Originally published December 2009. Updated October 2026.
Conveyancing referral fees have attracted scrutiny for many years. Our original December 2009 article reported plans by the Legal Services Consumer Panel to examine referral payments. BBC Panorama’s 2025 investigation and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers’ subsequent thematic review have brought consumer choice and transparency back into focus.
For conveyancing firms, there are two practical questions: are existing referral arrangements properly managed, and could a broader marketing strategy reduce dependence on a small number of introducers?
What did BBC Panorama investigate?
BBC Panorama’s Undercover Estate Agent, broadcast on 14 July 2025, raised concerns about conditional selling and estate agency sales tactics. These included pressure on consumers to use associated services.
The distinction matters: the programme’s allegations about estate agents were not findings that every referred conveyancing instruction, or every firm paying a referral fee, involved misconduct.
In its July 2025 response to Panorama, the CLC expressed concern about consumer choice and pricing transparency. It also said it had no evidence that practices as unethical as those highlighted were prevalent in the sector it regulated.
What has the CLC referral review found?
The CLC published interim findings on 2 June 2026. Its review examined 12 practices with referral arrangements, alongside regulatory information and stakeholder input.
Five of those practices could not produce written referral agreements. Client disclosures were not always complete or available for review.
The CLC recognised that referral arrangements can serve a legitimate purpose, while identifying the need for earlier disclosure, clearer documentation and stronger monitoring. The sample should not be treated as a finding about every conveyancing practice.
Read the CLC’s summary of its interim findings. Its review update states that the survey closed on 25 September 2026 and that work informed by the responses will be published in 2027.
Are referral fees to estate agents unethical?
A referral fee does not, by itself, answer that question. The arrangement needs to be considered alongside disclosure, independence, service quality and the client’s freedom to choose.
We explored this distinction in our earlier article, Are referral fees to estate agents unethical?
Our related post on conveyancing referral fees, CLC oversight and consumer choice examines the wider regulatory debate.
Review what clients are told about referral arrangements
Solicitors should check the applicable SRA requirements. Paragraph 5.1 of the Code of Conduct addresses disclosure of relevant financial interests and fee-sharing arrangements, written fee-sharing agreements and how introducers acquire clients.
CLC-regulated practices should review the requirements applicable to them rather than assume the SRA wording applies unchanged.
A practical review should ask:
- Does the client understand the introducer’s financial interest?
- Is the disclosure clear and provided at a useful stage?
- Are the relevant arrangements properly documented?
- Can the client compare the total price and service offered?
- Does the firm investigate concerns about pressure or misleading statements by an introducer?
Use the SRA Code of Conduct and the CLC’s published materials when reviewing your procedures.
Why conveyancing firms need a broader marketing strategy
Even a well-managed referral relationship creates a commercial dependency if it supplies a large proportion of the firm’s work. Changes in the introducer’s ownership, preferred providers or commercial terms can quickly affect the pipeline.
Firms should therefore be more creative about how prospective clients find them. Useful approaches include maintaining contact with previous clients, publishing clear answers to common property questions and making lender-panel information easy to find.
The opportunity is to explain why a particular firm suits the client’s transaction: relevant experience, communication, transparent pricing and the ability to act for the proposed mortgage lender.
Where LenderPanel.com fits into conveyancing marketing
A buyer looking for a conveyancer often has a specific question: “Can this firm act for my mortgage lender?” A directory organised around lender-panel membership addresses that practical need.
LenderPanel.com enables consumers to look for conveyancing firms by lender and location. For participating firms, it offers an additional route to prospective clients who are actively looking for a suitable conveyancer.
A listing should be supported by accurate panel information, clear service details and prompt responses to enquiries. It should form part of a wider marketing plan, with results assessed against the firm’s own costs and capacity.
Help clients find your firm by mortgage lender
Explore a LenderPanel.com listing as an additional source of conveyancing enquiries. Review the listing terms and keep your firm’s panel and contact information accurate.
Make lender-panel information part of the client journey
Panel eligibility should be checked before the client commits to a firm. A directory is a starting point; current eligibility for the particular lender and transaction should be confirmed.
Our guide explains how to check whether a solicitor is on a lender’s panel.
Referral relationships and direct marketing both need clear communication. Firms that make their suitability, fees and service easy to understand give prospective clients a stronger basis for choosing them.