Monmouthshire Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

Criteria differ from lender to lender. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Monmouthshire Building Society conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

List of all Licensed Conveyancers within firm

List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title

Whether the firm is able to operate in other jurisdictions

Whether the firm has ever accepted instructions in respect of property clubs and investment schemes

Solicitor

Full complaints history for each licensed conveyancer

House price discrepancies (declared to lender vs. registered at Land Registry)

Number of lender conveyancing panels the firm is currently on

Number of partners per branch of the firm

What you should do largely depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Monmouthshire Building Society 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 COLP 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 Monmouthshire Building Society conveyancing panel.

During 2013, 211 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Monmouthshire Building Society. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Monmouthshire Building Society 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.

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the Monmouthshire Building Society conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

Your insurance brokers are your best port of call to address this question. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Monmouthshire Building Society solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You need to contact Monmouthshire Building Society to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains a specific section for lenders to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Monmouthshire Building Society in their Part 2’s state: You will need to quote your Monmouthshire Building Society conveyancing panel number.