Newcastle Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

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

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Newcastle Building Society Solicitor Panel Information:

What are the Newcastle Building Society 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:

The Society outsources management of its conveyancing panel to Legal Marketing Services Limited (“LMS”).

Firms may apply for inclusion to the Society’s conveyancing panel by visiting www.lms.com/lenderpanels

You must also comply with the terms and conditions of your Newcastle Building Society solicitor panel appointment.

Are the BSA planning on creating a search tool with a view to to identify solicitors on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel ?

We have not been informed any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility .

Am I obliged, being on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel, to carry out a flood search?

Newcastle Building Society make no specific obligation to carry out any of the searches listed. The BSA Mortgage Instructions simply states that ‘you must ensure that any other searches which may be appropriate to the particular property, taking into account its locality and other features are carried out’.

Remember that most ‘less usual searches’ (as described in the Law Society’s Conveyancing Handbook) are not optional as far as Newcastle Building Society are concerned if they are ‘appropriate’. Most lenders will not require environmental searches (you should Check the Newcastle Building Society Specific Requirements of BSA Handbook to be sure), but you are obliged to explain risks and availability to the borrower.

Ground stability, Plansearch,flood searches as well as the searches listed in the question are optional – but only to the extent that you have allowed the borrower client to make an informed choice. Regardless of whether there is a mortgage, If you have not advised the client that these (and other) searches are available and what risks they cover, then you will be liable if the client suffers loss through not conducting one.

An established client of mine is looking to acquire a semi detached house for £740k in Cheshire with a mortgage over GBP 415k. I am on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel but do Newcastle Building Society have a separate approved panel when the advance is above 300,000?

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 Newcastle Building Society. 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 Newcastle Building Society

What sort of information are Lenders such as Newcastle Building Society are asking for when it comes to applying to be on their approved solicitor list?

Each lender has different criteria. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

SRA or equivalent regulator registration number where applicable
Firm name, address and contact details including all branches (including evidence of existence through risk-based physical visits and Google Streetview checks)
Full disciplinary history for each conveyancing solicitor
Full complaints history for each licensed conveyancer
Conveyancer client account(s) details
The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing purchase and remortgage
Full disciplinary history for each licensed conveyancer
Whether the firm is able to operate in other jurisdictions
Structure of firm and, where applicable, its group
Full complaints history for each conveyancing solicitor

A recent SRA survey reveals that three quarters of solicitors have been removed or threatened with removal from a lender conveyancing panel. Newcastle Building Society and other building societies have restricted their panel over the years. Why?

The feeling from lenders generally (we can not speak for Newcastle Building Society specifically), is that for too long solicitors have concentrated on their duty of care to their purchasing client, and have paid scant attention to the duty they owe to the lender, whom they conveniently forget is also their client.

Looking from the lenders’ perspective, it has to be said that there are pressures to encourage smaller panels. The Financial Services Authority regards the open panel system as a major contributor to mortgage fraud and negligence cases, and has been leaning on lenders to move to proactive panel management, which is more expensive the larger the panel. Hence it is becoming more common for lenders to charge fees, and/or require extensive form-filling, from would-be panel members

Newcastle Building Society and other BSA lenders are in varying stages of reviewing their approach to vetting firms on their conveyancing panels, to ensure their ongoing exposure to unsuitable firms is reduced.

My firm is on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel. I am dealing with Newcastle Building Society mortgage on a purchase. My borrower client is asking not to disclose an issue to Newcastle Building Society. What do I do in this conflict situation?

When a solicitor is acting for both Newcastle Building Society and borrower there is potential for conflicts to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information received by you from your client is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the client’s consent.

In your situation, if the purchaser will not consent to the information being passed on to the lender, the solicitor must cease to act for Newcastle Building Society and it may well be prudent for you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You must not inform Newcastle Building Society of the reason for termination of the retainer over and above the fact that a conflict has arisen. The fact that you can no longer act should alert even the most somnambulistic of lenders that something is wrong with the borrower and/or purchase. The fact that you have disinstructed yourself should not affect your Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel status.

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 Newcastle Building Society Solicitors Panel

Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Newcastle Building Society

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

Find solicitors on the Newcastle Building Society panel near you:

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