National Westminster Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

The CML do not keep historic copies of P2 conditions Pre January 2011. We would recommend you make a request of National Westminster Bank directly.

When a solicitor is acting for both National Westminster Bank and borrower there is potential for conflicts to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information received by you from your client is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the client’s consent. In the situation you find yourself in if the purchaser will not consent to the information being passed on to the lender the solicitor must cease to act for the National Westminster Bank and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the National Westminster Bank the reason for termination of the retainer over and above the fact that a conflict has arisen. The fact that you can no longer act should alert even the most somnambulistic of lenders that something is wrong with the borrower and/or purchase. The fact that you have disinstructed yourself should not affect your National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel status.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which are to followed if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. (a) 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 National Westminster Bank immediately. (II) 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 National Westminster Bank’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let National Westminster Bank know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for National Westminster Bank to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. National Westminster Bank are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. Thirdly, National Westminster Bank 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. National Westminster Bank recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that National Westminster Bank 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 National Westminster Bank 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 National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel

CQS accreditation gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their panels. A number of Lenders now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel membership as is the case with Astra Mortgages.

You would be advised to contact National Westminster Bank 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. National Westminster Bank in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to quote the firm’s National Westminster Bank solicitors panel number.