The seller pays for the seller's solicitor. When you sell a home in England or Wales, you instruct your own solicitor or licensed conveyancer and pay their fees, and the buyer instructs and pays for theirs. Government guidance for sellers lists legal fees and HM Land Registry fees among the costs you should budget for, alongside paying off your mortgage and your estate agent's fee.
In a straightforward sale, the main bill is settled on completion: your solicitor receives the buyer's money, pays off your mortgage, pays the estate agent, deducts their own fees and sends you the balance. This guide explains what the seller's solicitor does, what a typical bill looks like, the extra costs that can be added, and what happens if the sale falls through.
The seller's solicitor or conveyancer handles the legal side of transferring your home to the buyer. They act for you, not for the buyer. According to the Law Society, your solicitor will:
The Law Society's current forms are the TA6 (6th edition) and TA7 (5th edition), both published in 2025. Firms in its Conveyancing Quality Scheme must use these editions for transactions where they were instructed on or after 30 March 2026.
Conveyancing can be done by a solicitor, a licensed conveyancer or a chartered legal executive, all of whom are qualified and regulated. Our article on what to expect from a solicitor when selling your Cambridge home covers the working relationship in more detail.
Each side pays its own lawyer. The seller pays the seller's solicitor; the buyer pays the buyer's solicitor. Your solicitor acts in your best interests, not the buyer's, so the fee is a matter between you and the firm you instruct.
The buyer's legal bill covers different work. The buyer's solicitor carries out the searches, and the SRA's example price for a purchase includes search fees, the HM Land Registry fee for registering the buyer as owner, and dealing with Stamp Duty Land Tax (or Land Transaction Tax in Wales). None of these is a cost to the seller. For more on searches, see who pays for searches when selling a house.
Who pays which costs can be part of the negotiation, for example a seller offering to contribute to a buyer's costs to secure a sale. If you agree anything like this, put it through both solicitors in writing so that it is reflected properly in the transaction, and ask your solicitor whether anything needs to be reported to a mortgage lender. Do not rely on an informal promise made through the agent.
Independent figures come from the Legal Services Board, which surveyed law firms and conveyancers across England and Wales between September and November 2024 and published the results in June 2025. For the sale of a home worth £285,000 with a mortgage to be repaid on sale, providers quoted:
These are typical figures, not a quote. They are prices quoted in late 2024 and may have changed since. They exclude VAT and disbursements, so adding VAT at 20% turns the £1,000 median into £1,200 before any third-party costs. The same survey found London and the South West significantly more expensive than most other regions and the North the cheapest, and that about three quarters of conveyancing providers charge a fixed fee. Fixed-fee prices were, on average, cheaper than estimates. The survey does not report figures for Cambridge, so get quotes from local and national firms and compare them on the same basis.
Disbursements are payments your solicitor makes to other organisations on your behalf and then recovers from you. On a sale they commonly include:
Removing your mortgage from the register does not add an HM Land Registry fee: discharging a registered charge is on the Land Registry's list of applications that are exempt from fee.
Solicitors and conveyancers acting in property sales are covered by the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, which require them to identify you and verify your identity. Ask whether any charge for identity checks is included in the quoted fee or added on top.
The standard rate of VAT is 20%, and a VAT-registered firm adds it to its legal fees. Under the SRA Transparency Rules, firms must state whether their fees and disbursements attract VAT and, if so, how much, so check whether any price you are shown is with or without VAT.
Paying off your mortgage is not a legal fee, but it comes out of the same completion money. The Law Society says there may be extra costs for paying a mortgage off early, depending on your type of mortgage. The Financial Ombudsman Service explains that an early repayment charge may apply if you repay during a fixed, capped or discounted rate, and that your mortgage agreement should set out when it applies. Ask your lender for a redemption statement early so you know the full figure.
The government's own roadmap acknowledges that leaseholders can face delays and high costs when selling, because freeholders or managing agents who hold the information "often take too long or charge too much to share" it. At present there is no statutory cap in England on what a landlord or managing agent can charge for the LPE1 or similar sale information.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains powers to change this. Once in force, section 67 will give a leaseholder planning a sale a formal right to request specified information from the landlord, with deadlines for replying and a power for the government to limit the amount that can be charged. However, legislation.gov.uk shows section 67 as prospective, meaning it has not yet been brought into force. In its home buying and selling reform roadmap published in June 2026, the government said it will use these powers to set "firm caps on fees and turnaround times for information requests" and will consult in 2027 on the secondary legislation needed. Until that happens, ask your managing agent for their fee early and allow for it in your budget. Our guide to leasehold and freehold properties covers leasehold ownership more generally.
The main legal bill is normally paid on completion day out of the sale money, after your mortgage and estate agent have been paid. Our guide to what happens on completion day walks through the day itself.
Some costs, such as a leasehold management pack, may be needed long before completion. Ask your solicitor at the start whether they will want any money up front and what for.
The Law Society advises checking what you will have to pay if the sale falls through, because some solicitors charge a fee even if you do not complete. Government guidance for sellers suggests asking firms whether they have a "no-move, no-fee" service. If a firm offers one, read the terms: ask what counts as a sale falling through, and whether you would still pay for disbursements already spent, such as official copies or a management pack.
Once contracts have been exchanged the sale is legally binding. The Law Society warns that a seller who pulls out after exchange could be liable for breach of contract and may have to pay the buyer's costs and compensation.
Instruct your solicitor shortly before you put your home on the market or as soon as possible after, as this reduces delays. Get quotes from more than one firm.
Comparing quotes is easier than it used to be. Under the SRA Transparency Rules, firms regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority that advertise residential conveyancing, including freehold and leasehold sales, must publish on their website:
When you compare, check the price includes VAT and the same disbursements, ask about extra charges for a leasehold sale or for repaying more than one mortgage, and consider service as well as price: who your named contact will be, how they will keep you updated, and whether they have the experience your property needs.
Your legal fee is only one part of the cost of moving. Our guide to the fees you pay when selling a house covers the other costs of selling. If you are thinking about selling in or around Cambridge, a valuation from RAH will tell you what your home is likely to sell for, so you can work out what you will have left after costs.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer about your own circumstances.
No, not normally. In England and Wales each side pays its own solicitor or conveyancer. The buyer pays for their own legal work, searches, Land Registry registration and Stamp Duty Land Tax (Land Transaction Tax in Wales).
The Legal Services Board's 2024 survey found a median fee of £1,000 for selling a £285,000 freehold home and £1,261 for a leasehold one. These typical figures exclude VAT at 20% and disbursements, so always get written quotes.
Usually on completion. Your solicitor deducts their fees from the sale money after paying off your mortgage and the estate agent, then sends you the balance. Some costs, such as a leasehold management pack, may be needed earlier.
It depends on your agreement. Some solicitors charge a fee even if the sale does not complete, while others offer a "no-move, no-fee" service. Check the terms, including whether disbursements are still payable, before you instruct.
Yes, at 20% if the firm is VAT registered. SRA-regulated firms must say whether their published prices include VAT and how much VAT applies.
The seller. You may have to pay your landlord or managing agent to complete the LPE1 form. There is currently no statutory cap on the fee in England, although the government plans to consult on caps under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
