The average conveyancing transaction in England and Wales takes eight to twelve weeks — but delays push one in four sales past the sixteen-week mark [HM Land Registry, 2025]. Knowing each stage, its typical duration and where bottlenecks occur turns a stressful process into a manageable checklist. This guide walks through every milestone from offer accepted to keys in hand, compares online and high-street conveyancers, and flags the problems that derail completions.
What Conveyancing Actually Involves
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property ownership from seller to buyer. In England and Wales, a licensed conveyancer or solicitor handles the title checks, contract drafting, local authority searches and Land Registry registration that make the sale legally binding. Scotland and Northern Ireland follow separate systems with different timescales.
The process sits at the heart of every residential purchase, remortgage and transfer of equity. A conveyancer acts on your behalf from the moment an offer is accepted until completion day, when ownership officially changes hands. Unlike estate agents, conveyancers owe you a strict legal duty of care regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) or the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Key point: You can instruct a conveyancer before making an offer. Early instruction shaves one to two weeks off the total timeline because identity checks and initial paperwork run in parallel with negotiations.
Step-by-Step Conveyancing Timeline
Each stage below shows the typical duration for a standard freehold purchase. Leasehold transactions add two to four weeks for management-pack requests.
Instruction and ID Verification (Week 1)
You choose a conveyancer, sign the engagement letter and provide proof of identity and funds under anti-money-laundering rules. Your conveyancer opens the file and requests the draft contract pack from the seller's solicitor.
Pre-Contract Searches (Weeks 2–4)
Your conveyancer orders local authority searches, environmental reports, a water-and-drainage search and any location-specific checks such as flood risk or mining subsidence. Local authority search turnaround varies by council — some return results in 48 hours, others take four weeks. According to the Law Society's Search Code, conveyancers should flag delays beyond ten working days.
Contract Review and Enquiries (Weeks 3–6)
The draft contract, title register and property information forms arrive from the seller's side. Your conveyancer raises enquiries — written questions about boundaries, disputes, planning permissions and fixtures. This stage generates the most back-and-forth and is the leading cause of delay.
Mortgage Offer and Survey (Weeks 2–5)
Running in parallel, your lender issues a formal mortgage offer after a satisfactory valuation. You may also commission a homebuyer report or full building survey. If the valuer flags issues, renegotiation or further enquiries add time.
Exchange of Contracts (Week 6–10)
Once searches are clear, enquiries answered and mortgage offer confirmed, both parties sign identical contracts. Your conveyancer exchanges contracts with the seller's solicitor, usually by telephone using the Law Society's Formula B or C. At exchange, you pay the deposit — typically ten percent of the purchase price — and a completion date is fixed. The sale becomes legally binding.
Completion (1–4 Weeks After Exchange)
On completion day your conveyancer transfers the balance to the seller's solicitor, the keys are released and you take legal possession. Your conveyancer then pays Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) within fourteen days and registers the transfer with HM Land Registry.
Conveyancing Costs: What You Will Pay
Conveyancing fees fall into two categories: the conveyancer's professional fee and disbursements paid to third parties on your behalf.
Prices vary by property value, location and complexity. The CLC's Find a Conveyancer tool lets you compare regulated firms. Always request a full breakdown before instructing — some firms advertise low base fees then add extras for leasehold work, acting on a mortgage, or ID verification.
Key takeaway: Budget £1,200 to £2,500 for a straightforward freehold purchase including all disbursements, based on 2025 market averages [HomeOwners Alliance, 2025].
Online Conveyancers vs High-Street Solicitors
Choosing between an online conveyancer and a local solicitor is one of the first decisions buyers face. Both are regulated to the same standard, but the service model differs.
Online Conveyancers
Online firms handle communication through portals, email and phone. They operate at higher volume with lower overheads, which typically means fees twenty to thirty percent below high-street rates. Case-tracking dashboards give 24/7 visibility of progress. The trade-off is that you rarely meet your conveyancer face-to-face, and peak-period caseloads can slow response times.
High-Street Solicitors
A local solicitor offers in-person meetings, which suits complex transactions or clients who prefer direct contact. They may have specific local knowledge — useful for properties in conservation areas or with unusual title histories. Fees tend to be higher, and availability depends on office hours.
Consider Sarah, buying her first flat in Manchester. She instructed an online conveyancer after comparing three quotes. The portal let her track searches in real time, but when a boundary dispute surfaced, she wished she had a local solicitor who could visit the property. The lesson: match the service model to the complexity of the transaction, not just the price.
| Feature | Online conveyancer | High-street solicitor |
|---|---|---|
| Typical legal fee | £600–£1,000 | £900–£1,500 |
| Face-to-face meetings | Rarely | Available |
| Tracking portal | Standard | Sometimes |
| Response time | 24–48 hours | Same day (office hours) |
| Best for | Standard purchases | Complex or local issues |
Five Common Delays and How to Avoid Them
Almost thirty percent of residential transactions fall through before completion [Rightmove, 2024]. Many collapses trace back to avoidable delays.
Slow local authority searches. Some councils take four weeks or more. Ask your conveyancer to order searches on day one — before the draft contract arrives. Personal searches through a regulated search provider can cut this to two to three days.
Incomplete property information forms. Sellers who leave blanks or give vague answers trigger extra enquiries. If you are selling, complete every question fully and attach supporting documents upfront.
Mortgage offer delays. A lender taking six weeks to issue an offer stalls the entire chain. Secure a mortgage Agreement in Principle (AIP) before making an offer and respond to underwriter requests within 24 hours.
Chain dependencies. Each link in a property chain adds risk. If your seller is also buying, their transaction must complete first. Ask your estate agent for chain details early and consider chain-free properties where speed is critical.
Last-minute legal issues. Restrictive covenants, missing title deeds or unanswered planning queries surface late when conveyancers are under-resourced. Instruct a firm with capacity and check their current caseload before signing up.
Key point: The single most effective step is early instruction. Buyers who instruct a conveyancer at offer stage — rather than waiting for the mortgage offer — complete an average of two weeks faster [Bold Legal Group, 2025].
How to Choose the Right Conveyancer
Finding a reliable conveyancer starts with checking regulation. Every practitioner must be authorised by the SRA (for solicitors) or the CLC (for licensed conveyancers). Verify registration on the SRA website or the CLC register.
Beyond credentials, focus on three factors:
- Fixed-fee transparency. Request a written quote listing every charge including disbursements and VAT. Reject quotes that say "price on application" for standard items.
- Caseload. Ask how many active files the individual handling your case carries. Over eighty files per conveyancer signals stretched capacity and likely delays.
- Communication commitment. Agree on a weekly update schedule. The best firms send automated milestone notifications so you never have to chase.
Get at least three quotes. The Solicitors Regulation Authority's cost transparency rules require firms to publish residential conveyancing prices on their websites, making comparison straightforward.
"The cheapest quote is rarely the best value. A firm that completes two weeks faster saves you more in mortgage interest and stress than the £200 you saved on fees." — Property Law Society guidance, 2024
Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your transaction, consult a qualified solicitor or licensed conveyancer.
After Completion: What Your Conveyancer Still Handles
Completion day is not the finish line for your conveyancer. Several post-completion obligations carry strict deadlines.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Your conveyancer files and pays SDLT to HMRC within fourteen days of completion. Late filing triggers automatic penalties starting at £100, rising to £300 after three months [HMRC, 2025]. First-time buyers purchasing a property up to £625,000 benefit from reduced SDLT rates, with zero tax on the first £300,000 under the standard relief thresholds from April 2025 [HMRC, 2025].
Land Registry Registration
The transfer deed and any new mortgage must be registered with HM Land Registry. Current processing times range from four weeks for digital applications to six months for complex cases [HM Land Registry, 2025]. Your conveyancer submits the application — you receive the updated title register once it completes.
Storing Your Title Deeds
Since 1990, HM Land Registry holds the legal record digitally. Physical title deeds are no longer required for most transactions, but if your property has older unregistered elements, keep originals safe. Your conveyancer will confirm what needs storing and what can be destroyed.
Key takeaway: Do not close contact with your conveyancer until you have received confirmation of both SDLT filing and Land Registry registration. These two steps protect your legal ownership.
