Conveyancing lawyers should note that the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have made some important amendments to their Handbook, which come into force on 1st December 2014. From that date, conveyancers should give their certificate of title based on those revised instructions. You can see a summary of the changes here (http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/handbook).
A number of amendments have been agreed with the CML to the CML Handbook. Some of these are updating and consequential amendments but some are more substantive. For example, the Law Society had requested a review of the insurance provisions and these changes have been agreed.
Other amendments have been made to:
- accommodate registration at Land Registry by e-DRS and the treatment of original documents;
- bring clarity to the timing of the termination of the retainer;
- attempt to reduce the requirement for indemnity insurance policies; and
- deal with practical matters such as:
– needing to rely on copy, rather than original, leases;
– dealing with management company membership; and
– dealing with what to do if there are difficulties in obtaining evidence from Landlords in relation to ground rent and service of notice.
Law Society vice president Jonathan Smithers said: "We have been pleased to work with the Council Mortgage Lenders on revisions to the handbook helping to update the requirements and to clarify professional obligations for our members.
"Lenders are very important clients so we must always ensure that the standard instructions strike the right balance between the information which lenders need to protect their security and the extent to which our members can accept liability.
"Individual lenders may adjust their part 2 instructions which we hope will accord with the spirit of the amendments we have agreed with the CML.
"We look forward to continuing our work with the CML to improve the conveyancing process."
