mortgage has been paid off.

Although you do need to retain the services of a lawyer they dont need to be on the RBS panel. You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die within 7 years of this. There's no capital gains tax for you as it is your main residence.

It is not advisable proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event if you are getting a mortgage with RBS you will need to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel.

As long as the conveyancer is on the RBS panel she or he must comply with the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requirements for RBS. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that RBS will go ahead your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask RBS to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the remaining number of years left on the lease.

It is probably the case that RBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why RBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

In terms of the RBS mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife's name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of RBS in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.

The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up RBS or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. RBS will tell you what documents they want. RBS 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. RBS 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.

It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the RBS conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with RBS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.

Not all your area conveyancing firms are on the RBS conveyancing panel. Use the above search tool to locate a your area conveyancing firm on the on the RBS panel.

Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for RBS. We don’t recommend any particular firm.

As opposed to ten years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in.

The law firms listed on our site have advised us that they are on the RBS panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the RBS panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the RBS conveyancing panel is incorrect.

Unfortunately it's not apparent why you need a RBS panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to RBS to find out which solicitors in RBS are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month

The firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from RBS directly.

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing you will have to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to made in you doing to conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on the RBS conveyancing panel in your location.

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the RBS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.

You can use any solicitor you like but RBS then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the RBS solicitors panel

The fact that your lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side's solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain

If you intend to re-mortgage then RBS will insist on your using a conveyancer on the RBS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your RBS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the RBS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

The most common options here are as follows:

1. Complete the purchase with your existing solicitors but RBS will need to instruct a lawyer on the RBS conveyancing panel. This will result in additional cost and potential delay.
2. Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the RBS conveyancing panel.
3. Urge your lawyer to apply to join the RBS lender panel

RBS and other lenders normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that RBS have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of RBS Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, Conveyancing is not their speciality? To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime; probably not.

The best course of action for you to take is to contact your lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a firm that is on the conveyancing panel for RBS.

That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for RBS.

A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of law firms had been removed from a lender panel. The top reasons in order are:

1. lack of transactions
2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction
4. regulatory contact by SRA
5. accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by RBS

RBS conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders. It is the case now the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender. It is not clear if your lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as RBS will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.

RBS's conveyancing panel is pretty large so your best bet is just to check with the firms you are getting quotes from whether they are on it. You can search by postcode on the search tool on this site to find solicitors that RBS will allow to act for them.

You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the RBS approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on RBS). The UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

One of the many conditions to being on the RBS approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on RBS)which states that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called 'search validation' indemnity insurance is acceptable to RBS.

Any lawyer on the RBS conveyancing panel would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in RBS's Part 2 requirements of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook (last updated on RBS). Being on the RBS conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these requirements.

Your lawyer is obliged to check with RBS to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to RBS if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

Your lawyer being on the RBS conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform RBS of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to RBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you and RBS.

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son's lawyer who should be on the RBS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.

The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.

The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the RBS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.