Council of Mortgage Lenders updates handbook to include recent tax and property developments

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has announced new amendments to the CML Lenders’ Handbook for Scotland, which sets out instructions to conveyancers acting for mortgage lenders.

The new changes, agreed by the Handbook Oversight Committee on 23 April, will take effect from 8 June 2015.

The amendments are the culmination of joint work started in September 2013 with the Law Society of Scotland to identify improvements.

The main changes are:

• The handbook being amended to include the introduction of the Land and Buildings Transactions Tax in Scotland, replacing stamp duty.

• The handbook being brought up to date to reflect changes in Scotland due to the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 2012, which came into effect in December 2014.

• The section on good and marketable title has been revised in Scotland to reflect changes made to the wording already amended in the Handbook for England and Wales.

The new amendments follow on from previous amendments recently put into practice in December 2014.

All current and historic amendments to the CML Lenders’ Handbook can be reviewed here.

The Law Society welcomed the amendments.

Alistair Morris, President of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “The updated handbook is good news for conveyancing solicitors in Scotland.”

Mr Morris, who has also convened the Society’s CML Working Party, added: “Updating the handbook has been a joint process between the Society and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

“We have worked constructively with the CML to ensure that the changes to the handbook provide clarity for conveyancers on a range of areas and make it more suitable for Scottish practice and procedure – and of course it’s worth remembering that the handbook is a living document and will require further changes as time progresses and risk and practices change.

“It’s important that solicitors are aware of the changes and follow the CML handbook to ensure that their work on behalf of their lender clients, as well as homebuyers and sellers, progresses smoothly.”