If you act for a lender as well as for either the buyer or the seller, the duties owed to the lender client are ...

• A. Subject to the lender client's specific instructions
• B. Independent of any instructions
• C. Only applicable if the lender approves
• D. Irrelevant

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that when a conveyancer acts for more than one client on the same transaction, the lender’s instructions govern the mortgage-related part of the work. The lender is funding the deal and taking security, so the duties you owe to that lender are defined by what the lender specifically instructs you to do—about how the loan is advanced, how the security (the charge) is created and registered, when funds can be drawn, what information must be provided, and so on. You carry out those duties in line with their instructions, as long as those instructions are lawful and compatible with your other professional duties to the borrower or seller. If the lender directs a particular course of action, you should follow it, subject to not breaching any legal obligations or overriding duties to the other client. If a conflict arises between the lender’s instructions and the other party’s instructions, you would need to address that conflict—usually by seeking informed consent from both sides or, if necessary, withdrawing from acting for one client.