My husband and I are planning to acquire a house in Stoke Newington and are in fact using a Stoke Newington conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nationwide Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Stoke Newington lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Stoke Newington lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We see that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for our own conveyancing in Stoke Newington?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Stoke Newington.
I have 70 years unexpired on my lease and require a lease extension for my flat in Stoke Newington. Conveyancing solicitors on the Accord Mortgages panel can deal with such extensions right?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 15/4/2026 the requirements read as follows :
I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Stoke Newington. I have land on a web site which appears to be the ideal offering If it is possible to get all the legals done via web that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Stoke Newington. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am the registered owner of a two-bedroom flat in Stoke Newington. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Stoke Newington conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Stoke Newington property is Lower Flat 16A Beatty Road in September 2012. The premium payable was £13,577. The terms of the lease has been agreed between the Applicants and the First Respondent and the Tribunal did not seek to disturb that agreement. This case was in relation to 1 flat.
Our conveyancer in Stoke Newington has discovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying in Stoke Newington. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the lender conveyancing panel he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. A precondition to being on the lender approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.