The banking trade association has defended its decision to charge conveyancers an annual fee to access a handbook with instructions from lenders - stressing that not every practitioner will be required to pay up.

The UK Finance lenders’ handbook provides standard instructions that conveyancers acting on behalf of lenders conveyancers in residential property transactions must follow.

Conveyancers can currently access the handbook on UK Finance’s website for free and without registering. However, this week they were informed that a new Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook IT platform will be introduced in March. From 1 June, they will have to pay £50 plus VAT per year to access the platform.

The fee has sparked widespread outrage. Simon Law, chair of the Society of Licensed Conveyancers, said: 'UK Finance is effectively telling conveyancers: pay us if you want to follow your client's instructions. This is absurd. No other profession is charged to access mandatory instructions from its own clients.'

Law Society president Mark Evans said Chancery Lane was extremely disappointed with UK Finance’s decision despite raising clear objections on behalf of members.

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‘Conveyancers have no choice but to use the handbook for each transaction. A situation is being created where conveyancers will now have to pay lenders when providing a legal service to them,' Evans added. 'This compulsory charge is being imposed on conveyancers without any serious consultation or communication with the sector. It will increase the cost of conveyancing for conveyancers and ultimately for their clients.'

In a statement to the Gazette, UK Finance said the handbook needed to be updated and a ‘more resilient, secure and user-focused platform’ was being introduced.

‘To meet the costs of this upgrade and future development, we plan to introduce a nominal usage fee from 1 June 2026, following a free transition period,’ a spokesperson said.

‘The new handbook will require each user to set up their own individual log‑in, enabling them to tailor the handbook to their needs and benefit from an enhanced user experience. This will not necessarily mean that every conveyancer requires or must pay for a separate licence; for example, a firm may hold a single licence for a paralegal who undertakes searches on behalf of multiple conveyancers.

‘We will continue to work closely with the law societies, conveyancers and our members during the initial rollout to assess the approach to charging.’