What is conveyancing, and how long does it take?
Published 8 June 2026 · 6 min read · By Evren Ergin
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer, handled by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. In the UK it usually takes about 12 to 16 weeks from offer accepted to completion, though chains and slow searches can stretch it further.
TL;DR
- •Conveyancing is the legal work that transfers a property from seller to buyer, and it runs from offer accepted through to completion day.
- •It typically takes 12 to 16 weeks, and the average time to exchange had risen to 134 days by early 2026 as searches and chains slowed things down.
- •For sellers, the solicitor or conveyancer fee is usually around £1,300 for a freehold sale and around £1,600 for a leasehold sale, before disbursements.
- •The biggest delays come from searches, enquiries between solicitors, mortgage timelines and chains, and you can speed things up by instructing early and having your documents ready.
Once an offer is accepted, the sale moves out of the estate agent's hands and into the legal process. That process is conveyancing, and for most people it is the part of selling or buying they understand least and worry about most. Knowing the stages, the realistic timeline and the costs takes a lot of the anxiety out of it, because you can tell the difference between a sale that is moving normally and one that is genuinely stuck.
What is conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the legal transfer of property ownership from seller to buyer. A solicitor is a qualified lawyer who can handle conveyancing alongside other legal work; a licensed conveyancer is a specialist trained specifically in property transfers. Either can act for you. Their job is to handle the contract, the legal checks, the money and the registration of the new owner with HM Land Registry.
What are the stages of conveyancing?
The process runs through a fairly fixed set of stages, several of which overlap. The table below shows the typical order and timing for a straightforward sale.
Typical conveyancing stages and timing for a straightforward UK sale, 2026
| Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Instruction | You appoint a solicitor or conveyancer; they open the file and send out the initial paperwork | Week 1 to 2 |
| Draft contract and enquiries | The seller's solicitor issues the draft contract; the buyer's solicitor raises legal enquiries | Week 2 to 6 |
| Searches | The buyer's solicitor orders local authority, water, drainage and environmental searches | 1 to 4 weeks, running in parallel |
| Mortgage and survey | The buyer's lender values the home and issues the formal mortgage offer | Week 2 to 6 |
| Exchange of contracts | Both sides sign, the deposit is paid, and the completion date becomes legally binding | Around week 10 to 14 |
| Completion | The balance of the money transfers, keys change hands, and you move | Days after exchange |
How long does conveyancing take in 2026?
For a straightforward sale, expect about 12 to 16 weeks from offer accepted to completion. It has been getting slower: data from Quick Move Now published on 6 May 2026 put the average time to exchange at 134 days. The single biggest variables are the length of the chain, how quickly searches come back from the local authority, and how fast each side's solicitor responds to enquiries.
How much does conveyancing cost?
Typical conveyancing costs for a seller, UK 2026 guide figures
| Item | Typical cost (selling) |
|---|---|
| Solicitor or conveyancer fee, freehold sale | Around £1,300 including VAT |
| Solicitor or conveyancer fee, leasehold sale | Around £1,600 including VAT, due to extra legal work |
| Disbursements (Land Registry, ID and bank transfer fees) | Added on top, usually a few hundred pounds |
How can I speed conveyancing up?
1. Instruct your solicitor early
Appoint your conveyancer as soon as you go on the market, not after you accept an offer, so the file is open and ready to move the moment a buyer is found.
2. Get your documents ready
Gather your title deeds, any guarantees and certificates (for example for a boiler, windows or an extension), and your completed property information forms before they are requested.
3. Respond fast to every request
Most delay is dead time waiting for a signature or an answer. Returning forms and queries within a day or two keeps your half of the process from being the bottleneck.
4. Stay in touch through your agent
A good agent chases the chain and the solicitors on your behalf. Regular, calm progress checks catch a stalled search or an unanswered enquiry before it costs you weeks.
What is the difference between a solicitor and a conveyancer?
A solicitor is a fully qualified lawyer who can handle property work and other legal matters. A licensed conveyancer is a specialist trained specifically in property transfers. For a standard sale, either can act for you, and a conveyancer is often slightly cheaper.
Do I need a solicitor to sell my house?
In practice, yes. Transferring legal ownership and registering the change with HM Land Registry requires conveyancing, and a lender will insist on a qualified professional. You can technically do your own conveyancing, but it is rarely advisable and many solicitors will not deal with an unrepresented party.
Why does conveyancing take so long?
Most of the time is spent waiting: for local authority searches to come back, for enquiries to pass between the two solicitors, for the lender to issue the mortgage offer, and for everyone in a chain to be ready at once. A single slow link holds up the whole chain.
What is a disbursement?
A disbursement is a third-party cost your solicitor pays on your behalf and then bills to you, such as Land Registry fees, search fees or identity checks. Disbursements are separate from, and added on top of, the solicitor's own fee.
When does the sale become legally binding?
At exchange of contracts. Exchange of contracts is the point at which both sides are committed, the deposit is paid, and the completion date is fixed. Before exchange, either side can still walk away; after it, pulling out has serious financial consequences.
Where ValuQ fits
Conveyancing goes more smoothly when the sale was set up well from the start, with a realistic price and an agent who keeps the chain moving. ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents, so you choose the agent on the quality of their offer and their plan to get you to completion, not on who called first.
Sources
- [1]Quick Move Now / TwentyCi UK fall-through and time-to-exchange data, Q1 2026 (via ABC Money) · 2026-05-06 · https://www.abcmoney.co.uk/2026/05/uk-housing-market-under-strain-as-24-of-property-sales-fall-through-in-early-2026
- [2]Comparemymove — Solicitor Fees for Selling a House (2026 guide) · 2026-05-01 · https://www.comparemymove.com/guides/conveyancing/solicitor-fees-when-selling
- [3]HomeOwners Alliance — Conveyancing Fees: What To Expect In 2026 · 2026-05-01 · https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/much-conveyancing-fees-cost/
Read next
Related insights
My buyer wants money off after the survey. Should I agree?
Has my house gone up in value since I bought it?
Forget London: the towns where flats are selling for far less
ValuQ Property Watch: Basildon flats fell 6% as terraces rose
See every local agent on one screen.
Free for homeowners. Always. No cold calls. No data sales. No starting-line advantage for the fastest dialler in town.
Get your free anonymous valuationSellers and buyers never pay.