Short answer
Tell us your lender and we confirm whether we are on its panel. Lenders usually only let a firm on their conveyancing panel act for them. If we are on your lender’s panel, one firm acts for you and the lender. We act for Santander, Nationwide, NatWest and HSBC UK; the tables show what each asks us to do.
On this page
- Lender panels explained
- What is a lender panel, and why does your lender have one?
- Which lenders’ panels are we on, and what does each one ask?
- What happens if we are not on your lender’s panel?
- How do we keep this list up to date?
- Does being on a panel change what you pay us?
- Where does Wales differ for a mortgage lender?
- Our fees
- What happens next
Lender panels explained
- Santander: We are on Santander’s conveyancing panel and confirm it when you instruct. Gifts from friends, nine-month new-build offers, and what we check for you.
- Nationwide: We are on Nationwide’s conveyancing panel and confirm it when you instruct. When Nationwide wants its Gifted Deposit Form, panel rules and moving home.
- NatWest: We are on NatWest’s conveyancing panel and confirm it when you instruct. What a NatWest gifted deposit letter must say, repayable gifts, and RBS.
- HSBC UK: We are on HSBC UK’s conveyancing panel and confirm it when you instruct. HSBC gift letters, family gifts, money from abroad and what HSBC asks us.
What is a lender panel, and why does your lender have one?
Most of the people who ask us for a buying quote have a mortgage: about 85% of website buying quote requests, 2 Sep–29 Oct 2026.
When you buy with a mortgage, the lender needs a solicitor to protect its loan too. It checks that the title is good, that the mortgage is registered, and that its own rules are met. To keep control of that work, each lender keeps a list of firms it trusts to act for it. That list is its conveyancing panel.
If your firm is on the panel, it acts for you and for the lender at the same time. That saves time, because one firm reports to both. The rules the firm must follow come from the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook. Part 1 applies to every lender that uses it. Part 2 is each lender’s own answers. Some building societies use the Building Societies Association’s own mortgage instructions instead. Lenders also publish criteria for brokers, and that is what the tables below summarise.
Which lenders’ panels are we on, and what does each one ask?
Lenders we act for. Lenders can change their panels, so we confirm yours when you instruct us. Waterstone Legal is an independent firm. This page is not written or endorsed by any lender.
Santander
| Gifted deposit: who may give, what the lender asks | Family or friends, as a true gift; Santander usually does not ask for a gift letter |
|---|---|
| Lease left | We confirm this when we receive your mortgage instructions |
| New build: maximum loan and builder incentives | Offers on new builds last 9 months; a further 3 months can be applied for |
| If you use a firm not on its panel | We confirm this when we receive your mortgage instructions |
| Panel run by | Not published |
| Our panel list dated | 12 Oct 2026 |
| Criteria checked | 29 Oct 2026 |
Nationwide Building Society
| Gifted deposit: who may give, what the lender asks | No conditions; Nationwide’s own form for larger UK gifts (above the amount Nationwide sets) and every gift from abroad; 3 or 6 months’ statements from a giver abroad |
|---|---|
| Lease left | 55 years when you apply (90 above 85%) and 30 when the mortgage ends |
| New build: maximum loan and builder incentives | Houses 95%, flats 85%; incentives up to 5% (none above 90%); no Disclosure Form, nil valuation |
| If you use a firm not on its panel | Nationwide nominates its own panel firm; you pay both firms |
| Panel run by | Decision First, through Lender Exchange |
| Our panel list dated | 12 Oct 2026 |
| Criteria checked | 29 Oct 2026 |
NatWest
| Gifted deposit: who may give, what the lender asks | Family, friends or others; a letter or email from each giver; family gifts may be repayable; a gift letter in every case |
|---|---|
| Lease left | At least 30 years when the mortgage ends |
| New build: maximum loan and builder incentives | Houses 95%, flats 90%; incentives up to 15%, anything over 5% comes off the price |
| If you use a firm not on its panel | Not published for purchases; on a remortgage, free legals or a cashback |
| Panel run by | Not published for purchases (LMS named for name changes) |
| Our panel list dated | 12 Oct 2026 |
| Criteria checked | 29 Oct 2026 |
HSBC UK
| Gifted deposit: who may give, what the lender asks | Family only (a named list); your solicitor gets a signed letter from the giver; if no buyer is settled in the UK, a deposit from your own money first (HSBC’s criteria give both 15% and 25%, so your broker confirms) |
|---|---|
| Lease left | More than 50 years when the mortgage ends |
| New build: maximum loan and builder incentives | Houses 90%, flats 85%; cash incentives up to 5%, anything over comes off the price |
| If you use a firm not on its panel | HSBC appoints a firm through LMS; you pay HSBC’s published fee for it |
| Panel run by | LMS |
| Our panel list dated | 12 Oct 2026 |
| Criteria checked | 29 Oct 2026 |
In our own words, from each lender’s public pages for brokers and customers. Your lender not here? Tell us who it is and we check.
What happens if we are not on your lender’s panel?
Tell us who your lender is before you accept a quote, and we check. If we are not on its panel, there are usually two routes:
- The lender instructs its own firm. We still act for you. The lender’s firm acts only for the lender and sends us its requirements. This is called separate representation. Some lenders publish what it costs you: HSBC publishes a fixed fee for its appointed firm, and Nationwide says you pay both firms’ costs. It can add time, because two firms must agree each step. The lender’s own firm may also charge you; your lender tells you how much.
- You ask the lender or your broker whether a different firm can act.
We never name a lender as one we cannot act for. Panels change, so ask us.
How do we keep this list up to date?
Each lender has two dates in its table: when our panel list was dated, and when we last checked that lender’s published criteria. If either is more than 90 days old, the page hides the lender’s details and shows “re-checking” until it has been checked again. Lenders can change their rules, so we confirm yours when you instruct us. Two of the four lenders say who runs their panel: Nationwide uses Decision First, through Lender Exchange, and HSBC uses LMS.
Does being on a panel change what you pay us?
Some lender rules add work, for example a gifted deposit, a leasehold flat or a new build, and each has its own line in your quote. Government fees (Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax, and the HM Land Registry fee) are kept separate and never added into our fees. Our published fee for a purchase is below; your written quote confirms the exact figure.
Where does Wales differ for a mortgage lender?
None of the four lenders’ public gift or panel rules changes for Wales. Fire-safety rules for flats can differ, because Wales has its own remediation schemes: Nationwide, NatWest and HSBC each set out separate Welsh rules for taller blocks. The law around the purchase changes too. In Wales you pay Land Transaction Tax to the Welsh Revenue Authority, not Stamp Duty to HMRC. HM Land Registry will not register the purchase until the Welsh Revenue Authority has confirmed the return, and the lender’s mortgage is registered in the same application, so it waits too. If a lender lets you rent the home out, tenancies in Wales are “occupation contracts” under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, so the lender’s consent-to-let papers use different words. Our LTT calculator works out the tax.
Our fees
| Buying a residential propertyStandard purchase of a freehold home under £2m, with one mortgage | £1,010 – £1,910 + VAT (£1,212 – £2,292 including VAT) |
|---|
Typical ranges for a standard transaction, excluding VAT at 20% and disbursements. Every client receives a written, itemised quotation with an exact figure before instructing us. See all our fees and what they cover.
What happens next
Legally reviewed by Shah Ali, Senior Partner, on 30 October 2026.
Last updated 30 October 2026.
Sources
- UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook, checked 29 October 2026
- Building Societies Association: Mortgage Instructions, checked 29 October 2026
- Santander: Gifted deposits, checked 29 October 2026
- Santander press release: new-build offer validity extended, checked 29 October 2026
- Nationwide: Information for lawyers, checked 29 October 2026
- Nationwide: Gifted deposits, checked 29 October 2026
- Nationwide for Intermediaries: Property and construction criteria, checked 29 October 2026
- Nationwide for Intermediaries: Loan to value criteria, checked 29 October 2026
- Nationwide for Intermediaries: New build criteria, checked 29 October 2026
- NatWest: Gifted deposits, checked 29 October 2026
- NatWest Intermediary Solutions: Lending criteria, checked 29 October 2026
- NatWest Intermediary Solutions: New build hub, checked 29 October 2026
- HSBC UK for Intermediaries: Residential criteria, checked 29 October 2026
- Welsh Government: Land Transaction Tax guide, checked 29 October 2026
- Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017, section 65, checked 29 October 2026
- Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, checked 29 October 2026
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Waterstone Chambers LLP, trading as Waterstone Legal, is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. 605949) and CQS accredited. Not happy with our service? See how to complain.