Conveyancing Fees –
The Essential Guide (2024)

If you’re buying or selling a property, one of the first ports of call is looking for a conveyancing solicitor who will not only do a good job but also charge a reasonable price.

Starting with the latest data we gather every year on average conveyancing fees in England and Wales, we also delve into charging structures, finding the best value conveyancers, questions to ask, disbursements and other costs to be aware of…

Average Conveyancing Fees (2024)

Property Solvers‘ annual research of 100 firms  (in England and Wales) has revealed that average conveyancing fees in 2024 stood at £1,187.98 and £1,265.65 (inclusive of VAT) for a freehold tenured property sale and purchase.

Average conveyancing costs for leasehold property conveyancing services for sales and purchases stood at £1,401.99 and £1,491.83 respectively (inclusive of VAT).

The latest data – including the cost to remortgage a freehold property – is presented below:

Please note the following:

• We looked at a good mix across the country;
• We assumed a mortgage is being redeemed (or paid off) or the property was being purchased with a mortgage;
• Property values were never above £300,000 (for both purchase and sale);
• The remortgage level was set at £225,000;
• Property Solvers researchers did not check whether the conveyancers were on mainstream mortgage lender’s panels;
• The average fees did not take into account for disbursements and supplementary fees.

What Are Conveyancing Fees?

Conveyancing fees are what get paid to a legal professional to manage the purchase or sale of a property.

In most cases, we would recommend you use a qualified conveyancer to properly manage the sales process.  You’ll also avoid potentially expensive mistakes.

Rarely is a ‘do it yourself‘ approach recommendable.

The conveyancing fee is split into two parts:

1. The actual tasks of dealing with all the legal aspects of the sale;
2. The disbursements or third-party expenses involved during the sale.

If the sale comes with a number of complications, there may be extra conveyancing-related costs to bear in mind.

How Much Are Conveyancing Fees?

With so many firms out there, shopping around for the best conveyancer may seem confusing.

Ultimately, what you end up paying is often based on:

• Whether you’re using a conveyancing solicitor or licenced conveyancer.  The latter is generally cheaper;
• If you’re using an online conveyancer.  Although these firms generally charge less, they have been known to offer inferior service levels;
• How expensive and where your house is.  Generally, buyers and sellers of larger properties in more affluent areas would pay more;
• Where in the country the conveyancer is based.  Typically, the further north you go, the cheaper the fees are;
• The complexity of the sale and if it forms part of a chain;
• If you’re buying or selling a leasehold property.  The charges will be higher due to the extra checks required;
• If you’re buying or selling a shared-ownership property, the conveyancer may bump up the fee to handle secured debts owed back from the sale, deal with the extra enquiries and other issues.  Similarly, if it’s purchase from the council (under Right to Buy), most conveyancers will want a higher fee;
• Whether the deposit partially funded by the Help to Buy scheme or financial gift.  Here, the extra checks and legal processes will be chargeable;
• If you’re buying or selling a new build, there may be extra investigations required (particularly the surrounding land) meaning the conveyancer charges more;
• If the conveyancer / conveyancing solicitor is not on the mainstream mortgage lender’s panel, extra fees are likely to apply;
• Whether this the sale is for cash.  In this scenario, the conveyancer would not need to deal with drawing down mortgage finance and should charge less;
• If there are potentially complex issues involved such as encumbrances, overage clauses, restrictive covenants, positive / negative easements amongst others.

As with most things in life, we’d recommend searching for a balance between good quality service and a reasonable price.

How to Find the Best Value Conveyancer

As with any service, you’ll often pay for what you get.

Cheaper services often leave people disappointed with the ‘conveyancing by numbers’ approach and lack of attention.

Most conveyancers will charge a fixed fee, only due once the sale is complete.  Some, however, may charge a percentage (usually around 25 to 30%) after the property goes from Under Offer to Sold STC.  This usually goes towards the ongoing costs of managing the case (rather than the firm’s profit as a business).

Above all, remember to get the total costs (including disbursements) up-front and in writing.

Here are a handful of tips to help you find a good firm at a cost that won’t break the bank…

• Make sure you shop around and get a good feel for the conveyancing market;
• Talk to friends and family;
• Ask your mortgage broker, bank manager or Independent Financial Advisor (IFA);
• Check out review sites like Trust Pilot, Feefoo, Reviews.co.uk and Google Reviews;
• Speak to your estate agent or property buying company.  For instance, here at Property Solvers, we work with reasonably-priced conveyancing partners who we have worked with for nearly 2 decades.

If you’re still undecided, you can always get on the phone to talk to the firm directly.

Questions to Ask the Conveyancer

Some questions worth asking include:

• Simply, how much will they charge?  Make sure you confirm the extra costs, known as disbursements.  For example, solicitors have to pay up-front for expenses such as Land Registry checks and searches;
• Can they send over a full breakdown of both the fixed and variable fees?  Making they hide nothing and you read the small print;
• Will the fee include VAT?
• Will the fee will only be due upon completion (no sale, no fee)?  If the conveyancer insists on payment up-front (other than for disbursements), make sure this will be held in the firms’ ‘escrow’ or ‘client’ account.  Also check that you’ll get a refund should the sale collapse;
• How long has the firm been established?
• If your case is more complex, does the conveyancing firm have the necessary experience?
• What’s the average time for the sale to exchange / complete?  Can they demonstrate how they’ve met these timescales in recent history?  Having a fast solicitor is crucial, especially if you’re selling to a ‘we buy any home’ type company like ourselves (we’ll pay your legal fees) or through an auction.  If you’re buying, make sure the conveyancer can work to specific deadlines;
• Can they provide a deadline for exchange / completion for your sale?
• Are they on the mortgage lenders approved panel?  If they are not, then you may end up paying extra (as the solicitor will have to partner with another legal representative that does);
• It’s always worth checking that the firm you use is a member of the Law Society and the associated Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.  You should also check the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (SRA) website.  Conveyancers must be members of the Council for Licenced Conveyancers (CLC);
• How will they communicate with you and keep you updated?  You don’t want automated responses all the time should demand someone to answer your questions whenever you need.  At the same time, be careful not to bug them too often so that it impedes them actually getting on with work;
• In line with the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority guidelines, are their fees presented transparently?
• What kind of case-tracking processes do they have in place?
• Would they be able to offer any assistance out of hours (evenings and weekends)?
• Will you have one point of contact who will deal with any issues they have?
• Who will deal with your enquiries if your direct point of contact is absent (day off, on holiday etc.)?  How will they be briefed?
• What kind of caseload do they currently have?  It’s best to avoid a firm that is super-busy so that your case doesn’t end up neglected;
• Is all the essential case progression manageable from a distance? You don’t want a situation where you have to visit the conveyancer’s office unnecessarily;
• Is the conveyancer office based?  We’ve noticed that conveyancers (usually solicitors) that are based between offices and attending court can be hard to get hold of;
• With mortgage-funded purchases, will there be an extra charge to liaise with the lender and redeem the mortgage?  There shouldn’t be any extra charges as most people access mortgage finance;
• Is the conveyancer willing to communicate to your estate agent throughout the sale?  The agent can then help chase things up where necessary;
• If you’re selling a leasehold property, how much extra will they be charging?
• What would happen if the sale was to fall through?  Although you’ll probably be liable for disbursements costs, the conveyancer may charge you ‘abortive’ costs;
• How conveyancers receive their fee?  The seller usually pays from the proceeds of sale (alongside the estate agency fees).  The buyer’s conveyancer would usually send an invoice, due on completion;
• Does the conveyancing firm have a complaints procedure in place?

Disbursements

The majority of the fee goes towards the conveyancer’s time/effort, but there are also extra costs known as ‘disbursements’.

These are the administrative costs or overheads necessary to process the house sale.

Most solicitors should charge you at cost (i.e. not make any profit).  However, you’ll probably need to pay for the disbursements up-front.

Below are the prominent ones.  We’ve also indicated whether the buyer, seller or both would be liable:

Extra Conveyancing-Related Costs

There may be a few additional costs that you may incur, particularly if the sale is more complex than standard.

In our experience, most conveyancers take it as a given that there will be complications.

Nonetheless, it’s worth making sure you have a good idea of what you’ll be paying from the start.