Customers considering an equity release product will again be required to have at least one face-to-face meeting in person with a solicitor before taking out a plan, the Equity Release Council has announced.

The change marks a return to the Council’s pre-pandemic requirements and follows a temporary amendment to rules which had been in place since April 2020.

These conditions meant that equity release cases could still progress where appropriate and customers could access funds, despite successive lockdowns and ongoing social distancing measures.

According to the Council, independent legal advice is one of the “core consumer safeguards” in the modern equity release market. All new customers have been required to go through this process since 1991, when the first industry standards were launched. The face-to-face requirement was added in 2013.

Existing cases which are in progress today and have used this temporary amendment must now be completed by 31 July.

“The temporary amendment to our requirement for face-to-face legal advice served its purpose well by protecting customers and maintaining their access to vital funds in trying circumstances,” said Chair of the Equity Release Council, David Burrowes.

“The Council’s unique ability to bring together firms from across the market helped to identify a practical solution whereby customers were not cut off from money tied up in their homes, which in some cases was key to accessing care services when they most needed them.

“While restrictions have ebbed and flowed during the pandemic, we are hopeful the worst is now behind us. The time is right to return to the default of in-person legal advice while learning lessons about how technology can best support the overall process and customer experience.”

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