Metro Bank Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for property lawyers. Supported by the CML and professional indemnity insures. It is a unique risk mitigation tool.

This system is the only way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their requirements, with automatic updates on Metro Bank’s changes. While using the tool is not a prerequisite for Metro Bank , demonstrating you can remain up to date with Metro Bank’s Handbook requirements is an excellent support to your panel application and, more importantly, safeguard your panel status.

The software creates real-time alerts, automatically produces compliance and CQS reports, and will increase your firm's efficiency. It is also simply to use, cost-effective and, for many firms, results in a PII saving.

Find a Law Firm approved by Metro Bank

Mortgage companies often change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Metro Bank 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, Metro Bank has made 180 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 15.2 days. In total, 56% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Metro Bank have been changed since 15/12/2008.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,

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Metro Bank Conveyancing Panel Sample Enquires to our Call Center from members of the public

On what basis could a law firm be excluded from the Metro Bank approved conveyancing panel?
A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of law firms had been excluded from a lender panel. The top 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 Metro Bank
We are nearing an exchange and my mum and dad having sent the 10% deposit to my lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not come from me my lawyer needs to make a notification to my lender Metro Bank. I am advised that, being on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Metro Bank if the balance of the mortgage advance is not just from me. I advised the bank about my parent’s contribution when I applied for the mortgage so is it really necessary for him to raise this?
Your lawyer is obliged to check with Metro Bank to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to Metro Bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
How do I search for a local solicitor on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10 miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel search on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Metro Bank solicitor panel.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Can I register a complaint to Metro Bank about the lawyers being on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel?
Complaining to Metro Bank about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. All solicitors and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get 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.

My offer was accepted on a house on the 7th February 2014, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Metro Bank and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Metro Bank to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.
I have instructed a lawyer having checked that they are on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property? Or Having read lots of mortgage guides,I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Metro Bank will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Metro Bank 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 Metro Bank you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.