How Much Are Conveyancing Fees in 2023?

Written by Martha Lott Reviewed by Gareth Brooks

3rd Jan 2023 (Last updated on 16th Mar 2023) 8 minute read

What Are Conveyancing Fees?

Conveyancing fees are what you pay to your conveyancer or solicitor when buying or selling a property. These costs cover the legal work involved and include:

1. Conveyancer's legal fee:
   Covers the legal work carried out by the conveyancer. This cost will cover their hourly or fixed rate, paying for their time and service.
   
   
2. Disbursements:
   These are paid to your solicitor so they can buy third-party services on your behalf. Expect extra costs if your case is complex.

How Much are the Legal Fees?

Our research shows that legal fees can be as low as £575 and as high as £2,250, but the average fees range between £1,270 and £1,490. This is the average for buying and selling both leasehold and freehold properties valued between £200,001 and £300,000.

Your legal fee can vary depending on a few factors:

• Using solicitor instead of conveyancer
• Price of the property
• Online conveyancing
• Shared Ownership or Help to Buy
• Lease extension, transfer equity, remortgage
• If you're a cash buyer

Our Conveyancing Fees Calculator can provide an approximate cost, so you have an idea of what to expect.

Breakdown of Legal Fees

We've studied our data to bring you the average, highest and lowest conveyancing fees we found for buying and selling both freehold and leasehold properties.

Conveyancing Fees For Different Scenarios

We know that every conveyancing case will be different, so there isn't one universal cost. We've used our research to provide an average cost for a range of scenarios, including buying whiteout a mortgage, buying with Help to Buy, selling a leasehold with a remortgage and selling with transfer of equity.

Buying a freehold property without a mortgage - £2,119

We took the cost of a mortgage supplement fee (£220) off the average disbursement costs for buying a freehold property. This also includes the solicitor’s legal fee and potential other costs.

Buying a leasehold property with help to buy - £2,774

We’ve worked out the average leasehold fees along with the solicitor’s legal fee and average potential other costs.

Selling a leasehold property and remortgaging - £2,333

We looked at the average solicitor legal fee for selling a leasehold property, added the typical disbursements, worked out an average of the leasehold fees and added remortgaging costs.

Selling a freehold property and transferring equity - £1,888

We took the average legal fee for a freehold property and added the usual disbursements and then the cost of transferring equity.

What Are Disbursements?

The legal fee will make up most of the costs, but there are also conveyancing disbursements to pay. Many of the disbursements are fixed in price such as Land Registry searches. Others are relative to your house price such as Stamp Duty. Please find a full list of conveyancing disbursements below with updated costs for 2023:

Conveyancing Searches - £290

We found the conveyancing searches pack costs £290 across a sample of 46 conveyancers. This can range from £250 to £450 and will vary by location. The search pack will include a Local Authority Search, an Environmental Search and a Water and Drainage Search. Only applicable to buyers.

Anti-money Laundering Checks - £5

Anti-money laundering checks are carried out to ensure the money is legitimate. If you're buying a house with cash or paying your deposit through a number of individual accounts, then your solicitor may be suspicious. Rest assured, the money laundering check is a common disbursement. Our research shows this averages at £5.

Bank Transfer Fee - £40

A bank transfer fee will be charged by the bank to transfer sums of money over £60,000. If you’re selling and redeeming your mortgage, then you’ll be charged another bank transfer fee. This can cost between £25 to £45, but we found the average fee was around £40 when including VAT.

Bankruptcy Check - £3

This is a common check for buyers who've applied for a mortgage and will reveal if you are close to being bankrupt. Our research found this costs £3 on average.

Mortgaged Property Supplement Fee - £220

If you still have a mortgage, your solicitor will need to liaise with your mortgage lender. This is so they can process the redemption of your mortgage. This extra work will be highlighted in the quote and applies to both buyers and sellers. This will cost £220 on average.

Title Deeds Copy - £4

Your conveyancer must get hold of up-to-date official copies of the freehold Title Register and filed Title Plan held at HM Land Registry. This proves you are the owner of the property and will consist of a property register and a plan of the property and will cost £4. This is a solicitor fee for selling, so only applies to sellers.

Transfer of Equity - £540

If you are adding or removing someone from the property deeds, you will need to hire a solicitor for the transfer of equity process.

Stamp Duty Land Tax - £3,850

Stamp Duty will normally vary depending on the value of the property you’re buying and its location. The average homebuyer will spend around £3,850 on Stamp Duty for a house priced at the UK's average. To find out how much Stamp Duty you’ll need to pay, use our Stamp Duty Calculator. Applies to buyers only.

SDLT Return - £110

Even if you’re below the Stamp Duty threshold, you’ll need to inform HMRC about the property purchase within 14 days of completion day. Our research shows this costs £110 on average.

Leasehold Conveyancing Costs

Buying a leasehold involves more legal work and disbursements than with a freehold. The average conveyancing fee for buying a leasehold property is £1,370 and £1,420 for selling. Costs will vary depending on the complexity of the case.

We’ve listed some of the common conveyancing fees you can expect with a leasehold property.

Buying:

• Landlord Sales Pack - £280
• Notice of Transfer Fee - £190
• Notice of Charge Fee - £140
• Deed of Covenant - £280
• Certificate of Compliance - £250
• Engrossment Fee - £120-£150 but will vary depending on the developer or leaseholder

Selling:

• Leasehold Property Supplement Fee - £150
• Leasehold Management Information Pack - £150-£500

Common Additional Costs to Expect

You might face extra costs, especially if your case is more complex.

Certain disbursements will be clear from the start, such as Shared Ownership or Help to Buy. Some costs might crop up during the process such as delayed completion fees.

Some fees will be added to the legal fees or charged separately. These are the most common extra charges faced with conveyancing:

• Remortgage - £500
• Gifted Deposit - Varies
• Help to Buy ISA Fee - £120
• Help to Buy Equity Loan Supplement Fee - £340
• Shared Ownership - £330
• New Build - £360
• Unregistered Property Fee - £100-£200
• Delayed Completion - £100-£200
• Indemnity Insurance - Varies
• Transferring Equity - £540
• Lease Extension - £1,280
• Share of Freehold - £120
  

What to Look for in a Quote

There are certain things that should and shouldn’t happen when studying your quote. Here are a few pointers to watch out for:

• Be wary of any quote that seems too good to be true, particularly with online conveyancing. Often the quote will only show the conveyancer’s legal fee and not the costs for the disbursements.
• Some firms will try and list certain disbursements or services in the quote and call them potential costs such as photocopying and postage fees. The majority of these should be covered as part of the conveyancer's legal fee.
• Be sure to always read the small print for any hidden extra costs that you shouldn’t be paying for.
• Honest conveyancers should only have a small list of essential disbursements. This should include Land Registry Search, Bankruptcy Search and Land Registry Fees.
• You shouldn’t be paying VAT on your disbursements. This means you should only be charged the original price for the service.
• Always compare conveyancing quotes to ensure you’re getting the best price for your conveyancing.
• If you’re not sure about items listed in the quote, ask before you commit to paying for something you’re unsure of.

When Do I Pay Conveyancing Fees?

If you're buying, you'll have to pay the conveyancing searches upfront. The relevant authority will need payment before they produce the search results.

If you're selling your house, there's a possibility you'll have to pay a small upfront cost. The rest will be paid throughout the conveyancing process and on completion day.

Land Registry and Stamp Duty fees will have to be paid after completion.

Read more on When Do I Pay Solicitor’s Fees When Buying a House?

Finding the Right Conveyancer

Many estate agents will have a list of recommended conveyancers. It’s important to remember they'll be earning a commission if you use them, so they might not be the best fit for you. It’s always best to ask people you trust for recommendations and use comparison websites to save on conveyancing costs. If you have a complex case, make sure the solicitor can help with your specific query.