Do I need a solicitor for a bridging loan?

Do I need a solicitor for a bridging loan?

In most cases yes. Bridging is secured lending, so the lender's solicitor must verify title, check charges and restrictions, review leases where relevant, and register the legal charge, while a borrower solicitor acts in the borrower's interest. On purchases, auctions, land, commercial property, and complex cases, both are effectively mandatory. The limited exception is a straightforward refinance, where some lenders allow the borrower to proceed without their own solicitor if title is clean, ownership is unchanged, and the borrower formally waives independent legal advice, though independent advice remains recommended, and some lenders require a certificate of it wherever companies, SPVs, multiple securities, or personal guarantees are involved.