In England and Wales, buying a home happens in three legal steps. You are legally committed when contracts are exchanged. You own the property in practical terms on completion day, when the money is paid, the transfer deed is dated and you get the keys. You become the legal owner when HM Land Registry registers you as the new owner, and that registration counts from the day HM Land Registry received your solicitor's application, not the day it finished processing it.
That last step can take months, but it should not worry you. HM Land Registry says that "legal ownership rights are secured from the moment the application is received", provided the application is in order.
Two kinds of ownership matter when you buy a home.
The register shows who holds the legal title, but it does not set out beneficial shares; the Law Commission calls this the "curtain principle". If you buy with someone else, your beneficial shares are recorded in documents such as the transfer deed or a declaration of trust.
For a fuller guide to the legal work, see our article on the stages of conveyancing. In terms of ownership, these are the moments that matter.
An accepted offer is not a contract. GOV.UK is clear that an offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged, so either side can still walk away while searches, surveys and the mortgage offer are under way.
When both sides are happy, they sign final copies of the contract and exchange them. From that point the agreement to sell and buy is legally binding, and usually neither of you can pull out without paying compensation. You pay a deposit on exchange, often 10% of the price, though it can vary, and the completion date is fixed in the contract.
You do not own the property yet, but you have rights under the contract, and a contract for sale can be protected by a notice on the seller's title at HM Land Registry. That is because the Law Commission treats a contract for sale as an "estate contract", which it describes as "an equitable interest in land".
Many residential contracts in England and Wales incorporate the Law Society's Standard Conditions of Sale, currently the fifth edition (2018 revision). Under condition 5.1.1, "the property is at the risk of the buyer from the date of the contract". Under condition 5.1.2, the seller has no obligation to the buyer to insure it unless the contract says so or the property is let on terms that require the seller to insure.
So if the house is damaged after exchange, you are still bound to complete at the agreed price unless your contract says otherwise, which is why Citizens Advice says buyers should arrange buildings insurance from the date of exchange. The Law Society expects solicitors to amend conditions that do not suit a transaction, so ask yours what your contract says.
On completion day your solicitor or conveyancer transfers your money to the seller, the seller moves out, and you get the keys. The transfer deed, usually HM Land Registry form TR1, must be dated, and HM Land Registry's notes on the form say that date should be the day of completion. GOV.UK describes completion as the point at which "You now own the property". Our guide to what happens on completion day covers the day itself.
Two things follow completion. Your Stamp Duty Land Tax return must be sent and any tax paid to HMRC within 14 days, and your solicitor usually does this on completion day. In Wales, Land Transaction Tax applies instead, and the return and tax are due to the Welsh Revenue Authority within 30 days. The purchase must then be registered with HM Land Registry, which your solicitor or conveyancer can do for you.
The Land Registration Act 2002 says that a transfer of registered land "does not operate at law until the relevant registration requirements are met" (section 27). So the legal title only passes to you when HM Land Registry registers the transfer. Section 74 then backdates that registration: once made, it "has effect from the time of the making of the application".
The time between completion and registration is known as the registration gap. During it the transfer takes effect in equity but not yet at law, so the Law Commission describes the buyer at this stage as having "only an equitable interest". You are not left unprotected:
HM Land Registry's processing times page (updated 22 September 2026, using July 2026 data) shows that 41.6% of changes to existing registered titles are done within a day. For others, such as transferring a property title, over half take 13 weeks, most are completed in about six months and some are taking about 10 months. Buying part of a larger title, as with many new-build homes, takes longer: where the developer has done preparatory work, HM Land Registry completes half of these in about 9 months. If a delay puts a further sale or other transaction at risk, you can request an expedite free of charge. Our article on how long solicitors take to process a house sale explains these figures in more detail.
GOV.UK says registration gives you proof of ownership, helps protect your land from fraud and makes it easier to sell or give the property away in future. Once you are registered, anyone can see the owners' names and a plan of the general boundaries, and you cannot opt out of this.
Not every home is on the register yet. GOV.UK says a property might not be registered if you owned it before 1990 and have not mortgaged it since, and HM Land Registry's guidance shows that compulsory registration reached different areas at different times. It began in Cambridge on 1 May 1974, in South Cambridgeshire and most of Huntingdonshire on 1 November 1986 (a small part of Huntingdonshire earlier, in 1977) and in the rest of Cambridgeshire on 1 December 1988. So a home in the area that has not changed hands since before those dates, and has not been mortgaged since, may still be unregistered and proved by paper deeds.
When an unregistered home is sold, the buyer must apply for first registration within two months of completion (sections 4 and 6 of the Act). If that deadline is missed, the transfer becomes void as far as the legal title is concerned and the legal title goes back to the seller, who holds it on trust for the buyer (section 7). First registrations also take longer: HM Land Registry currently completes half of them in about eight months. Your solicitor or conveyancer can make the application for you, but it is a good reason to find your original deeds early if you are selling an unregistered home.
You can own a home with up to three other people, and you must decide how you will own it. You tell HM Land Registry when the property is registered.
You can change from joint tenants to tenants in common, known as severance, without the other owners' agreement, and there is no HM Land Registry fee. Changing from tenants in common to joint tenants needs every owner's agreement. Because the choice affects what happens on a separation or a death, it is worth discussing with your solicitor before completion.
Taking out a mortgage does not make the lender the owner. You remain the registered owner, and the lender's legal charge is registered against your title (the grant of a legal charge is one of the dealings the Land Registration Act requires to be registered).
If you fall into arrears and are not paying them off, Citizens Advice explains that your lender might take you to court, though this does not always mean you will lose your home. If you are planning a purchase, our independent mortgage advice page lists two independent brokers we recommend, who can help you find a mortgage that suits your circumstances.
In Scotland the contract is formed by an exchange of letters called missives, and the concluding missive is a binding contract between buyer and seller. Ownership passes when the disposition is registered in the Land Register of Scotland, kept by Registers of Scotland; the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 says an unregistered disposition does not transfer ownership.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer about your own circumstances.
Exchange makes the deal binding and completion gives you the keys and practical ownership. Legal title passes on registration at HM Land Registry, with effect from the day it received the application.
Once contracts are exchanged the agreement is legally binding, and usually neither the buyer nor the seller can pull out without paying compensation. Before exchange, either side can withdraw.
Under the Standard Conditions of Sale (fifth edition, 2018 revision), the risk passes to the buyer on exchange and the seller does not have to insure, unless the contract says otherwise. Arrange buildings insurance from exchange.
HM Land Registry's July 2026 figures show 41.6% of changes to existing titles are done within a day. For others, such as transfers, over half take 13 weeks and most are completed in about six months. First registrations take longer, with half completed in about eight months.
The Land Registration Act 2002 allows a person entitled to be registered as owner to exercise the owner's powers. If a pending registration is holding up a sale or remortgage, your solicitor can ask HM Land Registry to expedite it free of charge.
Order an official copy of your title register from HM Land Registry for £11. The £7 online copy shows the same information but cannot be used as proof of ownership.
