Discharge of standard securities

[Toddlerservant]

I am trying to help a family member who paid off their mortgage with a particular lender many years ago but said lender didn't remove their charge from the register. The family member is now trying to remortgage but cannot get this until the previous charge is removed. Said owner of the charge is no longer in business, so they haven't responded to requests to sign the relevant papers to discharge the security.

Land Registers Scotland has advised that he could apply under s18(2) of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970 for an order equivalent to a Discharge.

I am in England and used to the English property system so this is completely new to me. I would be extremely grateful for any pointers as to whether the application can be made to the sheriff court without instructing a solicitor or if he must instruct a solicitor to deal with this (funds are tight so preferably he would do it himself if that is possible).

[While a lender will issue a discharge (or not as in this case) it is not the responsibility of the lender to register that discharge]

Application to the court is possible without using a solicitor but I would not recommend.This type of legal process in Scotland is not set up to be used by a lay person.

I would recommend using a Scottish solicitor for the whole process. And if you do, be careful about selection to avoid being grandly charged expenses. Perhaps try and source a small practice that includes a busy and competent dedicated conveyancing solicitor who will offer a good quotation.

Have you been able to track which current lender took over the original bank/building society? It may be worth doing a bit of tracking down.