Mortgage Express 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 PI insurers. COMPLETIONmonitor is a unique risk mitigation tool.

This software facilitates the way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their instructions, with notifications given on Mortgage Express’s changes. Even though utilising the software is not a condition for acceptance on the Mortgage Express panel, demonstrating you can remain up to date with Mortgage Express’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your panel application and, more importantly, safeguard your firm’s panel standing.

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 some firms, leads to a PII saving.

Find a Law Firm approved by Mortgage Express

Lenders frequently vary their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Mortgage Express 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, Mortgage Express has made 138 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 19.8 days. In total, 35% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Mortgage Express have been changed since 15/12/2008.

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
5.5.1a 01/12/2014 CML
requirements in terms of time for planning consents
5.5.1b 01/12/2014 CML
conveyancing requirements in terms of time for building regulation consents
6.14.1b 01/12/2014 CML
buildings insurance in joint names or lender interest noted
6.14.3 01/12/2014 CML
notification of non-renewal/cancellation for buildings insurance policy
4.1 01/12/2010 CML
Mortage valuation
Do Mortgage Express arrange for there to be a valuation report and if so, do they provide it to their approved lawyers ?
5.14.15a 01/12/2010 CML
Leasehold Conveyancing; Absentee Freeholder
Contact details at Mortgage Express for conveyancing panel lawyers where there is an absentee freeholder/insolvent landlord.
Absentee Landlord Indemnity Insurance
5.15.2a 01/12/2010 CML
Leasehold Conveyancing : Management Company
Contact details at Mortgage Express for approved lawyers for apparent problems with the management company.
5.1.1 01/12/2010 CML
Properties owned for less than 6 months
Contact details at Mortgage Express for approved lawyers where there is a restriction on use.
6.11.1 01/12/2010 CML
Conveyancing Searches: Redevelopments and Road Proposals
Contact details at Mortgage Express for conveyancing panel lawyers to used where Mortgage Express needs to be notified where property is affected by redevelopment or road proposals.
Obstruction of Access Indemnity Insurance
7.4 01/12/2010 CML
Occupiers at the Property
Contact details at Mortgage Express for conveyancing panel conveyancers if doubts about accuracy of information concerning occupation of the property

Last update 15/01/2020

Mortgage Express (No 2) Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public

My mortgage broker has has requested my lawyer’ panel member for the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel. Can you suggest how I find this out. I have called my local Mortgage Express (No 2) office but they don't know it.
You are best placed to get this information from your conveyancing lawyer. A law firm is likely to keep a file or database of lender panel information which would include, if applicable their conveyancing panel details for Mortgage Express (No 2).
Can you help?. My lawyer is not to blame but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Mortgage Express (No 2) was issued 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 says that as she is on the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are no longer acceptable to the lender.
One of the many conditions to being on the Mortgage Express (No 2) approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Mortgage Express (No 2))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 Mortgage Express (No 2).
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Mortgage Express (No 2) approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Mortgage Express (No 2) solicitor panel.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Mortgage Express (No 2) 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.
The mortgage over my property is with Mortgage Express (No 2). Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Mortgage Express (No 2)?
Your original mortgage agreement with Mortgage Express (No 2) will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Mortgage Express (No 2)’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Mortgage Express (No 2) directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel solicitor.
My offer was accepted on an apartment on the 20th January 2014, valuation was booked 2 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Mortgage Express (No 2) and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Mortgage Express (No 2) to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.
My husband and I are remortgaging a terraced house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon are preferred to beappointed. My fathersuggested that we make sure that the conveyancing practitioner in Hendon is on the Mortgage Express (No 2) solicitors panel. Surely I don't need to do this, do I?
A limited percentage of Hendon conveyancing practices are on the Mortgage Express (No 2) conveyancing panel. 7 people a month use our search tool to locate a Hendon conveyancing firm on the on the Mortgage Express (No 2) panel.