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Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Looking for information about your firm's panel status?

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How can my firm apply to be on the Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status
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How can my firm be reinstated onto the Astra Mortgages Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for residential conveyancing lawyers. It is supported by PI insurers. It is a unique risk management tool.

This system assists the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their instructions, with automatic updates on Astra Mortgages’s changes. Even though utilising the software is not a condition for acceptance on the Astra Mortgages panel, demonstrating you can remain up to date with Astra Mortgages’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your panel application and, more importantly, protect your panel status.

The system generates real-time alerts, automatically produces regulatory and CQS reports, and will improve your firm's efficiency. In addition it is user friendly, cost-effective and, for many firms, leads to a PII saving.

Find a Law Firm approved by Astra Mortgages

Lenders frequently change their requirements. The BSA instructions from Astra Mortgages 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 2010, Astra Mortgages has made 61 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the BSA Requirements.
That equates to a section change every 44.8 days. In total, 49% of the sections of the BSA Requirements for Astra Mortgages have been changed since 26/1/2010.

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FAQs for the ASTRA mortgages Conveyancing Panel from members of the public

On what basis would a firm of solicitors be removed from the ASTRA mortgages solicitor panel?
According to a recent survey report by the solicitors regulator three quarters of solicitor practices had been excluded from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
  1. lack of transactions
  2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
  3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction
  4. regulatory contact by SRA
  5. accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by ASTRA mortgages
Can you help?. My lawyer is not to blame but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from ASTRA mortgages was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 10 days inc Day of week eg. Mon. My solicitor informs me that as she is on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer acceptable to the lender.
One of the many conditions to being on the ASTRA mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on ASTRA mortgages)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than half a year old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to ASTRA mortgages.
Do I have to visit the offices of the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Leeds so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
As opposed to 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Leeds .
I was scheduled to move into my first house two days ago. My solicitor is on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel but has changed address 8 weeks ago and had not advised ASTRA mortgages of their new address. ASTRA mortgages is now refusing to release my funds as the information from the solicitors isn't correct.
This is a rare situation indeed. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local ASTRA mortgages branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can assist.
Do the majority of lenders 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 ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel requirements are different to ASTRA mortgages’s conveyancing panel requirements.
I have agreed a price on a apartment I spoke to a conveyancer recommended by my uncle and he recommended instructing a solicitor approved by ASTRA mortgages. The estate agent recommended two local firms so I asked ASTRA mortgages if the 2 suggested solicitors are approved, which they are not. ASTRA mortgages pointed out that either practice can fill out the appropriate forms to become approved. Do I (1) save myself the aggravation and use one of ASTRA mortgages 's conveyancing panel solicitors (2) Use the local solicitor and accept there may be delays etc as they go through the approval process.
Enquire of ASTRA mortgages for conveyancing panel firms in your area. Most banks have lawyers on their panel throughout the UK. You can also use our search tool at the top of this page to search for a lawyer on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel based on location. If you particularly like the sound of one of the local lawyers that you have spoken to ask them if they would go onto ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel as it may only take about 2-3 weeks. As long as they meet ASTRA mortgages’s requirements it can be a very simple job for the solicitor. Other stuff will be going on in parallel (as you are at an early stage) so it may not delay matters.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension . I have called ASTRA mortgages on various occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My solicitor - who is on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told not they would not lend in accordance with their CML Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply dont know who is right
As long as the conveyancer is on the ASTRA mortgages panel she or he must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for ASTRA mortgages. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that ASTRA mortgages will go ahead your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask ASTRA mortgages to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the remaining number of years left on the lease.

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