Days after dropping a £50 fee for conveyancers to access a new-look handbook containing lender instructions, UK Finance has now announced that the launch date has been paused.

A new Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook IT platform was supposed to go live on 1 March. The handbook provides standard instructions that conveyancers acting on behalf of lenders in residential property transactions must follow.

Last month, UK Finance told conveyancers they would have to pay £50 a year to access the new platform. The decision caused such outrage, given the current handbook is freely accessible on UK Finance's website, that the fee was dropped.

The banking trade association has now delayed the launch of the platform.

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Asked if the delay was connected to the now-shelved fee, a UK Finance spokesperson said: ‘Following user-testing, engagement with our members and users of the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, we have decided to defer the go-live date from March for the new handbook to ensure time for users to familiarise themselves with its functionality and prepare for launch.

'The current handbook will continue to be accessible until the new launch date. We currently aim to launch the new handbook by the end of June, and we will confirm a revised date in due course.’