Lender Panel Conveyancing Solicitors in London
We’re approved by 25+ UK mortgage lenders, including HSBC UK, Nationwide, Santander, Barclays and NatWest.
Check the list below, or call us to confirm in writing before you instruct anyone.
Adam Bernard Solicitors is a CQS-accredited conveyancing firm on the approved solicitor panels of more than 25 UK mortgage lenders. These include HSBC UK, Nationwide, Santander, Barclays, NatWest and Virgin Money. Because we are on your lender’s panel, we can act for you and your mortgage lender at the same time. You get one set of legal fees, one point of contact and fewer delays.
Whether you are buying your first home, moving, remortgaging, transferring equity or buying to let, check the lender list below. If your lender isn’t there, speak to us before you instruct anyone. Choosing a solicitor who isn’t on your lender’s panel is one of the most common and avoidable causes of extra cost and missed completion dates.
Mortgage Lenders We Act For
Below are the lenders whose conveyancing panels we are currently on, grouped by type of lender. Lenders review their panels regularly, so please confirm your lender with our team when you get a quote. We will confirm our panel status in writing before you instruct us.
High street banks
| Lender | Typical mortgages |
|---|---|
| Barclays | Residential, first-time buyer, remortgage |
| HSBC UK | Residential, first-time buyer, remortgage, buy to let |
| NatWest | Residential, first-time buyer, remortgage, buy to let |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Residential, remortgage |
| Santander | Residential, first-time buyer, remortgage |
| Virgin Money | Residential, remortgage, buy to let |
| Clydesdale Bank (Virgin Money UK group) | Residential, remortgage |
| Bank of Ireland UK | Residential, buy to let (mainly via brokers) |
Building societies
| Lender | Typical mortgages |
|---|---|
| Nationwide Building Society | Residential, first-time buyer, remortgage |
| Yorkshire Building Society | Residential, first-time buyer, shared ownership |
| Chelsea Building Society | Residential, remortgage, buy to let |
| Accord Mortgages (Yorkshire BS broker brand) | Residential, first-time buyer, buy to let |
| Principality Building Society | Residential, buy to let |
| Suffolk Building Society (formerly Ipswich BS) | Residential, specialist and later-life lending |
| Saffron Building Society | Residential, self-build, later-life |
| Bath Building Society | Residential, specialist and later-life lending |
| The Loughborough Building Society | Residential, specialist lending |
Buy-to-let and specialist lenders
| Lender | Typical mortgages |
|---|---|
| The Mortgage Works (Nationwide) | Buy to let, portfolio landlords |
| Kent Reliance | Buy to let, limited company, HMO |
| Precise Mortgages | Buy to let, specialist residential |
| Aldermore | Residential, buy to let, self-employed |
| Foundation Home Loans | Buy to let, limited company, HMO |
| Keystone Property Finance | Buy to let, limited company, HMO |
| Pepper Money | Specialist residential, buy to let |
| Zephyr Homeloans | Buy to let, limited company |
| CHL Mortgages | Buy to let, limited company |
| Perenna Bank | Long-term fixed-rate residential |
| April Mortgages | Long-term fixed-rate residential |
Government schemes
| Scheme | What we do |
|---|---|
| Help to Buy: ISA | We are registered to claim your 25% government bonus as part of your purchase |
Solicitors on the HSBC, Nationwide, Santander and Barclays panels
If you have a mortgage offer from HSBC UK, Nationwide, Santander, Barclays, NatWest or Virgin Money, our conveyancing team can act for both you and your lender on a single instruction. These high street lenders fund the largest share of purchases and remortgages in London. They all require their panel firms to meet strict standards on identity checks, anti-money-laundering, title investigation and the security of client funds. Our Law Society CQS accreditation is one of the standards these lenders look for.
Lender not listed?
If your mortgage lender isn’t listed above, call us before you instruct another firm. Panels change often and we may already be in the process of joining your lender’s panel. If we can’t act for your lender, we’ll say so upfront. We can then explain how separate representation would work in your case and what it would cost, so you can decide with the full picture.
What Is a Lender Panel?
A lender panel is a mortgage lender’s list of approved solicitors and licensed conveyancers who are allowed to act for it when it lends money secured on a property. When you buy or remortgage with a mortgage, the conveyancer usually acts for two clients: you and your lender. The lender will only let a firm it has vetted and approved handle its money and register its legal charge.
To join and stay on a panel, a firm usually has to meet the lender’s requirements on:
- Regulation and accreditation. For example, SRA regulation and Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation.
- Professional indemnity insurance at the level the lender requires.
- Number and experience of qualified staff supervising conveyancing work.
- Anti-money-laundering, identity and fraud controls.
- Compliance with the lender’s instructions. For most lenders these are set out in the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook. Many building societies use the BSA Mortgage Instructions instead.
For a step-by-step look at what your conveyancing solicitor checks for your lender, see our guide.
Many lenders run their panels through panel-management companies. They review member firms regularly and can remove a firm at short notice. That’s why you should confirm panel status for your specific lender at the start of your transaction.
Why Your Solicitor Needs to Be on Your Lender’s Panel
If your solicitor is on your lender’s panel, one firm handles the legal work for both you and the lender. That keeps costs down and the transaction moving. In practice this means:
- One legal fee. You don’t pay for a second firm to protect the lender.
- Faster progress. Your solicitor can send the Certificate of Title and request mortgage funds directly, with no back-and-forth between two firms.
- A lower risk of missing completion dates. This matters when you’re in a chain or your mortgage offer is close to expiring.
- One point of contact for enquiries, searches, the mortgage offer and completion.
What Happens If Your Solicitor Is Not on the Lender’s Panel?
If your solicitor isn’t on your lender’s panel, the lender will usually instruct its own solicitor to act for it. This is called separate representation, and you normally pay that firm’s fees on top of your own. The consequences can include:
- Extra legal costs. Often several hundred pounds plus VAT, depending on the lender and the property.
- Delays. Two firms have to agree on the title, the mortgage conditions and the release of funds. This commonly adds days or weeks, and a chain can’t always absorb that.
- Mortgage offer expiry. A delayed transaction can run past the date your offer expires, meaning a new application.
- Having to switch solicitors mid-transaction. You may pay abortive costs to the first firm.
Some lenders won’t allow separate representation at all. If yours doesn’t, you’d have to move to a panel firm. Checking panel status before you instruct a solicitor avoids all of this.
How to Check If a Solicitor Is on Your Lender’s Panel
The quickest way to check is to ask the solicitor for written confirmation that they’re on your specific lender’s panel, and to check with your mortgage broker or lender. Follow these steps:
- Check the firm’s lender list. Our list is above. Treat any list as a starting point, not a guarantee.
- Ask for written confirmation that the firm, and the office handling your matter, is on your lender’s panel for your type of mortgage (residential or buy to let).
- Ask your broker or lender. Brokers can check panel status quickly through lender systems.
- Check the firm’s regulation. Confirm the solicitor is listed on the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor directory and is regulated by the SRA.
- Check for CQS accreditation. Most high street lenders require it for residential conveyancing.
Adam Bernard Solicitors confirms panel status in writing in every conveyancing quote.
Conveyancing Services We Provide With Panel Lenders
We act for borrowers and their lenders across the full range of residential property work:
- Buying a property. Purchase conveyancing for first-time buyers, home movers and investors, including London leasehold flats.
- Selling a property. Including redeeming your existing mortgage on completion.
- Remortgaging. Switching lender or releasing equity, with the new lender’s legal work done under one instruction. See our guide: Buying or remortgaging a property?
- Transfer of equity. Adding or removing a person from the title where the property is mortgaged. This needs the lender’s consent.
- Shared ownership purchases. Including lenders that specialise in shared ownership.
- Buy-to-let and limited company purchases, with specialist lenders such as The Mortgage Works, Kent Reliance, Precise Mortgages and Foundation Home Loans.
- Help to Buy: ISA bonus claims. We claim your 25% government bonus as part of your purchase. The bonus must be claimed by 1 December 2030.
- Independent legal advice for guarantors and anyone else lenders require to take independent advice.
For an overview of all our property work, see our conveyancing solicitors in London page.
From Mortgage Offer to Completion: How We Work With Your Lender
When we act for you and your lender, our job is to protect both of you: you get good title to the property, and your lender gets valid, registered security. The main steps are:
- Receiving the mortgage offer and lender instructions. We check the conditions in your offer, such as retentions, valuation conditions and special conditions, and explain anything that affects you.
- Title and searches. We investigate title, raise enquiries and review searches against the lender’s requirements, including lease terms for flats.
- Reporting to you. We explain the property’s legal position and your mortgage obligations before you sign.
- Report on title / Certificate of Title. We certify to the lender that its conditions have been met and request the mortgage funds before completion.
- Exchange and completion. We exchange contracts, receive the mortgage advance and complete. We also pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax due.
- Registration. We register your ownership and the lender’s charge at HM Land Registry.
Why Choose Adam Bernard Solicitors for Your Mortgage Conveyancing?
- On 25+ lender panels, including the major high street banks, building societies and buy-to-let lenders.
- CQS-accredited by the Law Society for residential conveyancing.
- SRA-regulated solicitors listed on the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor directory.
- 15 years in practice and more than 15,000 clients across our legal services.
- Two London offices: High Holborn (Central London) and Upton Park (East London), plus remote conveyancing for clients anywhere in England and Wales.
- Free initial consultation by phone, Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp or Skype.
- Written panel confirmation before you instruct us, so there are no surprise separate-representation fees.
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