Residential conveyancing and the Code for Completion

I am acting for the buyer in a residential conveyancing matter. Contracts have not yet been exchanged. The seller’s solicitor is not located in the same locality as my firm and I am hoping that he will agree to complete by post and adopt the Law Society’s Code for Completion by Post. Can I insist that he do so and at what stage should I make the proposal?

Arrangements for completion may be set out in the draft contract.

In the absence of any specific contractual provision the seller’s solicitor is not obliged to adopt the Law Society’s Code for Completion by Post, although its use would be recommended in these circumstances.

It is therefore advisable to approach the seller’s solicitor on this matter as early as possible in the transaction, perhaps raising this as a preliminary enquiry, but at the latest at Requisitions on Title stage.

Furthermore it is courteous to do so because the seller’s solicitor may need to obtain the consent of his client’s lender’s solicitors to this arrangement.

Variations of the Code should be agreed in writing between the solicitors well in advance of completion.
For further guidance see The Law Society’s Conveyancing Handbook 17th edition available from The Law Society’s bookshop.