Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Conveyancing Panel Information

The information on this page is designed to keep solicitors and licensed conveyancers abreast of latest requirements changes by Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One and to assist in remaining on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Conveyancing Panel.

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How does my firm apply to be on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Conveyancing Panel?

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How can my firm be reinstated onto the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Conveyancing Panel?

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Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Solicitor Panel: Recently Asked Questions

Can my practice register a complaint to the CML about being removed from the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders is an association rather than a regulator and therefore cannot advise on grievances against lenders. You can of course contact Lexsure to see if we can help.

Is there a standard appeals process to prevent solicitors from being unfairly removed them from lender conveyancing panels?

There are thousands of firms across the UK who feel aggrieved claiming that 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 contact us.

A recent SRA survey reveals that 76% of solicitors have been removed from a lender conveyancing panel. Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One and other lenders have restricted their panel over the years. Why?

In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One face a number of fraud and negligence risks. While there is no authoritative source of data on lender exposure to solicitor–led mortgage fraud, anecdotal evidence from lenders indicates exposure on individual cases are often in the millions of pounds. The National Fraud Authority estimates that £1bn per year is lost in mortgage -related frauds in total, which is seen as a conservative estimate.

These risks are exacerbated by the lack of a comprehensive set of data on all conveyancing firms (which, for the avoidance of doubt, would include solicitors and conveyancers across the UK) which is in a readily accessible format. Currently, lenders vet the suitability of their panel firms against a variety of disparate, incomplete and potentially inaccurate sets of information. One top 5 lender pointed out to us that it is almost impossible to track individual fraudsters who move from firm to firm, especially where they are no longer registered or no longer hold a valid practicing certificate.

Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One and other 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. There is also regulatory impetus on lenders to ensure that they have satisfactory oversight of their third party panels, including a due-diligence process.

I understand that Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One could request or audit my files as I am on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel. What do I do if I receive such a request?

We can't comment specifically on Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One. Many major lenders are now introducing ‘file auditing’ as standard practice in relation to completed matters. This raises questions of confidentiality in relation to the buyer client and the purpose to which the results of such audits will be put. The starting point is to remember that the file does not belong to your firm, it belongs to the ‘client’. But, of course, we will normally have two clients – the buyer and the lender - and you will owe a duty of confidentiality to each. So basically, you have to separate the file and just send the lender the parts solely relating to themselves. But, of course, as this will basically be correspondence with the lender, mortgage instructions etc.

Check with your COLP but a firm should not send the complete conveyancing file without the buyer client’s express consent – and if he is in arrears with the lender he is hardly likely to agree. However, if the lender can establish a prima facie case of fraud, then you may be under an obligation to disclose the whole file.

The emerging convention is that lenders are including an authority to disclose in loan application forms to counter this problem. Mortgage Express v Sawali, [2010] EWHC 3054 (Ch) indicates that such provisions are valid. Please click here for more information about that case.

What type of firms do building societies include on their Conveyancing Panels?

In the same way that there is a unique Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One 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.

If my application is successful will Conveyancing Quality Scheme membership secure my firm’s acceptance on to lenders conveyancing panels?

The Law Society’s CQS membership is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their panels. A number of Lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership as is the case with HSBC.

My firm is listed on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel and due to complete a remortgage within the next week. My papers do not include a Legal Charge for the client to execute. Who do I contact at Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One to get a duplicate Deed?

You need to contact Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains a specific question for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One in their Part 2’s state:

It is likely that you will need to disclose your Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel reference.

Find a Lawyer on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Conveyancing Panel

Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One

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