Conveyancing is the legal work of transferring ownership of a home, and in England it follows the same broad order on every sale once an offer has been accepted. Solicitors are instructed and check identity, the seller's solicitor sends out a contract pack, the buyer's solicitor carries out searches and raises enquiries while the survey and mortgage are arranged, both sides sign, contracts are exchanged, final searches are made, the sale completes and the purchase is registered at HM Land Registry.
The two milestones that matter most are exchange of contracts, when the deal becomes legally binding, and completion, when the money moves and the buyer gets the keys. The Law Society's Conveyancing Protocol says its steps are not a checklist and can happen in a different order or at the same time, so several stages overlap in practice. This guide covers buyers and sellers in England; Wales follows broadly the same process but has Land Transaction Tax instead of Stamp Duty Land Tax, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems.
Conveyancing starts when the seller accepts an offer, usually made through the estate agent. In England and Wales an offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged. An offer made "subject to contract" can still be renegotiated, for example if a survey finds a problem, and the estate agent is legally obliged to pass on any other offers to the seller right up to exchange.
Each side then instructs a legal professional: a solicitor, a licensed conveyancer or a CILEX practitioner. GOV.UK advises checking that they are regulated by the appropriate body.
Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, your solicitor or conveyancer must identify you and verify your identity, and must keep checking that the transaction fits what they know about you, including, where necessary, the source of funds. Buyers should expect to be asked where their deposit and the rest of the purchase money are coming from. You will also need to prove your identity to your estate agent and mortgage lender, so expect to provide the same documents more than once.
Sellers can save time by instructing a solicitor when the property goes on the market rather than when an offer is accepted. The Law Society says its TA6 property information form can be completed before a buyer is found.
The seller's solicitor checks the title held at HM Land Registry and drafts the contract. GOV.UK says the contract covers the sale price, the boundaries, which fixtures and fittings are included, legal rights and restrictions such as public footpaths, planning restrictions, services such as drainage and gas, and when the sale will complete.
The seller completes the Law Society's forms:
Take care with the TA6. The Law Society's notes say buyers can rely on your answers, a buyer may be able to claim compensation after completion if you give misleading information, and if you do not know an answer you must say so. Our guide to whether you need an electrical certificate to sell explains what the 6th edition asks about electrical work and certificates.
Once the offer is accepted, the buyer's solicitor organises searches, usually a local authority search, a water and drainage search and an environmental search. You usually pay for searches up front. The local search covers matters such as compulsory purchase orders, nearby proposals and entries on the local land charges register, such as tree preservation orders, listed building status and conservation areas.
In Cambridge, official local searches for both Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire are handled by Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, which says it will reply to a full search within 10 working days.
The buyer's solicitor raises questions about the title, the searches, the mortgage offer, the property and the transaction, and the seller answers them with their solicitor's help. These can include follow-up points such as whether guarantees for past work will transfer to the buyer. Full, accurate answers help avoid further rounds of questions.
The buyer's mortgage lender values the property before approving the loan. A valuation is not a survey, and GOV.UK points buyers to a homebuyer survey to check the condition of the property; our guide to which home survey you need compares the options. If the survey finds a problem, the price can still be renegotiated because nothing is binding yet. The formal mortgage offer needs to be in place before exchange.
When the searches, replies to enquiries, survey and mortgage offer are all back, the buyer's solicitor reports to the buyer on what they have found. Before the contract is signed, they must make sure there are no problems with ownership, rights of way, access or future developments that could affect the property. This is the time to raise any concerns.
Buyer and seller each sign their copy of the final contract. The transfer deed that will pass ownership is also prepared; for a whole registered title this is HM Land Registry form TR1. The seller must sign it as a deed; the buyer signs it too only in some cases, for example where joint buyers use it to declare how they will hold the property. If you are borrowing, you will also sign the lender's mortgage deed. HM Land Registry's guidance says each individual must sign a deed in the presence of a witness, and that a party to the deed cannot witness another party's signature.
Before exchange, the buyer must also arrange the deposit and both sides agree the completion date. Citizens Advice says the deposit is often 10% of the price but can vary, and that if you are also selling, the deposit received on your sale can usually go towards the deposit on your purchase.
When everyone in the chain is ready, the solicitors exchange the signed contracts and the buyer's deposit is paid. From that moment the agreement is legally binding and, as GOV.UK puts it, usually neither side can pull out without paying compensation. Citizens Advice warns that a buyer who drops out after exchange is likely to lose their deposit. The completion date is now fixed in the contract, and the buyer should have buildings insurance in place from exchange because they become responsible for the property at that point.
Shortly before completion, the buyer's solicitor makes an official search of the register at HM Land Registry. This gives the buyer a priority period, ending at midnight on the 30th working day after the search is received, in which to lodge the registration application ahead of anything else. HM Land Registry advises applying for the search at least 5 business days before completion. Where a mortgage is involved, HM Land Registry says a bankruptcy-only search should also be made against the borrower.
Where there is a mortgage, the buyer's solicitor sends the lender a certificate of title, which confirms statements about the property and asks for the mortgage money to be released in time for completion; each lender sets how many working days' notice it needs. The solicitor also collects the balance from the buyer, including the Stamp Duty Land Tax, which solicitors usually pay on the buyer's behalf and add to their bill. The seller's solicitor confirms how much is needed to pay off the seller's mortgage; sellers should check with their lender whether early repayment charges apply.
GOV.UK warns that moving large sums carries a risk of fraud, so check you are sending money to the correct bank account. Confirm your solicitor's bank details by phone before sending anything.
On completion day the buyer's solicitor transfers the money to the seller's solicitor. The seller's solicitor then pays off the seller's mortgage and any other secured debts, any estate agent fees, any service charges due and their own fee, and sends the rest to the seller. The seller moves out by the agreed time, leaving the property in the state agreed in the contract, and the buyer collects the keys and now owns the property. For a practical walk-through of the day, see what happens on completion day.
A Stamp Duty Land Tax return must be sent to HMRC and any tax paid within 14 days of completion, or penalties and interest may follow. A return is needed to claim first-time buyer relief even if no tax is due. Your solicitor normally files the return and pays the tax on completion day.
Anyone who buys land or property must register it with HM Land Registry, and your solicitor or conveyancer can make the application as part of the purchase once the SDLT has been dealt with. HM Land Registry's processing times page (updated 22 September 2026, using July 2026 data) says that over half of the applications to update the register that are not automated, such as transferring a title, take 13 weeks, most are completed in about six months and some take about 10 months. Registering a property for the first time takes longer. This does not delay your move: HM Land Registry says legal ownership rights are secured from the moment it receives the application, provided the application is in order. If a delay puts a further sale at risk, you can request an expedite for free.
The removal of the seller's mortgage is registered too. HM Land Registry says just over 30% of applications to update the register, including removing a mortgage, are automated and completed within minutes. If the sale is not fully covered by Private Residence Relief, for example because the property was a buy-to-let rather than your main home throughout, any Capital Gains Tax due on a UK residential property must be reported and paid within 60 days of completion. If you are not UK resident, you must report the sale within 60 days even if there is no tax to pay.
Our article on when you legally own a house looks at this in more detail.
The government's June 2026 reform roadmap puts the average at around 120 days from an accepted offer to completion, and around one in three transactions fall through. A hold-up at any stage, or anywhere else in the chain, delays everyone. Our guide to how long solicitors take to process a house sale sets out the latest figures, what causes delays and how to avoid them. If you are planning a sale, a market valuation of your home is a good first step, and instructing your solicitor at the same time gives the conveyancing a head start.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer about your own circumstances.
Yes. An offer is not legally binding in England and Wales until contracts are exchanged. Either side can withdraw before then, although a buyer may already have paid for searches, a survey and legal work. After exchange, pulling out usually means paying compensation, and a buyer is likely to lose their deposit.
It is whatever date both sides agree and write into the contract. Citizens Advice says completion usually takes place about four weeks after exchange, although it can be earlier.
Citizens Advice says the deposit is often 10% of the purchase price, but it can vary. If you are selling as well, the deposit from your sale can usually be put towards your purchase.
Your solicitor files the Stamp Duty Land Tax return and pays any tax within 14 days of completion, then applies to HM Land Registry to register you as the owner. Some applications are processed within a day but many take months, and your rights are protected from the date the application is received, provided it is in order.
