Bank of Ireland Mortgages Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is web-based pre- and post-completion checklist for property lawyers. Supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and professional indemnity insures. It is a unique risk management tool.

This software facilitates the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their instructions, with alerts on Bank of Ireland Mortgages’s changes. While utilising the tool is not a prerequisite for Bank of Ireland Mortgages , demonstrating you can stay up to date with Bank of Ireland Mortgages’s Handbook requirements is an excellent support to your panel application and, more importantly, protect your panel status.

COMPLETIONmonitor creates real-time alerts, automatically produces SRA and CQS reports, and will improve your firm's efficiency. It is also simply to use, cost-effective and, for many firms, results in reduced PII premiums.

Find a Law Firm approved by Bank of Ireland Mortgages

Banks and building societies often change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Bank of Ireland 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 2008, Bank of Ireland Mortgages has made 258 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 10.6 days. In total, 59% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Ireland Mortgages have been changed since 15/12/2008.

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
5.14.1 03/10/2017 CML
Leasehold Conveyancing
Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages panel lawyers leasehold conveyancing requirements : minimum unexpired lease term
6.6.4 21/11/2016 CML
Houses in Multipe Occupation
Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages approved conveyancer requirements where the property comes within the definition of a house in multiple occupation
16.3.4 15/11/2016 CML
Transfer of Equity
Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages requirements for approved lawyers as to whether Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages need to be sent the Transfer of Equity
16.5.2 15/11/2016 CML
Deed of Variation
Contact details at Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages for approved lawyers for confirming proposed deed of variation or agreement will not adversely affect Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages
16.5.3c 15/11/2016 CML
Deed of Easement
Contact details at Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages for approved lawyers to send the deed of easement .
6.7.1 21/10/2016 CML
New Build Conveyancing
Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages approved conveyancer requirements for New Build Conveyancing : Home Warranty Schemes
5.20.3 07/05/2015 CML
Panels PV Solar
Existence of additional requirements set by Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages for conveyancing panel lawyers relating to leases of roof space for solar PV panels, and if so, what they are.
5.5.1a 01/12/2014 CML
requirements in terms of time for planning consents
6.14.4 01/12/2014 CML
sending a copy of the buildings insurance policy and last premium
3.1.5 01/12/2014 CML
ID Documentation
Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages panel lawyers requirements re ID Documentation: Further acceptable documents (if any)

Last update 05/11/2019

Bank of Ireland Mortgages Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public

I am in the process of selling my flat and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. The reason given is that Bank of Ireland Mortgages will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with certain solicitors?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

My conveyancer has discovered a difference when comparing the information in Bank of Ireland Mortgages’s valuation report and what is in the title deeds. My solicitor has advised that as he is on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing panel he is obliged to ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s stance legitimate?
A precondition to being on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Bank of Ireland Mortgages) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. 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.
Do I have to pop into the offices of the Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in London so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for Bank of Ireland Mortgages undertake all of the work via the post, internet or over the phone. This means that they can undertake your Conveyancing Transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. However you should check if you can still book an appointment to go into appointed conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Bank of Ireland Mortgages Solicitor panel before completion?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I had instructed online conveyancers based in London who are on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £135 for the legal aspects of the Bank of Ireland Mortgages mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Bank of Ireland Mortgages?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Bank of Ireland Mortgages but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
On the whole I have been dissatisfied with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
There is little point in complaining directly to Bank of Ireland Mortgages. Every solicitor firm and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. Usually one can find this information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.

The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is addressed by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.

If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Bank of Ireland Mortgages panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.