Yorkshire Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

Each lender has different criteria. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Yorkshire Bank conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

List of all those who fund the firm, including non-lawyers if applicable

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

Whether the firm is able to operate in other jurisdictions

Full complaints history for each conveyancing solicitor

Firm name, address and contact details including all branches (including evidence of existence through risk-based physical visits and Google Streetview checks)

Solicitor

Automated alerting to inform lenders when there is a fundamental change to the firm (e.g. new disciplinary action)

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

SRA or equivalent regulator registration number where applicable

List of fee-earners who are foreign qualified

We can't comment specifically on Yorkshire Bank. Many major lenders are now introducing ‘file auditing’ as standard practice in relation to completed matters. This raises questions of confidentiality in relation to the borrower and the purpose to which the results of such audits will be put. The starting point is to remember that the file does not belong to your firm, it belongs to the ‘client’. But, of course, we will normally have two clients – the buyer and the lender - and you will owe a duty of confidentiality to each. So basically, you have to separate the file and just send the lender the parts solely relating to themselves. But, of course, as this will basically be correspondence with the lender, mortgage instructions etc.

Check with your COLP but a firm should not send the complete conveyancing file without the buyer client’s express consent – and if she is in dispute with the lender she is hardly likely to agree. However, if the lender can establish a prima facie case of fraud, then you may be under an obligation to disclose the whole file.

The emerging convention is that lenders are including an authority to disclose in loan application forms to counter this problem. Mortgage Express v Sawali, [2010] EWHC 3054 (Ch) indicates that such provisions are valid. Please click here for more information about that case.

You need to be careful here as what you are suggesting may not be acceptable to the lender. It is possible that you (as a non-panel firm) or the mortgage applicant are not at liberty instruct a panel firm of your choice. An increasing amount of lenders are making it clear to their panel firms that where a non-panel member firm is instructed by one of their mortgage applicants, the lender must appoint a panel firm to carry out its instructions and to liaise with the borrower's conveyancing firm. You also need to make the costs implications and potential for delay very clear to your client.

Yorkshire Bank approved solicitors have to comply with the Part II 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 Yorkshire Bank require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check Yorkshire Bank CML Part 2 conditions to see if Yorkshire Bank 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 Yorkshire Bank conveyancing panel

It would be advisable to supply details of the date of removal, information on the reason for removal, date of appeal and any reason given for reinstatement. This should not negatively affect your firm’s application but gives the CQS team viability as to what has happened.

You need to get in touch with Yorkshire Bank to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an express section for banks to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Yorkshire Bank in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to disclose the firm’s Yorkshire Bank conveyancing panel number.