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St James Place 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 St James Place Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status
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How can my firm be reinstated onto the St James Place Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status

COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for residential conveyancing lawyers. It is supported by PI insurers such as AmTrust. It is a unique risk management tool.

This system is the only way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their instructions, with automatic updates on St James Place’s changes. While utilising this technology is not a condition for acceptance on the St James Place panel, demonstrating you can remain up to date with St James Place’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your application to their lender panel and, more importantly, safeguard your firm’s panel status.

COMPLETIONmonitor generates real-time alerts, automatically produces compliance 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 St James Place

Banks and building societies frequently vary 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 UK Finance 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,
Book a Personalised Demo

Frequently asked questions relating to the St James Place Solicitor Panel from members of the public

On what basis would a law firm be removed from the St James Place solicitor panel?
According to a recent survey report by the solicitors regulator three quarters of solicitor practices had been excluded from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
  1. Low volume 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 St James Place
can you help? My lawyer is advising me that she is duty-bound to conduct a Local Authority search as the firm are on the St James Place approved lawyer panel. Do I not have a choice here?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with St James Place 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 St James Place’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated St James Place. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
I require the services of a St James Place panel solicitor in Inverness. Could you help me?
Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a St James Place panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to St James Place to find out which solicitors in St James Place are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site
My conveyancers in Birmingham have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with St James Place. Is it case that being on the St James Place conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the St James Place Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting St James Place directly.
Is it the case that all conveyancing solicitors on the St James Place conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee 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 service
I'm in the throws of viewing houses and am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer appointed at this stage? I will be getting a mortgage with St James Place
It would be sensible to have your start your search soon rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the estate agent. As you are getting a mortgage with St James Place , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the St James Place conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat. I have a mortgage offer with St James Place. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. 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 St James Place you will need to appoint a solicitor on the St James Place conveyancing panel.

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