Looking for information about your firm's panel status?
The Mortgage Business Conveyancing Panel: Recently Asked Questions
Can you recommend what we should do if we wish to challenge being removed from the
The Mortgage Business solicitor panel?
Should you firm be removed from the
The Mortgage Business conveyancing panel and you are unaware of or disagree with the reasons for your removal you should: (a) Contact
The Mortgage Business directly. (b) If there is an appeals process detailed on your letter you should follow the process.
In appealing a decision by The Mortgage Business, it may be useful to provide the following information:
- Full account of your firm’s transaction history
- A copy of your COMPLETIONmonitor reports if you use that service
- Your recent claims history
- comprehensive details of all staff in your practice and their position.
- Note down if a solicitor has been admitted to the role on completion of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test.
- Forward copy practising certificates, the firm's current professional indemnity policy and the firm’s accountant's certificate, summarising what % of the firm's gross fee income is resulting from residential conveyancing
On appeal some conveyancing firms have been able to regain membership to panels notwithstanding the policy by the respective lenders to refuse panel membership to firms with certain profiles or characteristics. Such an achievement is primarily due to the firms’ ability to persuade the lender to make an exception if there is sufficient evidence to reassure them that the firm has a healthy attitude towards risk mitigation.
Is it the case that the Law Society has recommended that firms check their status on the
The Mortgage Business conveyancing panel?
The Law Society of Scotland has advised 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
The Mortgage Business 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
Being on the The Mortgage Business conveyancing panel how long am I obliged to keep hold of the original conveyancing file?
The CML Part II requirements of
The Mortgage Business are silent on this. Most mortgage companies deal with the question of file retention via their Terms of panel appointment where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for at least of 6 years from the date of the mortgage. Data imagining is normally
suitable compliance with this requirement. Many lenders point out in
that it is the practice of some fraudsters to demand the conveyancing
file on completion in order to destroy evidence that may later be
used against them. It is therefore important to retain these
documents to protect The Mortgage Business’s interest. To be
absolutely sure of The Mortgage Business requirements in this regard
please check the Terms and Conditions of The Mortgage Business’s
conveyancing panel appointment.
A recent SRA survey reveals that 76% of
solicitors have been removed from a lender conveyancing panel. The Mortgage Business and other lenders have restricted their panel over
the years. Why?
In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as The Mortgage Business
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.
The Mortgage Business 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.
Do banks such as
The Mortgage Business run detached conveyancing panel for buy to let mortgages?
Most lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with
The Mortgage Business as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from
The Mortgage Business we suggest that you call
The Mortgage Business to check the position.
JLT’s PI Insurance renewal form enquires if my firm had been excluded from any lender panels in the last year.
I recently found out that the firm is no longer on the
The Mortgage Business conveyancing panel? Is this likely to effect my PII cover?
The best placed professionals to answer this question are your insurance brokers.
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 The Mortgage Business solicitor panel
membership. Please remember that it is always important that you
complete your insurance forms accurately.
Our practice is on the
The Mortgage Business
conveyancing panel and all set to complete a purchase within the next week. I dont have a Legal Charge for the client to sign.
Who do I contact at The Mortgage Business to obtain duplicate documents?
You should communicate with The Mortgage Business
to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook incorporates an explicit question for lenders to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents.
The Mortgage Business in their Part 2’s state:
Don’t forget to disclose the firm’s The Mortgage Business solicitors panel number.
Find a Lawyer on the The Mortgage Business Solicitor Panel
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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of The Mortgage Business
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
Other related topics:
- CQS policy templates and procedures for accredited The Mortgage Business Firms
- Draft Report on Title precedent for The Mortgage Business borrowers
- Draft Anti Money Laundering PolicyTemplate for The Mortgage Business panel firms to consider
- Dealing with Lender Policy Template panel for CQS accredited firms on the The Mortgage Business lender panel
- Buy-to-Let help for The Mortgage Business
- Consent-to-Let help for The Mortgage Business
- Contractor Mortgages with The Mortgage Business
