We have launched a new resource for Scottish conveyancers:- the Conveyancing Purchase Checklist.
The checklist is a resource that’s aimed at helping conveyancing practitioners with the purchase of a residential property. The checklist provides the user with a single document which ingathers transaction information in one place and follows the life cycle of a residential property purchase. It provides prompts, date logs, drop-down options for ease of input, and links to relevant websites.
With more complications and potential traps to contend with in practice today, there is far more to remember than ever before, and more that might be missed. We believe that this checklist can assist as an aide-memoire to prompt consideration of critical issues that might otherwise be overlooked.
Practitioners can tailor how they use the checklist to suit their needs – completing each part or choosing those parts that are most helpful. We think it will be a valuable tool for busy conveyancers.
We have included a glossary below of all abbreviations used within the checklist.
This resource was originally designed by Paul Brown of W&JS Gordon in Forfar, and is the winning entry of the 2023 Innovation Cup. The Cup is run annually by the Law Society of Scotland, Lockton, and the lead Master Policy insurers RSA. It gives legal professionals and law students the opportunity to share their creative ideas for risk management products, tools, or strategies. The winning entry is then developed and published on Lockton’s resource centre, where it is freely available to the Scottish legal profession.
Glossary of Abbreviations
ADS - Additional Dwelling Supplement
AML - Anti Money Laundering
AN - Advance Notice
BC & S - Books of Council and Session
C&S1 Form - Application for Recording in the Register of Deeds in the Books of Council and Session
Co House - Companies House
EPC - Energy Performance Certificate
H2B - Help to Buy
LBTT - Land and Buildings Transaction Tax
LOO - Letter of Obligation
LOU - Letter of Undertaking
RACBL - Register of Applications by Community Bodies to Buy Land
RCI - Registered of Controlled Interests
RCIL - Register of Community Interests in Land
ROE - Register of Overseas Entities
ROS - Registers of Scotland
SEPA - Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Please note that the purpose of this checklist is to provide examples of the steps to be checked in a conveyancing transaction for the purchase of residential property. It is provided for illustrative purposes and firms will want to adapt it and use their own style, which should be tested, refined and reviewed on a regular basis. Nothing in the checklist is to be treated as a statement of the legal position. It is also worth remembering that any checklist should be used as an addition to, and not a substitute for, professional judgement and consideration of all the issues in a transaction.