Perenna 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 Perenna conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers

Full complaints history for each conveyancing solicitor

List of all those staff who work within the conveyancing team

List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title

Whether the firm has ever knowingly accepted instructions on transactions involving Sale and Rent Back, Back to Back, Exchange and Delayed Completion and Lease Option, Below Market Value.

Number of lender conveyancing panels the firm is currently on

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

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

top-up split and history of any refusals

The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale

When a solicitor is acting for both Perenna 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 Perenna and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Perenna 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 Perenna conveyancing panel status.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Perenna to take a much more pro-active approach in relation to the management and make up of their conveyancer panels. The knock on effect of this is that it is more likely that there will be a higher number of cases where a conveyancer is not on the Perenna panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Perenna have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new CML Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires Perenna’s panel solicitor to ‘ ...transfer the mortgage advance directly to the Seller’s conveyancer. The Seller’s conveyancer must be required to hold the mortgage advance on the terms of the required undertaking. The example borrower’s conveyancer’s undertaking letter includes a specific example of the seller’s undertaking’. You should expect to be advised to received the mortgage advance directly from the conveyancing solicitors for Perenna. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Perenna’s solicitors to discharge any charges secured on the property and to send directly to them the executed transfer and any other documents required to enable us to effect registration. Please remember to carefully consider undertakings in accordance with your firm’s protocol and record them in your undertakings logg. Please remember that as well as this breach of this undertaking having regulatory and compliance implications it’s breach could also result in your firm being removed off the Perenna conveyancing panel.

With lenders and conveyancers working so closely with one another it is surprising that there has not been greater demand for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the Perenna conveyancing panel but for all mortgage panel listings

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

You would be advised to contact Perenna to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes a specific section for banks to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. Perenna in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to quote your Perenna solicitors panel reference.