Discharging a Standard Security in Scotland after your mortgage has been repaid in full

Buying a property is a significant milestone in anyone’s life, however paying off your mortgage and owning the property outright is a great achievement. When you make your final mortgage payment there is a significant process you need to adhere to, ensuring that your property is no longer legally bound to your lender and it becomes truly yours.

Once you have made your final mortgage payment
Once you have paid off your mortgage, your lender should write to you to confirming your mortgage has been redeemed (ie repaid in full), and return the Title Deeds for your property to you if they hold them. However, it is always best for you to contact your lender to ensure that they will write to you confirming your mortgage has been repaid in full. Once you are in receipt of this written confirmation from your lender you can then start the process of having the mortgage, known as a Standard Security, discharged.

Obtain a Discharge document
Once you receive written confirmation from your lender that your mortgage has been redeemed you should contact your Solicitor who has the expertise to draft the Discharge document accurately, ensuring all necessary details are included. You will need to provide your Solicitor with the letter from your lender as this will provide your details including the mortgage account number.

Registration of Discharge
Your Discharge document needs to be registered with the Land Register of Scotland (known as Registers of Scotland), which is the public record of land ownership in Scotland. Registering the Discharge with Registers of Scotland confirms your status as the sole owner of the property, ensuring that there are no legal claims against your property due to the mortgage. To make sure everything is correct, your Solicitor should do this for you.

Pay the registration fee
Your Solicitor will advise of their fee for dealing with the Discharge formalities together with the fee due to the Registers of Scotland for discharging the Standard Security. The fee due to Registers of Scotland will differ depending on whether or not your lender allows for the Discharge to be dealt with electronically or in paper form. Your Solicitor will let you know the precise fee for all, request payment from you and handle the payment to Registers of Scotland on your behalf.

Receive confirmation
Once all fees are paid and the Discharge document registered, you will receive confirmation from your Solicitor that the Standard Security has been removed from your Title Deeds. This confirmation serves as proof that your mortgage has been discharged, you are the sole owner of the property without any encumbrances and marks the successful completion of the mortgage discharge process. This confirmation serves as irrefutable proof that your mortgage has been discharged, and you are the undisputed owner of the property. It is a document of immense value, one that you should keep in a secure location alongside other essential paperwork related to your property ownership.

Update your records
It may also be important for you to inform other parties, such as your insurance company, that you have paid off your mortgage as most lenders require to be named as an “interested party” on buildings insurance policies. Updating your insurance company will enable them to remove your lender’s details from your policy documents.

Discharging a mortgage in Scotland is a complex administrative process that is best handled by an experienced Solicitor who will ensure it is completed without mistakes and as quickly as possible so that you can enjoy your mortgage-fee status and outright ownership sooner.