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Family Building Society 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 Family Building Society Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status
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How can my firm be reinstated onto the Family Building Society Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status

COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for property lawyers. It is supported by PI insurers. It is a unique risk mitigation tool.

This system is the only way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their requirements, with automatic updates on Family Building Society’s changes. Notwithstanding that using the tool is not a prerequisite for Family Building Society , demonstrating you can stay up to date with Family Building Society’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your panel application and, just as importantly, protect your panel status.

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

Find a Law Firm approved by Family Building Society

Mortgage companies often vary their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Family Building Society 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, Family Building Society has made 140 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the UK Finance Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 19.5 days. In total, 46% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Family Building Society have been changed since 15/12/2008.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,
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Family Building Society Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public

My wife and I are first time buyers. Within the 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Family Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
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 Family Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Family Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Family Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Family Building Society conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

I do hope you can help me. My lawyer is informing me me that he has to apply for a Local Authority search stemming from the fact that the firm are on the Family Building Society conveyancing panel. Is my lawyer correct?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with Family Building Society your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Family Building Society’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Family Building Society. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Do all the firms listed on your search have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Family Building Society conveyancing panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Family Building Society Conveyancing panel before the completion date?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 for a fee.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Family Building Society conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives 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 join their approved list of firms.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Family Building Society. Solicitors have been instructed? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Family Building Society?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Family Building Society done the valuation? Have you advised Family Building Society as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Family Building Society conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat. I have a mortgage agreed with Family Building Society. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event if you are getting a mortgage with Family Building Society you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Family Building Society conveyancing panel.

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