Better HomeOwnership Conveyancing Panel Information

We only know of a couple of banks that operate a distinct conveyancing panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain level. You should nevertheless check directly with Better HomeOwnership. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with Better HomeOwnership

What you should do largely depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows:

1. lack of transactions
2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction.

In these three circumstances it is unlikely that you would expected to take any action. Disclosure and other compliance considerations are more likely to be relevant if the reason for removal is due to breaches of lender requirements or allegations of fraud or negligence. Whether the reasoning should trigger a disclosable 'material' breach will depend on the firm and the circumstances around possible failures to comply with the SRA Authorisation Rules, and the SRA will judge each case on its own merits. Factors such as the detriment or risk of detriment to clients, the scale of the issue and overall impact on the firm will need to be considered in deciding whether a failure is 'material'. As the compliance officer you will need systems to identify patterns of breaches. Even if you don't consider there to be regulatory implications the firms COFA should give some thought to whether she/he needs to take any action as result of being removed from the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel.

During 2013, 0 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Better HomeOwnership. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel you are of course obliged to comply with individual lender requirements, as set out in Part II of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. Locktons have recently pointed out in an article that non-compliance with Part 2 requirements account for a number of high value claims, and it is therefore important to be aware of any particularly onerous terms that an individual lender may impose.

Remember: CML requirements are not guidelines; they are the lender client’s instructions.

Better HomeOwnership approved solicitors have to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook instructions relating to Transfer of Equity. These are set out in Section 16.3. First, your firm must approve the form of Transfer of Equity (which should be in the Land Registry's standard form) and, if Better HomeOwnership require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check Better HomeOwnership CML Part 2 conditions to see if Better HomeOwnership have standard forms of transfer and deed of covenant. Please note that this requirement can change from one transaction to another so do check! Second,When drafting or approving a transfer, you should bear in mind that: although the transfer should state that it is subject to the mortgage (identified by date and parties), it need give no details of the terms of the mortgage; the transfer need not state the amount of the mortgage debt. If it does, the figure should include both principal and interest at the date of completion, which you must check ; there should be no statement that all interest has been paid to date. Further obligations are set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook which have to be followed by all firms on the Better HomeOwnership conveyancing panel

The Law Society’s CQS accreditation is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms. A number of mortgage companies now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC.

You should get in touch with Better HomeOwnership to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook has an individual question for lenders to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Better HomeOwnership in their Part 2’s state: It helps to disclose the firm’s Better HomeOwnership solicitors panel number.