Adam & Company Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for residential conveyancing lawyers. Supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and professional indemnity insures. It is a unique risk mitigation tool.

This system assists the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their requirements, with alerts on Adam & Company’s changes. While utilising the tool is not a condition for acceptance on the Adam & Company panel, demonstrating you can stay up to date with Adam & Company’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your application to their lender panel and, more importantly, protect your panel standing.

COMPLETIONmonitor generates real-time alerts, automatically produces regulatory and CQS reports, and will increase your firm's efficiency. It is also simply to use, cost-effective and, for many firms, leads to reduced PII premiums.

Find a Law Firm approved by Adam & Company

Mortgage companies frequently change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Adam & Company are not guidelines, they are instructions from a client. As with many clients, instructions can change - and they do change, over time:

A Timeline of Policy Changes


Since 2008, Adam & Company has made 219 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 12.5 days. In total, 61% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Adam & Company have been changed since 15/12/2008.

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
5.5.1a 01/12/2014 CML
requirements in terms of time for planning consents
6.14.1a 01/12/2014 CML
contact point if property is not insured in accordance with lender requirement
6.14.2 01/12/2014 CML
requirement that all insurance risks are included
10.7 14/01/2011 CML
Mortgage Advance and Certificate of Title
In the event of a delayed completion, when and how is advance to be returned to Adam & Company by the approved lawyer?
12.3.1 14/01/2011 CML
Instalment Mortgages
Do Adam & Company have a specific contact point for their approved lawyer for release of retentions/mortgage advance instalments?
16.4.1 14/01/2011 CML
Consent to Let
Contact details at Adam & Company for consent to let.
16.5.3b 14/01/2011 CML
Deed of Rectification
Where do solicitors and conveyancers send the deed of rectification in relation to Adam & Company mortgages ?
3.2.4 14/01/2011 CML
Sellers not having Legal Representation
Contact details at Adam & Company for approved lawyers to used where Adam & Company needs to be notified when the seller does not have legal representation.
4.5a 14/01/2011 CML
Mortagge valuation - Reinspections
Contact details at Adam & Company for approved lawyers where re-inspection required
5.14.9 14/01/2011 CML
Leasehold Conveyancing
Contact details at Adam & Company for approved lawyers for matters relating to the lease.

Last update 13/07/2019

Adam & Company Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public

Can you please explain the reason why all property lawyers are not on the Adam & Company Conveyancing panel?
Lenders point to the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud every year. The removal of law firms off of lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its outcome included recommendations for lenders to review their conveyancing panels, which kicked off a major policy change in the sector. It led to banks and building societies purging less reputable firms off their books
Our lawyer has discovered a problem with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing. The other side have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer has advised that as he is on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is Adam & Company?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and Adam & Company are the client. A precondition to being on the Adam & Company approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Adam & Company). The CML Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that Adam & Company 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.
Your search tool is useful but there are many lawyers listed near Manchester on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a specific firm on the Adam & Company approved panel?
We are not in the business of recommending one firm above another as the right firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with local knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. We recommend that you speak to 3 or 4 lawyers listed before you make your choice..
I would like to get my ex-husband taken off the mortgage deeds. Can Adam & Company really insist on which solicitor I can or can not retain?
You can use any solicitor you like but Adam & Company then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the Adam & Company solicitors panel
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Do the majority of banks operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Adam & Company conveyancing panel requirements are different to Adam & Company’s conveyancing panel criteria.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having checked that they are on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property? Or I've digested plenty of mortgage guides,I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Adam & Company will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Adam & Company will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller. or Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Adam & Company you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.