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 Conveyancing Panel Assistance:

What are the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel arrangements?

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 Newcastle Building Society Conveyancing panel lawyers exposed to the possibility of the society amending or withdrawing the mortgage?

Newcastle Building Society addresses this at section B.3 of their BSA specific requirements which states:

• Where there is: -

o A cashback;

o An incentive;

o An indirect incentive;

o Where the sale is not at arms length for value to unconnected persons.

o Where there is a restriction or a right of pre-emption which is not at market value

o Where the Society‘s right to possession is fettered in some way.

o If we reasonably suspect that the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor is involved in any criminal or fraudulent activity, including trading in illegal drugs or other substances, theft, robbery, deception or other serious offences, or if the applicant borrower, mortgagor or guarantor has a conviction for any serious criminal offence, including theft, deception, fraud, robbery or trade in illegal drugs or other substances;

o If we reasonably believe that the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor is insolvent or is about to become insolvent or has or will have a petition presented or if any one or all enter into any arrangement with their creditors generally or if any one or all should suffer a material change in their financial circumstances.

o If the mortgage transaction does not complete within 3 months of the date of the offer.

o If the solicitor acting for the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor cannot comply with our instructions.

o If there is a material change in the circumstances of the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor between issue of the offer and prior to completion.

o If any of the terms of the mortgage offer cannot be satisfied.

o If for any reason an insurer is not prepared to agree satisfactory building insurance for the property being charged as security.

o If we have doubts about the effectiveness of the valuation as a result of subsequent events or information received post valuation but pre completion.

In the first instance you must notify the Mortgage Operations Department, Newcastle Building Society, 1 Cobalt Park Way, Wallsend, NE28 9EJ and await further instructions before doing anything further on the file.

Is it true that the Law Society has recommended that firms check their status on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel?

The Scottish Law Society has suggested that solicitors should check their lender panel status prior to accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the Newcastle 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

A long standing client of my firm is purchasing a new build house for £740k in Kenton with a mortgage over GBP 525k. 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?

We only know of two or three lenders that operate a separate approved solicitors panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain amount. 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

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

In order to be on the Newcastle Building Society 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 Newcastle Building Society) are as follows:

If you are a sole practitioner, to arrange for appropriate locum cover from our panel where necessary. Your locum must be a member of the Conveyancing panel.
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 carry out our instructions with reasonable care and skill, ensuring that all employees carrying out mortgage work on our behalf are qualified and competent to do so
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.
To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds.)

I rarely receive a copy of a valuation from a lender these days. Do my Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel obligations extend to checking the valuation details where I am acting on a purchase with Newcastle Building Society as the Mortgagee?

There are various requirements are to be followed if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the BSA Mortgage Instructions. (a) You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as compared to their old address.

Does Conveyancing Quality Scheme acceptance guarantee my firm’s acceptance on to building society conveyancing panels?

The Law Society’s CQS membership is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the BSA have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels. A number of mortgage companies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel acceptance such as Santander .

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*
2026	[no data]
2025	[no data]
2024	[no data]
2023	[no data]
2022	[no data]
2021	[no data]

* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor

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