Conveyancing Cost Estimator

What Is Conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property ownership from one person to another. A solicitor or licensed conveyancer handles the legal paperwork, property searches, exchange of contracts and completion. You need a conveyancer whether you are buying, selling or remortgaging.

What Do Conveyancing Fees Cover?

• Solicitor / conveyancer fee: Their professional charge for handling the transaction. This varies by firm, property value and complexity.
• Property searches: Local authority searches, environmental searches, water and drainage searches. These check for planning issues, contamination, flood risk and more.
• Land Registry fee: The fee to register the property in your name. Set by HM Land Registry based on the property price.
• Bank transfer fee: A telegraphic transfer fee for sending the purchase funds to the seller’s solicitor.
• Leasehold supplement: Extra work is needed for leasehold properties, including reviewing the lease, management pack and service charge accounts.
• New build supplement: New builds involve additional legal work such as reviewing NHBC warranties and developer contracts.

How to Keep Costs Down

Get quotes from at least three conveyancers. Online conveyancers are often cheaper than high street solicitors, but check reviews and ensure they are regulated by the SRA or CLC. Ask for a fixed-fee quote so there are no surprises. Be wary of very low quotes that may exclude disbursements.

Note: stamp duty (SDLT, LBTT or LTT) is a separate cost not included in this estimate. Use our stamp duty calculator to work that out.