Rooftop Mortgages personal searches requirements illustrate why a lender’s “yes” must be read alongside its conditions. Permission to use a personal local authority search does not necessarily mean that every provider or report will satisfy the instructions.
In September 2014, this article reported a change allowing personal searches subject to specified requirements. The practical lesson remains relevant: check the complete answer, its cross-references and the evidence supporting compliance.
Originally published on 5 September 2014. Updated on 3 October 2026. The amendment discussed below is historical and should not be treated as Rooftop’s current instruction.
Checking an earlier Rooftop transaction?
Establish the lender’s requirements at the relevant date rather than applying today’s wording to an older file.
What changed in Rooftop Mortgages personal searches requirements?
The original article reported that Rooftop permitted personal local authority searches rather than requiring official searches in every case.
The reported answer appeared at section 5.4.5 of the then CML Handbook Part 2. Acceptance depended on requirements concerning registration with the Council of Property Search Organisations, subscription to the Search Code monitored by the Property Codes Compliance Board and compliance with referenced Part 1 provisions.
Those conditions were part of the permission. Reading only the opening “yes” would have omitted the requirements that determined whether the proposed search was acceptable.
The section numbering and wording belong to the historical record. Check the applicable instructions for any transaction being undertaken or reviewed.
Check who compiles and supplies the search
A search may involve an organisation compiling the report and another supplying it. The file should identify the relevant parties and establish which organisation must satisfy each lender condition.
Do not assume that a search provider’s general statement that its products are “lender accepted” answers the question for a particular lender, product and transaction date.
Our related article on personal searches and conditional lender acceptance explains why the full instruction needs careful reading.
What does the Search Code provide?
The Search Code sets standards for organisations compiling and selling property search reports. Its principles address matters including skill and care, insurance, integrity and complaint handling.
The Council of Property Search Organisations explains that subscribers may be search compilers or retailers and that the Property Codes Compliance Board maintains a register of subscribing firms.
See the Search Code explanation and subscription information.
Code subscription can be relevant to a lender’s instructions. It does not remove the need to check any additional conditions or investigate issues revealed by the report.
Local authority searches and other reports are different
Acceptance of a personal local authority search should not automatically be extended to personal drainage and water searches, environmental reports or every product in a search pack.
Identify the search being proposed and the instruction that applies to it. Search-provider insurance and insurance used instead of a search also serve different purposes and need separate consideration.
Our earlier article on drainage and water searches and lender requirements explores a related historical example.
What should the conveyancing file record?
- The lender, jurisdiction and relevant transaction dates.
- The search product and the organisations compiling and supplying it.
- The complete lender answer and applicable cross-references.
- Evidence supporting any required registration, subscription or insurance conditions.
- Any clarification requested and the response received.
- The investigation and advice arising from the search findings.
The aim is to demonstrate why the particular search was used, rather than simply recording that personal searches were generally permitted.
Panel membership does not establish search compliance
Being eligible to act for Rooftop and satisfying its instructions on an individual file are separate questions.
For directory information, visit the Rooftop Mortgages conveyancing panel page on LENDERmonitor or the Rooftop panel search on LenderPanel.com. Confirm the firm’s status and authority for the particular matter directly.
Review historical instructions alongside the actual file
The Rooftop Mortgages lender archive provides access to dated lender-specific records. These should be considered alongside the applicable general instructions, mortgage offer and case correspondence.
An archive record helps establish what the lender instructed. It does not establish which search was obtained, whether the provider met the conditions or what advice the client received.
Our article on lender file requests and conveyancing audits explains why preserving that evidence matters.
Use the right instructions for the right date
For a live transaction, check the applicable lender instructions, mortgage offer and supplementary correspondence.
For an earlier transaction, check Rooftop’s historical lender record. For current Handbook access, consult the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook.
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