Kensington Mortgage Conveyancing Panel Information

The Law Society of Scotland has advised that solicitors should check their panel status with lenders prior to accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel. The suggestion 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 mumsnet.com

Lexsure only know of a couple of banks that operate a distinct conveyancing panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain threshold. You should nevertheless check directly with Kensington Mortgage. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with Kensington Mortgage

In the same way that there is a unique Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel most building societies, operate a conveyancing panel for solicitors and other conveyancers that the lender will instruct. Terms and Conditions and criteria for inclusion on a building society conveyancing panel vary from lender-to-lender. Having CQS accreditation may be a requirement. Institutional lenders, such as a building society, is a client and is entitled to instruct the solicitor or conveyancer of its choosing (who, in turn, is free to accept or refuse instructions). Therefore, if lender and borrower cannot agree which solicitor or conveyancer should represent them jointly, they would usually proceed on a separate representation basis. The BSA have not published the equivalent of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3s.

On the basis that your firm in is on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel and you are representing them in relation to a leasehold property, you must report to them if it becomes apparent that the landlord is either absent or insolvent. If Kensington Mortgage are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check Kensington Mortgage’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether Kensington Mortgage will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for Kensington Mortgage alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee landlord.

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 Kensington Mortgage solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You should contact Kensington Mortgage to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes a specific section for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Kensington Mortgage in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to disclose the firm’s Kensington Mortgage solicitors panel reference.