The Law Society has warned mortgage lenders against following the example of Santander by charging a fee for conveyancing panel membership.

Chancery Lane told the Council of Mortgage Lenders that such a trend would make house buying more expensive, and could see solicitors applying for several panels paying out ‘hundreds if not thousands’ of pounds to provide similar information to different lenders.

There would be a ‘knock-on effect for consumers’, it added, as firms would have little choice but to increase fees to cover the costs of the charges.

The warning comes in a Gazettearticle today by Society chief executive Des Hudson, in which he updates solicitors on Chancery Lane’s efforts on behalf of solicitors in securing access to residential conveyancing panels.