Principality Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

The answer to this question really depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Principality 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 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 Principality Building Society conveyancing panel.

During 2013, 163 sections of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook P2 were changed by Principality Building Society. Some changes are more important than others but as a firm on the Principality 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 Principality Building Society conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

There are various requirements you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. First, You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Principality Building Society immediately. (b) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Principality Building Society’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Principality Building Society know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Principality Building Society to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Principality Building Society conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Principality Building Society are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (III) Principality Building Society recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Principality Building Society recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Principality Building Society have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers survey or structural survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Principality Building Society or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel

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 Principality Building Society solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You need to contact Principality Building Society to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an individual inquiry for banks to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Principality Building Society in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to disclose the firm’s Principality Building Society solicitors panel reference.