What Conveyancing Is — And Who Does It
Conveyancing must be carried out by a qualified professional: either a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. Both are regulated — solicitors by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and licensed conveyancers by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). Licensed conveyancers specialise exclusively in property transactions, while solicitors may have broader expertise including wills and family law that can be useful if your purchase has legal complexities.
You can instruct a conveyancer at any point, but the earlier the better. Many buyers wait until an offer is accepted — but instructing a solicitor before you start viewing means they are ready to move immediately when your offer is accepted, saving potentially 1–2 weeks. Your conveyancer acts solely in your interest and is not the estate agent's solicitor or the seller's solicitor.
Costs vary. High-street firms typically charge £1,000–£1,800 in legal fees for a standard purchase, plus disbursements (search fees, Land Registry fees, SDLT). Online conveyancers can be cheaper but may be less responsive. Avoid the cheapest option — slow conveyancing costs you more in mortgage payments and stress than the small saving on fees.
The Pre-Contract Stage: Searches and Enquiries
Once you instruct a solicitor, they request the legal pack from the seller's solicitor. This contains the title deeds, the seller's completed TA6 (Property Information Form), the TA10 (Fittings and Contents Form), and for leasehold properties, the TA7 (Leasehold Information Form) plus lease documentation. Your solicitor reviews these documents and raises enquiries — written questions to the seller's solicitor on anything that needs clarification or explanation.
Simultaneously, your solicitor orders searches. The mandatory searches for any mortgage purchase are: local authority search (reveals planning history, road adoption status, environmental notices), drainage and water search (confirms drainage connections and water supply), and environmental search (covers flood risk, contamination, radon). Additional searches may be ordered depending on location — coal mining searches in former mining areas, chancel repair searches, and tin mining searches in Cornwall.
Search timelines vary considerably. Local authority searches from some councils take 2–3 days; others take 4–6 weeks. The overall pre-contract stage typically takes 6–10 weeks — often the longest single phase of the transaction. If searches are taking too long, ask your solicitor to check the turnaround time and consider whether a personal search (carried out by a private company from public records) is available as a faster alternative.
| Stage | Who is responsible | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Instruct solicitor | Buyer | Day 1 |
| Draft contract sent | Seller's solicitor | Days 5–10 |
| Searches ordered | Buyer's solicitor | Days 5–10 |
| Searches returned | Local authority / agencies | 2–6 weeks |
| Enquiries raised and answered | Both solicitors | 3–8 weeks |
| Mortgage offer issued | Lender | 2–6 weeks |
| Exchange of contracts | Both solicitors | Week 8–16 |
| Completion | Both solicitors | Week 10–20 |
Exchange of Contracts
Exchange of contracts is the moment the transaction becomes legally binding on both parties. Before exchange, either party can walk away — after exchange, withdrawal results in significant financial penalties. On exchange, the buyer pays a deposit (typically 10% of the purchase price, though sometimes less by agreement) which is held by the seller's solicitor. A completion date is fixed.
To reach exchange, your solicitor needs: all searches returned and satisfactory, all enquiries raised and answered satisfactorily, your mortgage offer in writing, buildings insurance arranged and confirmed (lenders require this from exchange), and a signed contract from you. The seller's solicitor needs the same from their side.
Exchange usually happens on the telephone — both solicitors agree to exchange simultaneously, after which the contracts are posted to one another. This takes seconds but may be preceded by weeks of negotiation and document chasing. Once exchanged, you are committed to completing on the agreed date. If you fail to complete on time as a buyer, you may owe the seller 10% of the purchase price plus daily interest.
Completion
Completion is the day you become the legal owner of the property. On completion day, your solicitor transfers the purchase funds to the seller's solicitor (including both your deposit already paid and the mortgage funds from your lender). Once the seller's solicitor confirms receipt, the estate agent releases the keys.
The gap between exchange and completion is typically 1–4 weeks, though it can be longer by agreement — particularly in chains where multiple completion dates need to synchronise. Completion on a Friday is popular (a whole weekend to unpack) but also highest-risk if any transfer is delayed, as banks may not process weekend payments. A mid-week completion gives more time to resolve banking issues if something goes wrong.
If completion is delayed through no fault of either party (a rare banking issue, for example), both sides generally agree an extension. If the seller fails to complete on time, the buyer may charge daily interest on the outstanding balance. If the buyer fails to complete, the seller can rescind the contract and keep the deposit.
Post-Completion Formalities
After completion, your solicitor handles two critical formalities: filing the Stamp Duty Land Tax return with HMRC and paying any SDLT due (this must be done within 14 days of completion, or a penalty applies), and registering the title at HM Land Registry in your name. Land Registry registration can take several weeks to several months depending on workload, but this does not affect your ownership — you are the legal owner from the moment of completion.
You will receive official copies of the registered title once Land Registry processing is complete. Keep these safely, along with all completion statements, guarantees for any building works, and the energy performance certificate. If the property has a new lease or you have bought a share of freehold, there may be additional registration requirements — your solicitor will handle these.
Buildings insurance must be in place from exchange (not completion) for the transaction to proceed. Once you complete, arrange contents insurance as well. If buying a leasehold flat, check whether the building insurance is managed by the freeholder or management company — you may not need to arrange your own.
What Causes Delays — And How to Avoid Them
Slow conveyancing is frustrating and costly. The most common causes of delay are: unresponsive solicitors (the single biggest problem, particularly at cheap online conveyancers with very high caseloads), slow local authority searches, mortgage offer delays, and problems revealed in searches or enquiries that take time to resolve.
You can help keep things moving. Chase your solicitor weekly for a status update. If you are in a chain, ask your solicitor to confirm that all other solicitors in the chain are progressing at the same pace. Respond to any queries from your solicitor immediately — every day you delay responding can add a week to the overall timeline. If your solicitor is consistently unresponsive, you have the right to complain to the SRA or CLC, or in serious cases to transfer your matter to another firm.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Instruct a solicitor before you start viewing — it saves 1–2 weeks when your offer is accepted
- ✓Searches take 2–6 weeks depending on the local authority — order them as early as possible
- ✓Exchange of contracts makes the transaction legally binding; do not give notice on a rental or book removals until exchange
- ✓SDLT must be filed and paid within 14 days of completion — your solicitor handles this automatically
- ✓Weekly check-ins with your solicitor are reasonable and help prevent delays from falling through the cracks