The Mortgage Works Conveyancing Panel Information

The CML do not retain data sets of P2 requirements pre-December 2010. The CML recommend you contact The Mortgage Works directly.

The CML is not a regulator and therefore do not advise on complaints against lenders. You can of course contact Lexsure to see if we can help.

The Law Society of Scotland has suggested that solicitors should check their panel status with lenders before accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the The Mortgage Works conveyancing panel. The suggestion 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 mumsnet.com

The Mortgage Works approved panel lawyers have to comply with the Part II instructions relating to Transfer of Equity. These are set out in Section 16.3. First, your firm must approve the form of Transfer of Equity (which should be in the Land Registry's standard form) and, if The Mortgage Works require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check The Mortgage Works CML Part 2 conditions to see if The Mortgage Works have standard forms of transfer and deed of covenant. Please note that this requirement can change from one transaction to another so do check! Second,When drafting or approving a transfer, you should bear in mind that: although the transfer should state that it is subject to the mortgage (identified by date and parties), it need give no details of the terms of the mortgage; the transfer need not state the amount of the mortgage debt. If it does, the figure should include both principal and interest at the date of completion, which you must check ; there should be no statement that all interest has been paid to date. Further obligations are set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook which have to be followed by all firms on the The Mortgage Works conveyancing panel

CQS membership gives 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 approved list of conveyancing solicitors. A number of mortgage companies now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel approval as is the case with Santander.

You would be advised to contact The Mortgage Works to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook has an express question for lenders to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. The Mortgage Works in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to disclose the firm’s The Mortgage Works solicitors panel number.