Ecology Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

The criteria to join the Ecology Building Society conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

We only know of a couple of banks that operate a distinct approved solicitors panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain level. You should nevertheless check directly with Ecology Building Society. 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 Ecology Building Society

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

There are various requirements are to followed 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 Ecology Building Society immediately. Second, 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 Ecology Building Society’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Ecology Building Society know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Ecology Building Society to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Ecology Building Society conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Ecology Building Society are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. Thirdly, Ecology 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. Ecology Building Society recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Ecology 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 comprehensive survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Ecology 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 Ecology Building Society conveyancing panel

In the circumstances please explain on the form what steps you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your Ecology Building Society panel membership. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before revocation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender advising you as to their reasons?

You need to contact Ecology Building Society to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates an explicit question for lenders to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. Ecology Building Society in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to quote the firm’s Ecology Building Society conveyancing panel reference.