Saffron Building Society Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

COMPLETIONmonitor is an online 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 optimises the way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their requirements, with alerts on Saffron Building Society’s changes. While utilising the software is not a prerequisite for Saffron Building Society , demonstrating you can stay up to date with Saffron Building Society’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your panel application and, more importantly, protect your panel standing.

COMPLETIONmonitor generates real-time alerts, automatically produces compliance and CQS reports, and will increase your firm's efficiency. It is also user friendly, cost-effective and, for some firms, leads to reduced PII premiums.

Find a Law Firm approved by Saffron Building Society

Banks and building societies often vary their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Saffron 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, Saffron Building Society has made 139 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 19.6 days. In total, 58% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Saffron Building Society have been changed since 15/12/2008.

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
10.3 01/12/2014 CML
Mortgage Advance and Certificate of Title
What are the standard deductions made by Saffron Building Society from the mortgage advance?
16.3.4 01/12/2014 CML
Transfer of Equity
Saffron Building Society requirements for approved lawyers as to whether Saffron Building Society need to be sent the Transfer of Equity
3.1.4 01/12/2014 CML
details of the seller's solicitors or licensed conveyancers
3.1.6 01/12/2014 CML
verification of identity
16.4.1 30/06/2014 CML
Consent to Let
Contact details at Saffron Building Society for consent to let.
17.1.1 30/06/2014 CML
Redemption Statements
Contact details at Saffron Building Society for approved lawyers to request redemption statements .
4.3 30/06/2014 CML
Mortage valuation
Contact details at Saffron Building Society for approved lawyers where assumptions stated by the valuer are incorrect
5.10.1 30/06/2014 CML
Properties owned for less than 6 months
Contact details at Saffron Building Society for conveyancing panel lawyers where the seller has owned the property for less than 6 months:.
6.12.1 30/06/2014 CML
Pre-emption Rights, Options and Pre-emption Rights
Contact details at Saffron Building Society for conveyancing panel lawyers to used where Saffron Building Society needs to be notified where property is affected by pre-emption rights, resale restrictions, options etc .
6.13.1 30/06/2014 CML
Conveyancing Searches: Improvement or Repair Grants
Contact details at Saffron Building Society for conveyancing panel lawyers to used where Saffron Building Society needs to be notified where property is affected by improvement/repair grant which will not be discharged.

Last update 13/11/2019

FAQs : The Saffron Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public

My lawyer is not listed on the Saffron Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the Saffron Building Society panel?
The most common options here are as follows:
  1. Carry on with your preferred solicitors but Saffron Building Society will need to instruct a lawyer on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. This will result in additional cost and potential delay.
  2. Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel.
  3. Urge your lawyer to apply to join the Saffron Building Society lender panel
I am due to move into my new home next Monday. My conveyancing lawyer has asked me to provide him with a copy of the building insurance for the house as as he informs me that he is duty bound to validate that it is in order for Saffron Building Society. What does the insurance need to cover?
Any lawyer on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in Saffron Building Society’s Part 2 requirements of the CML Handbook (last updated on Saffron Building Society). Being on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these instructions.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Saffron Building Society 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 Saffron Building Society 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 Saffron Building Society solicitor panel.
I am trying to get my ex-husband removed the mortgage deeds. Can Saffron Building Society really insist on which solicitor I can or can not retain?
You can use any solicitor you like but Saffron Building Society then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the Saffron Building Society solicitors panel
Do conveyancing lawyers on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
There is generally no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their package
How can we tell if a solicitor on the Saffron Building Society panel is any good?
seeking recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 225. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Saffron Building Society 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 Saffron Building Society 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.