Chelsea Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

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

Chelsea Building Society Conveyancing Panel: Recently Asked Questions

Is there a standard appeals process to prevent solicitors from being unfairly removed them from lender conveyancing panels?
We have come across many solicitors who feel they have been removed from lenders’ panels without an explanation or a good reason. It is highly unlikely, given that lenders have distanced themselves from creating a standardised appeals process for brokers, that an appeals process will be introduced for lawyers. Commenting on the call by brokers to have a standardised process the CML said’ “While we understand that some lenders do have an appeals process, it would not be appropriate for a trade body such as the CML to seek to be prescriptive about such a process.” Some lenders do of course set out an appeals policy. The Law Society does have information on it’s site that may be of assistance. If you would like to talk to one of our compliance experts about our Lender Panel Protection Service please complete the form here.

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Is it the case that the Law Society has advised that firms check their status on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel?
The Law Society of Scotland has suggested that solicitors should check their lender panel status before accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel. The recommendation arises from the practice of a number of mortgage lenders who remove solicitors from their panels without prior notice as part of their panel management system, which can lead to some solicitors discovering this only once instructed. This is sensible advice as a client finding out midway through a transaction that their lawyer is not on the approved lender panel is very frustrating and can lead to complaints. Many online consumer forums contain posts where someone is complaining about finding that their lawyer is not on a lender conveyancing panel. Such forums include moneysavingexpert.com
Can you give me an example of some of the reports available via COMPLETIONmonitor to support my appeal to be reinstated on the Chelsea Building Society solicitor panel?
There are many reports available, five of which are as follows:
  • Average time frame to register charges at the Land Registry
  • The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale/purchase and remortgage)
  • Disclosure/Notification to Lender analysis indicating frequency and nature of disclosures - to include benchmarking analysis against aggregate data
  • Analysis as to the nature of clients (e.g.existing/new/seen in person)
  • Average mortgage advance
My PI renewal application this year contained the following question: ‘Has your Firm been asked by a lender to agree to more onerous terms and conditions than provided for in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook?’ My firm is on a number of approved panels including the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel. We have Terms and Conditions of appointment which we have to follow. Am I supposed to mention these Conditions ?
The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations. You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Conditions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before completing the answer.
Marsh’s PI Insurance renewal form asks if my firm had been removed off any bank panels in the last year. I just discovered that the firm is no longer on the Chelsea Building Society solicitor panel? Is this likely to effect my insurance?
Your insurance brokers are your best port of call to address this question. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Chelsea Building Society solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.
My firm is listed on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel and due to complete a remortgage shortly. My papers do not include a Legal Charge for the client to execute. Who do I contact at Chelsea Building Society to request substitute deeds?
You need to get in touch with Chelsea Building Society to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an individual section for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Chelsea Building Society in their Part 2’s state:
It is likely that you will need to quote your Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel reference.

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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Chelsea Building Society
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
YearDays*
2024 [no data]
2023 [no data]
2022 [no data]
2021 [no data]
2020 [no data]
2019 [no data]
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor