Leeds Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

The Law Society of Scotland has suggested that solicitors should check their lender panel status before accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. The suggestion arises from the practice of a number of mortgage lenders who remove solicitors from their panels without prior notice as part of their panel management system, which can lead to some solicitors discovering this only once instructed. This is sensible advice as a client finding out midway through a transaction that their lawyer is not on the approved lender panel is very frustrating and can lead to complaints. Many online consumer forums contain posts where someone is complaining about finding that their lawyer is not on a lender conveyancing panel. Such forums include moneysavingexpert.com

You might expect Leeds Building Society via their Part 2 conditions to address this but the Handbook is silent on deadlines to send deeds. You need to look at the Terms of Leeds Building Society’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you entered into. For a number of banks these Terms contain a provision such as: ‘To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds’ It is important to keep Leeds Building Society informed. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

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 Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

We would recommend that you provide 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 application but gives the Law Society viability as to what has occured.

You would be advised to contact Leeds Building Society to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains a specific question for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Leeds Building Society in their Part 2’s state: You will need to quote the firm’s Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel reference.