St James Place Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

COMPLETIONmonitor is web-based pre- and post-completion checklist for residential conveyancing lawyers. Supported by the CML and PI insurers such as AmTrust. COMPLETIONmonitor is a unique risk management tool.

This system facilitates the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their requirements, with notifications given on St James Place’s changes. Even though using the tool is not a condition for being on the St James Place panel, demonstrating you can remain up to date with St James Place’s Handbook requirements is an excellent support to your panel application and, just as importantly, safeguard your firm’s panel standing.

The software creates real-time alerts, automatically produces regulatory and CQS reports, and will increase your firm's efficiency. In addition it is simply to use, cost-effective and, for many firms, results in reduced PII premiums.

Find a Law Firm approved by St James Place

Banks and building societies often change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from St James Place 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, St James Place has made 29 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 94.1 days. In total, 12% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for St James Place have been changed since 15/12/2008.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
3.1.6 01/12/2014 CML
verification of identity
5.5.1a 01/12/2014 CML
requirements in terms of time for planning consents
3.1.5 01/12/2014 CML
ID Documentation
St James Place Bank panel lawyers requirements re ID Documentation: Further acceptable documents (if any)
10.2a 01/12/2010 CML
Mortgage Advance and Certificate of Title
Do St James Place Bank send the mortgage advance electronically or by cheque?
1.15 01/12/2010 CML
General Mortgage Instructions
Can the approved conveyancing firm act for St James Place Bank if the person dealing with the conveyancing or a member of his immediate family is the borrower?
4.1 01/12/2010 CML
Mortage valuation
Do St James Place Bank arrange for there to be a valuation report and if so, do they provide it to their approved lawyers ?
5.5.1a 01/12/2010 CML
requirements in terms of time for planning consents
5.8.5 01/12/2010 CML
Leasehold Conveyancing : Freehold Reversion
St James Place Bank panel lawyers clarification as to whether they accept security which comprises one of two leasehold flats in a building where the borrower also owns the freehold reversion of the other flat and the other leaseholder owns the freehold reversion in the borrower's flat? If so, are there any specific requirements??
5.1.1 03/07/2009 CML
Properties owned for less than 6 months
Contact details at St James Place Bank for approved lawyers where there is a restriction on use.
6.3.1 03/07/2009 CML
contact point for any issues relating to purchase price

Last update 13/03/2019

FAQs for the St James Place Solicitor Panel from members of the public

My mortgage broker has has requested my law firm’s panel member for the St James Place conveyancing panel. What is the best way to find this out. I have contacted my local St James Place office but they don't know it.
Have you tried speaking to your lawyer about this?. 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 St James Place.
My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse with St James Place. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the St James Place conveyancing panel requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the St James Place conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to St James Place .This is solely used to protect the St James Place if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.

It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of St James Place had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

I see that you have a post code search directory identifying solicitors on the St James Place conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for my own house purchase?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the St James Place conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the St James Place Solicitor panel before the completion date?
The first thing to point out is that, 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.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from St James Place as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the St James Place conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
St James Place would not normally appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they did require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the St James Place panel
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in month 6 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, St James Place are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the St James Place conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but St James Place are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do St James Place have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that St James Place have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why St James Place may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
My brother and I are taking a long lease of a house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon need to beinstructed. My colleaguesuggested that we make sure that the conveyancer in Hendon is on the St James Place list of approved conveyancing firms. Surely I don't need to do this, do I?
It is not that case that all Hendon conveyancing solicitors are on the St James Place conveyancing panel. 8 people a month use our search tool to search for a Hendon conveyancing firm on the on the St James Place solicitors pane.