Property law and conveyancing charging information
Understanding the costs of residential conveyancing
As every property transaction is different, we provide a personal fee estimate of conveyancing fees at the outset. In order to gauge what will be involved in your case and give you an accurate estimate of overall costs, we first need to learn more about your situation and what the process will involve.
Some fee examples
We’ve set out below some example fees for different types of transaction. In each case, our fees cover all of our work required to complete the transaction, plus any extra charges and payments made to others third parties on your behalf (called disbursements).
- Freehold sale
- Freehold purchase
- Leasehold sale
- Leasehold purchase
- Remortgage
Factors that impact fees
Our fees are not driven solely by the purchase price of the property. Lots of things can increase the cost of a conveyancing transaction. They include:
- problems with the legal title
- if part or all of the property is not registered
- the sale contract is non-standard and needs to be negotiated
- you are using the Help to Buy scheme
- the property is a new build
- you are buying share of freehold
- the lease needs extending
- there are service charge arrears (on a leasehold property)
- mortgage/funding arrangements
Payments to others (disbursements)
During the conveyancing process we often need to pay costs to other people – these costs are called disbursements. Common examples include Land Registry search fees and landlord’s cost for preparing a Landlord’s Management Pack.
Transactions that do not proceed
Sometimes a conveyancing transaction falls through. This can be frustrating if you have incurred costs, especially if the transaction collapses near to exchange.
When we agree our fees with you at the outset, you can agree to an increased fee to ensure that in the event that your transaction does not proceed, that we will not charge you. This waiver of our fees will only apply when the transaction fails due to:
- the other party withdrawing, through no fault of yours
- the survey revealing a serious defect that has a material impact on the value of the property
- a defect in the title being discovered that cannot be resolved
The waiver does not apply to disbursements, for example search fees.
Please call us to discuss how this might apply to your transaction.
Referral fees
We do not pay referral fees to any intermediaries in relation to our conveyancing work.
Freehold sale fees
| Price of property | Legal fees |
| Up to £500,000 | £1,650 - £4,400 plus VAT |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | £1,650 - £4,850 plus VAT |
| £1,000,001 - £1,500,000 | £1,750 - £6,800 plus VAT |
| £1,500,001 - £2,500,000 | £2,350 - £10,620 plus VAT |
| Electronic Money Transfer Fee | £34.50 plus VAT |
Payments to others
There is a Land Registry fee of £6 for an official copy of the register and £6 each for any supporting documents.
About the process
The average freehold sale takes between four and eight weeks, but it may be quicker or slower depending on the parties in the chain and the circumstances of your transaction. At the outset, we will discuss the timescale you have in mind and will work to meet your expectations where possible.
Key stages
- take your instructions and give you initial advice
- prepare draft contract documents
- reply to enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitors
- give you advice on all documents and information relevant to the sale
- send the final contract to you for signature
- agree completion date (date on which you will vacate the property)
- exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
- send final transfer documents to you for signature
- complete the sale
- settle the agents’ invoice from the sale proceeds
- redeem any mortgage(s)
- transfer any balance of funds held
Freehold purchase fees
| Price of property | Legal fees |
| Up to £500,000 | £1,750 - £5,300 plus VAT |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | £1,750 - £5,800 plus VAT |
| £1,000,001 - £1,500,000 | £2,000 - £7,860 plus VAT |
| £1,500,001 - £2,500,000 | £2,500 - £12,100 plus VAT |
| Electronic Money Transfer Fee | £34.50 plus VAT |
Payments to others
Search fees £450 (estimate)
Land Registry fee - the fee will depend upon the purchase price:
| Price of property | Fee |
| £0- £80,000 | £20 |
| £80,001 - £100,000 | £40 |
| £100,001 - £200,000 | £100 |
| £200,001 - £500,000 | £150 |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | £295 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £500 |
Please note that the level of search fees and Land Registry fees may vary depending on the particular circumstances of your purchase.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
The amount of tax payable will depend on the purchase price and whether you own other properties. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or, if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.
About the process
The average freehold purchase takes between four and eight weeks, but it may be quicker or slower depending on the parties in the chain and the circumstances of your transaction. At the outset, we will discuss the timescale you have in mind and will work to meet your expectations where possible.
Key stages
- take your instructions and give you initial advice
- check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
- receive and advise on contract documents
- carry out searches
- make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
- give you advice on all documents and information received
- go through with you the conditions of the mortgage offer
- send the final contract to you for signature
- agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
- exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
- arrange for all monies needed to be received from you and the Lender
- carry out pre-completion searches
- complete purchase
- deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax
- deal with the application for registration at the Land Registry
- provide you with a copy of the completed registration at the Land Registry
Leasehold sale
| Price of property | Legal fees |
| Up to £500,000 | £1,750 - £4,450 plus VAT |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | £1,750 - £5,000 plus VAT |
| £1,000,001 - £1,500,000 | £1,950 - £6,875 plus VAT |
| £1,500,001 - £2,500,000 | £2,600 - £10,750 plus VAT |
| Electronic Money Transfer Fee | £34.50 plus VAT |
Payments to others
There is a Land Registry fee of £6 for an official copy of the register and £6 each for any supporting documents.
Landlord’s Management Pack – the landlord or managing agent may make a charge for production of insurance and service charge information. This is normally in the range of £200 - £500.
About the process
The average leasehold sale takes between four and eight weeks, but it may be quicker or slower depending on the parties in the chain and the circumstances of your transaction. At the outset, we will discuss the timescale you have in mind and will work to meet your expectations where possible.
Key stages
- take your instructions and give you initial advice
- prepare draft contract documents
- request a service charge pack from the freeholder
- reply to enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitors
- give you advice on all documents and information relevant to the sale
- send the final contract to you for signature
- agree completion date (date on which you will vacate the property)
- exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
- send final transfer documents to you for signature
- complete the sale
- settle the agents’ sale invoice from the sale proceeds
- redeem any mortgage(s)
- transfer to you any balance of funds held
Leasehold purchase fees
| Price of property | Legal fees |
| Up to £500,000 | £1,900 - £5,750 plus VAT |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | £1,900 - £6,300 plus VAT |
| £1,000,001 - £1,500,000 | £2,750 - £8,600 plus VAT |
| £1,500,001 - £2,500,000 | £2,950 - £13,000 plus VAT |
| Electronic Money Transfer Fee | £34.50 plus VAT |
Payments to others
Search fees £450 (estimate)
Landlord’s notice and administration charges (these are set by the landlord but are commonly £100 - £300)
Land Registry fee
| Price of property | Fee |
| £0- £80,000 | £20 |
| £80,001 - £100,000 | £40 |
| £100,001 - £200,000 | £100 |
| £200,001 - £500,000 | £150 |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | £295 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £500 |
Please note that the level of search fees and Land Registry fees may vary depending on the particular circumstances of your purchase.
Stamp duty Land Tax
The amount of tax payable will depend on the purchase price and whether you own other properties. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or, if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.
About the process
The average leasehold purchase takes between four and eight weeks, but it may be quicker or slower depending on the parties in the chain and the circumstances of your transaction. At the outset, we will discuss the timescale you have in mind and will work to meet your expectations where possible.
Key stages
- take your instructions and give you initial advice
- check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
- receive and advise on contract documents
- carry out searches
- make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
- give you advice on all documents and information received
- go through with you the conditions of the mortgage offer
- send the final contract and, if applicable, mortgage deed to you for signature
- agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
- exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
- arrange for all monies needed to be received from you and the lender, including apportionments of ground rents and service charges
- carry out pre-completion searches
- complete purchase
- deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax
- deal with application for registration at Land Registry
- send you a copy of completed registration at the Land Registry
- give notice of your purchase to your landlord
Remortgage fees
| Amount of funds borrowed | Legal fees |
| Up to £500,000 | £750 - £1250 plus VAT |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | £850 - £1,500 plus VAT |
| Over £1,000,000 | £1,200 - £2,000 plus VAT |
| Electronic Money Transfer Fee | £34.50 plus VAT |
Payments to others
Search fees £450 (estimate)
There is a Land Registry fee £6 for an official copy of the register and £6 each for any supporting documents.
If the property is leasehold, we will need to pay the landlord’s charges for a management pack and receipting the notice of the new mortgage. The charges vary but would normally be in the range of £200 - £500.
About the process
The average remortgage takes between four and eight weeks, but it may be quicker or slower depending on the requirements of your new lender. At the outset, we will discuss the timescale you have in mind and will work to meet your expectations where possible.
Key stages
- take your instructions and give you initial advice
- obtain copy title documents and review
- carry out any searches required
- give you advice on all documents and information relevant to the remortgage
- send the mortgage deed to you for signature
- agree completion date
- obtain redemption figure on existing mortgage(s)
- submit report on title to the lender and request funds
- redeem any mortgage(s)
- account to you with any balance of funds held
- register new mortgage at the Land Registry
Get in touch
If you would like to speak with a member of the team you can contact our property law solicitors by email, by telephone on +44 (0)20 3826 7519 or complete our enquiry form below.