Finding an equity release adviser you can trust

Is equity release regulated in the UK?

Yes. Lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans, the two forms of equity release, are both regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, according to the Equity Release Council.

A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured on your home. With a home reversion plan, you sell all or part of your home to a provider for less than its market value.

Advice is part of that regulation, not an extra. The FCA’s mortgage rules say customers for equity release transactions should “receive advice in all cases”. The one exception is narrow: a customer who has already been advised and has rejected that advice. A route to a lifetime mortgage that skips the adviser is a warning sign in itself.

Who is allowed to advise on equity release?

Only a firm with permission for it, through an adviser qualified in it. The FCA’s training and competence rules list equity release as its own activity, separate from advising on ordinary mortgages, and each carries its own qualification requirement.

So being able to advise on mortgages is not the same as being able to advise on equity release. It is worth asking an adviser directly whether they are qualified to advise on equity release, not just on mortgages.

How can I check an equity release firm before I trust it?

Start with the FCA’s Financial Services Register, which the FCA describes as “the official public record for all firms and individuals”. It shows whether a firm is authorised and “what products and services they’re allowed to offer”.

The permissions are the part to read. A firm can be authorised and still have no permission for equity release, so look for equity release, or lifetime mortgages, in what the firm is allowed to do. If the FCA has published a warning about an unauthorised firm, that appears on the Register too when you search for it.

Then ask the adviser three things. First, whether they hold the lifetime mortgage qualification, rather than whether they “deal with” equity release. Second, whether the plan they would look at meets the Equity Release Council’s product standards. Third, whether they expect you to have your own solicitor.

What do the Equity Release Council standards protect?

Plans from Council members carry six standards:

• The interest rate is fixed, or variable with a cap fixed for the life of the loan.
• You can live in the property for the rest of your life, or until you move permanently into long-term care.
• You can move to a suitable alternative property and take the plan with you.
• You can make repayments without being charged for doing so.
• Any early repayment charge is waived if you move permanently into long-term care.
• A no-negative-equity guarantee means you or your estate will not owe more than the property is worth, after reasonable sales costs.

The Council’s standards apply only to plans from its members, so it is worth checking that the provider is a member.

The Council also says that “all customers who take out equity release need to receive independent legal advice”. That solicitor acts for you alone, and you will be asked to sign a certificate confirming your rights and obligations have been explained to you.

What did the FCA find when it reviewed equity release advice?

It found advice that fell short. In September 2023 the FCA published a review of firms “responsible for around half of all lifetime mortgage sales”, and said that standards “have fallen short”.

The detail is useful because you can spot it in a first conversation. The FCA found firms “poorly considering borrowers’ income and expenditure”, “minimising discussions around alternatives” and “steering outcomes in favour of lifetime mortgage products”. It also found promotions that highlighted the benefits without balancing them against the risks, and firms using their regulated status as a selling point.

That last finding applies to us as well. Our own authorisation doesn’t vouch for any other firm, including the one we introduce you to, so do run these checks on them too.

What should an equity release adviser ask me, and what should I ask them?

An adviser has to look at the alternatives. The FCA’s rules require them to consider “alternative methods of raising the required funds”, and name a local authority or other grant and a further advance on an existing mortgage as examples. Downsizing, a retirement interest-only mortgage, savings and help from family are often part of that conversation too.

They should also ask about your income and spending, any means-tested benefits, and who expects to inherit. Releasing money from your home can affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits and your tax position, and the specialist firm we introduce you to will check this with you. That assessment comes before you commit, not after. For questions about tax, speak to an accountant.

There are questions for you to ask too:

• How are you paid, and does that change with what I choose?
• Which alternatives did you consider, and why did you rule them out?
• Can I have that in writing?
• How many lenders can you access?
• What will the balance be after fifteen and twenty-five years on the illustration you give me?

On a lifetime mortgage, unless you pay the interest as you go, it is added to the loan and compounds, so that projection matters. Ask about early repayment charges too: on a lifetime mortgage they can be significant.

How does an introduction through Lawes Financial work?

You tell us what you are trying to achieve. We introduce you to the specialist firm, and they give you advice and a personal illustration. The advice is theirs, not ours. You can check that firm on the FCA Register in the same way as any other.

If you go ahead, the firm we introduce you to pays Lawes Financial a referral fee. You don’t pay it, and it doesn’t affect the advice you receive or the terms you’re offered.

Check that this mortgage will meet your needs if you want to move or sell your home or you want your family to inherit it. If you are in any doubt, seek independent advice.

To ask for an introduction, use “Request an introduction” below.

Sources

Lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; available from age 55; on a lifetime mortgage interest is rolled up and the loan is repaid from the estate on death or a permanent move into long-term care. Equity Release Council, What is equity release? (source), checked October 2026.

Customers for equity release transactions “receive advice in all cases” (MCOB 8.2.2), the execution-only exception where advice has been rejected (MCOB 8.6A.4R), and the duty to consider “alternative methods of raising the required funds” (MCOB 8.5A.6R). FCA Handbook, MCOB 8 (source), checked October 2026.

Equity release transactions are listed as their own activity (item 21), separately from regulated mortgage contracts (item 20), and each requires a qualification. FCA Handbook, TC Appendix 1.1 (source), checked October 2026.

The Financial Services Register as “the official public record for all firms and individuals”, showing “what products and services they’re allowed to offer”, and warnings about unauthorised firms. FCA, Using the Financial Services Register (source), checked October 2026.

The review published on 14 September 2023 of firms “responsible for around half of all lifetime mortgage sales”, and each finding quoted above. FCA, Action needed to ensure good outcomes for later life mortgage borrowers (source), checked October 2026.

The six product standards and the independent legal advice requirement. Equity Release Council, Standards (source), checked October 2026.

Lawes Financial Limited (FRN 1046161) is an appointed representative of Andrew Charles Consulting Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 304904).