Principality Building Society Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is web-based pre- and post-completion checklist for property lawyers. Supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and PI insurers such as AmTrust. It is a unique risk management tool.

This software facilitates the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their instructions, with notifications given on Principality Building Society’s changes. While utilising COMPLETIONmonitor is not a prerequisite for Principality Building Society , demonstrating you can stay up to date with Principality Building Society’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your panel application and, more importantly, safeguard your firm’s panel status.

The system creates real-time alerts, automatically produces SRA and CQS reports, and will enhance your firm's efficiency. In addition it is user friendly, cost-effective and, for some firms, leads to a PII saving.

Find a Law Firm approved by Principality Building Society

Banks and building societies frequently change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Principality Building Society are not guidelines, they are instructions from a client. As with many clients, instructions can change - and they do change, over time:

A Timeline of Policy Changes


Since 2008, Principality Building Society has made 270 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the CML Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 10.1 days. In total, 64% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Principality Building Society have been changed since 15/12/2008.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,

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Recent Changes Include

# Date Assoc. Changes Related To
6.2.1 07/12/2017 CML
Property Description
Contact details at Principality Building Society for conveyancing panel lawyers to used where there are any discrepancies in property's description.
16.3.4 29/11/2017 CML
Transfer of Equity
Principality Building Society requirements for approved lawyers as to whether Principality Building Society need to be sent the Transfer of Equity
16.5.3d 29/11/2017 CML
Option Agreements
Contact details at Principality Building Society for approved lawyers to send option agreements .
1.7 29/11/2017 CML
General Mortgage Instructions
Contact details at Principality Building Society for conveyancing panel lawyers to if Principality Building Society will lend when borrower and mortgagor are not one and the same.
6.13.1 29/11/2017 CML
Conveyancing Searches: Improvement or Repair Grants
Contact details at Principality Building Society for approved lawyers to used where Principality Building Society needs to be notified where property is affected by improvement/repair grant which will not be discharged.
7.4 29/11/2017 CML
Occupiers at the Property
Contact details at Principality Building Society for conveyancing panel conveyancers if doubts about accuracy of information concerning occupation of the property
5.4.5 29/11/2017 CML
Conveyancing Searches: Personal Searches
Principality Building Society approved lawyers clarification as to whether they accept personal searches and, if yes, the Principality Building Society requirements
Local Search Indemnity Insurance
5.7.1c 29/11/2017 CML
Flying Freeholds
Contact details at Principality Building Society for conveyancing panel lawyers where for reporting purposes where the property is a freehold flat or flying freehold, to which contact point must this be reported and where Principality Building Society lend on such properties
Flying Freehold Indemnity Insurance
6.7.1 09/05/2017 CML
New Build Conveyancing
Principality Building Society approved conveyancer requirements for New Build Conveyancing : Home Warranty Schemes
6.7.1 14/03/2017 CML
New Build Conveyancing
Principality Building Society approved conveyancer requirements for New Build Conveyancing : Home Warranty Schemes

Last update 09/03/2019

Common questions asked concerning the Principality Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public

My Solicitor is not listed on the Principality Building Society Solicitor Panel. Can I still use my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Principality Building Society list of approved lawyers?
You will need to have a conveyancer complete the legal work required when you take out a Principality Building Society mortgage to buy your property. They’ll carry out all the necessary legal checks on the property, make sure that you’re properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the necessary mortgage documentation is in place. You can instruct a conveyancing firm of your choice. However, if the firm selected is not a member of the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel additional costs will be incurred as separate legal representation will be required by Principality Building Society. Conveyancing panel applications can be submitted, so if your conveyancer has not previously applied for membership they can do so.
My solicitor has requested from me personal identification documents asserting that this forms part of his legal duty as a solicitor on the Principality Building Society Solicitor panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Principality Building Society also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Principality Building Society CML Handbook requirements last updated on Principality Building Society
I am Googling for conveyancing quotes online. Can I be confident that all the firms that are listed on your directory are on the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel?
The law firms listed on our site have assured us via an online form that they are on the Principality Building Society panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Principality Building Society panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel is incorrect.
The firm that just started acting on my purchase in London has suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel and my previous lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £175 for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
I previously instructed online solicitors located in Cardiff who are on the Principality Building Society solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £175 for the legal aspects of the Principality Building Society mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Principality Building Society?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Principality Building Society but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Principality Building Society will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
Do the majority of banks operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Principality Building Society conveyancing panel requirements are different to Principality Building Society’s conveyancing panel criteria.