V10.1 – April 2022

From 00:01hrs on Tuesday April 19, 2022, all new equity release customers will be required to have at least one face-to-face and in person meeting with a solicitor, in order to take out a plan that is compliant with Equity Release Council Standards.

The requirement marks the end of a temporary revision to the Council’s rules and guidance to enable cases to complete remotely without an in person face-to-face meeting with a solicitor and a return to the Council’s pre-covid rules.

It will also mark the end of a period where legal advice was permitted either remotely or in person and face-to-face which was deemed necessary to keep pace with the changing lock-down statuses in each of the UK’s devolved nations.