Originally published February 2024. Updated October 2026.
Does a mortgage lender accept personal searches? A “yes” in its Part 2 instructions may be followed by conditions concerning the search provider, insurance, professional standards and the applicable general instructions.
For conveyancers, the important question is whether the particular search and provider satisfy the complete instruction. Reading only the opening answer can leave a material compliance question unresolved.
Checking what Kensington required during an earlier purchase?
Use the lender instructions applicable to the relevant transaction date. Today’s wording cannot establish what applied years ago.
The Kensington personal-search change reported in 2024
In February 2024, this article reported a change to Kensington Mortgage’s answer about personal searches under the then section 5.4.5 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook.
The reported answer permitted personal searches subject to conditions. These included compliance with referenced Part 1 provisions, appropriate trade-body membership and standards, adequate insurance and an industry-body connection to the Property Ombudsman Scheme. It also placed responsibility for using the search on the conveyancer.
This is a historical summary, not a statement of Kensington’s current instructions. The applicable wording, cross-references and numbering must be checked for the transaction being undertaken or reviewed.
If you are arranging a purchase or remortgage with Kensington, read our Kensington Mortgages conveyancing guide before instructing a solicitor. Kensington publishes eligibility requirements rather than operating a conventional solicitor panel. Confirming that the firm can act and checking compliance with the lender’s search instructions are separate matters.
Conditional acceptance requires more than a tick box
A conditional “yes” is permission subject to requirements. It should neither be treated as unrestricted acceptance nor automatically interpreted as refusal.
The conveyancing file should establish:
- Which lender and jurisdiction apply.
- Which search product is proposed.
- The complete lender instruction, including its cross-references.
- Which organisation carries out the search and which supplies it.
- What evidence supports any required membership, standards and insurance conditions.
- Whether clarification or a lender referral is necessary.
A provider’s general statement that its searches are “lender accepted” does not replace checking the particular lender’s instructions.
Acceptance can differ between search types
Permission to use a personal local authority search should not be assumed to extend to personal drainage and water searches or every other report in the search pack.
The updated article on drainage and water searches and lender requirements explains this distinction through an earlier lender-change example.
Search-provider insurance, title indemnity insurance and a policy used instead of a search are also different arrangements. Their purpose, scope and acceptance should be checked separately.
An acceptable search can still reveal a property issue
There are two separate assessments: whether the search product meets the lender’s requirements, and whether its findings raise a concern about the property.
A drainage report, for example, may prompt further enquiries about a sewer beneath an extension or the legal rights supporting services across neighbouring land. Acceptance of the report does not resolve those underlying questions.
Our article on missing service rights and why working pipes can delay a sale explains how a longstanding arrangement can become a transaction problem.
Has a service-rights problem surfaced when selling or remortgaging?
If the arrangement existed when you bought, the original searches, title documents and advice may help explain what was known and investigated. You do not need to know whether anyone was at fault before starting a conversation.
Use historical instructions when reviewing an older file
A review of an earlier purchase should establish the instructions applicable at the relevant dates, rather than applying today’s answer retrospectively.
The Kensington Mortgage historical lender archive provides access to dated lender-specific records where coverage is available.
Those records need to be considered alongside the applicable general instructions, mortgage offer, case-specific correspondence and evidence of the work undertaken. They do not, by themselves, establish whether a conveyancer complied with the full retainer or whether anyone suffered loss.
Our earlier article on lender file requests and conveyancing audits explains why preserving evidence of the instructions and the response matters.
Keep current checks and historical evidence separate
For a live transaction, consult the applicable instructions through the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook and check the mortgage offer and any additional lender correspondence.
For an older transaction, establish the dated record. For ongoing awareness of lender amendments, explore LENDERmonitor’s lender compliance services.
The practical lesson is straightforward: record the conditions behind the lender’s answer and the evidence that they have been satisfied.