Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Information

The information on this page is designed to keep solicitors and licensed conveyancers abreast of latest requirements changes by Astra Mortgages and to assist in remaining on the Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Panel.

Looking for information about your firm's panel status?

How does my firm apply to be on the Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Panel?

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How can my firm be reinstated onto the Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Panel?

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Astra Mortgages Solicitor Panel Information:

What are the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel criteria?

Unlike the CML the Building Society Mortgage Instructions deal with this. Section A.12 states ‘In order to act on our behalf your firm or company must be a member of our conveyancing panel provided we are a society that operates one – see specific requirements for details of our arrangements. The Special Requirements state:

To be a member of our conveyancing panel you must be CQS accredited, must have submitted an application form, be registered on www.lawsociety.org, produced your current Practising Certificate together with evidence of professional indemnity insurance cover for a minimum of £2m (£3m if the firm is a Limited Liability Partnership or a company). Any panel application is subject to individual assessment and approval.

You must also comply with the terms and conditions of your Astra Mortgages solicitor panel appointment.

Can a practice submit a complaint to the BSA about being removed excluded suspended from the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel?

The BSA is not a regulator and therefore will not advise on grievances against lenders. You can of course contact Lexsure to see if we can assist.

Being on the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel how long am I expected to keep hold of the complete conveyancing file?

The BSA Mortgage Instructions state that the firm must keep the file for a minimum six years from the date of the mortgage. Data imaging is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. As a firm on the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel you must allow Astra Mortgages to conduct such reasonable audit of your information security measures as Astra Mortgages or their agents may to ensure your compliance with your file retention obligations.

What information is available via COMPLETIONmonitor to assist my application to be on the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel?

There are many reports available but examples include:

Average time frame to register charges at the Land Registry
Average time frame to send deeds to the lender (calculated from completion date or title registration)
Number of conveyancing cases by lender
The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale)
Average mortgage advance
Buy to Let transactions
Notification to Lender analysis indicating frequency and nature of disclosures - to include benchmarking analysis against aggregate data
Evidence of undertaking logs
Current and historic missed priority dates
Analysis as to the nature of clients (e.g. existing client )

Are there conditions, outside the BSA Mortgage Instructions, that a firm should be aware of when on the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel?

In order to be on the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitors have to complete an application form and agree Terms and Conditions. A sample of 5 conditions that we see amongst many lenders Terms (but not necessarily Astra Mortgages) are as follows:

To notify us in writing of any change in your details as held on our records for example, change of address, telephone number, document exchange number email address. Notification must be given to us at least 10 days before the change will be effective.
That any deeds you borrow from us in connection with the personal mortgage of a partner or director at your firm must be requested by a partner or director other than the partner or director concerned and the transaction must be handled by that other partner or director. If you are a sole practitioner and require the loan of deeds in connection with your own mortgage, you must nominate a different firm on our panel to request the deeds and handle the transaction.
Without prejudice to your obligation to comply in full with the Safeguards provisions in the BSA Lenders’ Handbook, to report to us as soon as possible any suspicion that you have about the genuineness of any transaction in any respect.
To be responsible for the reconstitution of the title deeds (whether the title is registered or unregistered, at your own cost), where any deeds in your possession, or were last known to be in your possession, go missing.
To quote on all communications with us relating to registration issues, whether by telephone or in writing, the panel number that we provide for each practising address and the mortgage account or application number for the mortgage concerned.

Do publish figures exists regarding the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel size as well as the number of conveyancing firms dismissed each quarter?

With banks and conveyancers working so closely with one another it is surprising that there has not been greater demand for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel but for all lender panel listings

Can the BSA assist me in an appeal having not been accepted onto the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel?

If you have not been accepted or indeed been removed from the Astra Mortgages conveyancing panel then the BSA will not have any part to play in influencing Astra Mortgages in changing their mind. Please contact us here at Lexsure so that we can put you in touch with a consultant who may be able to assist. At the very least it’s worth a call to us.

What lender panels do you receive the most questions about?

BSA lenders do not come within the top 20 lenders in terms of frequency of questions. The most popular lender panels in terms of questions are as follows:

Find a Lawyer on the Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Panel

Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Astra Mortgages

This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.

Year	Days*
2025	[no data]
2024	[no data]
2023	[no data]
2022	[no data]
2021	[no data]
2020	[no data]

* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor

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Please note that Lexsure Ltd is in no way associated with nor affiliated with Lexsure Solicitors