Bluestone Mortgages Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for residential conveyancing lawyers. Supported by the CML 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 remain fully compliant with their instructions, with automatic updates on Bluestone Mortgages’s changes. Notwithstanding that utilising COMPLETIONmonitor is not a condition for being on the Bluestone Mortgages panel, demonstrating you can remain up to date with Bluestone Mortgages’s Handbook requirements is an excellent support to your panel application and, more importantly, protect your panel status.

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

Find a Law Firm approved by Bluestone Mortgages

Banks and building societies frequently vary their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Bluestone 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, Bluestone Mortgages has made 242 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 11.3 days. In total, 59% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bluestone Mortgages have been changed since 15/12/2008.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,

Book a Personalised Demo

Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
16.1.1 21/10/2015 CML
Title Documents
Bluestone Mortgages details for requesting Title Documentation
16.5.2 21/10/2015 CML
Deed of Variation
Contact details at Bluestone Mortgages for approved lawyers for confirming proposed deed of variation or agreement will not adversely affect Bluestone Mortgages
16.5.3c 21/10/2015 CML
Deed of Easement
Contact details at Bluestone Mortgages for conveyancing panel lawyers to send the deed of easement .
4.3 21/10/2015 CML
Mortage valuation
Contact details at Bluestone Mortgages for conveyancing panel lawyers where assumptions stated by the valuer are incorrect
5.4.4 21/10/2015 CML
Conveyancing Searches: Environmental Searches
Bluestone Mortgages panel lawyers requirement as to whether they want receive environmental or contaminated land reports
6.4.5 21/10/2015 CML
Full monies through the firm's account
Contact details at Bluestone Mortgages for approved lawyers were the law firm will not have control over the payment of all the purchase money.
5.2.1 21/10/2015 CML
Seller not registered
Contact details at Bluestone Mortgages for approved lawyers for where the seller is not the owner or registered proprietor and is not listed in the exceptions in the CML Handbook P1.
5.7.1c 21/10/2015 CML
Flying Freeholds
Contact details at Bluestone Mortgages for conveyancing panel lawyers where for reporting purposes where the property is a freehold flat or flying freehold, to which contact point must this be reported and where Bluestone Mortgages lend on such properties
Flying Freehold Indemnity Insurance
5.5.1b 01/12/2014 CML
conveyancing requirements in terms of time for building regulation consents
6.14.1a 01/12/2014 CML
contact point if property is not insured in accordance with lender requirement

Last update 18/05/2019

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

My wife and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bluestone Mortgages have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.

In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitors should contact Bluestone Mortgages and see if they can apply for membership of the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Bluestone Mortgages will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Can you help?. For no fault of my lawyer but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Bluestone Mortgages was dated 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 lawyer has advised that as she is on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are no longer acceptable to the lender.
A precondition to being on the Bluestone Mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on Bluestone Mortgages)which states 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 Bluestone Mortgages.
I require the services of a Bluestone Mortgages panel solicitor in Stirling. Can you assist?
It is not clear why you need a Bluestone Mortgages panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Bluestone Mortgages to find out which solicitors in Bluestone Mortgages are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month
I am buying a new build flat and getting a mortgage with Bluestone Mortgages. Can I do my own conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing you will have to appoint a solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to made in you doing to conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel in your location.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel?
It is true that some 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 is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Are all conveyancing solicitors on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
I have a mortgage with Bluestone Mortgages. My father retired last week and wants to pay off the mortgage left on the property. After Bluestone Mortgages is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long will it roughly take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the Bluestone Mortgages mortgage is discharged.
You will need a solicitor but they need not be on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel. You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die within 7 years of this. As the property is your main residence you need not pay CGT but you should speak with your accountants in any event.