How Much Does Conveyancing Cost in 2026?
Professional fees, disbursements and property tax are three different things. A full breakdown for all three UK jurisdictions, plus the extras that appear late.
Conveyancing Guides · Updated 2026
Conveyancing Guides and Advice
Plain-English guides to buying, selling and the legal work in between: written for both Scottish and English property law, with no jargon and no paid placements.
Why We Publish These
Straight Answers, Without the Sales Pitch
Most conveyancing advice online is published by firms who want your instruction, or by comparison sites paid to send you to a particular one. That does not make it wrong, but it does shape what gets said and what gets left out.
These guides are written from the other direction. We do not take referral fees and no firm pays for placement on this site, so there is nothing to steer you towards. Where the honest answer is that something depends on your circumstances, we say so. Where an industry practice works against buyers, we explain how it works.
Every guide is written for the correct jurisdiction. Scots law and the law of England and Wales differ substantially on property, and advice that blurs the two is worse than no advice at all. Where a guide applies to only one jurisdiction, it says so clearly.
Jump to: Costs and Fees · First-Time Buyers · Choosing a Solicitor · The Process · Searches and Surveys · Special Situations · Jurisdiction Guide · Scotland · Leasehold · Reference
Start Here If You Are…
- Buying your first home: first-time buyer guide
- Just getting quotes: what conveyancing costs
- Given a recommendation: estate agent referrals
- Buying in Scotland: missives explained
- Buying a flat: short leases and building safety
- Nearing completion: completion day
- Lost in the jargon: the glossary
All Guides
Browse by Topic
Every guide is free to read, written in plain English and checked for the law as it stands in 2026.
Costs and Fees
LBTT Explained: Scotland's Property Tax
Current LBTT rates and bands for 2026 with worked examples, first-time buyer relief with no price cap, and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on second homes.
Stamp Duty Explained: 2026 Rates and Thresholds
Current SDLT rates with worked examples, the first-time buyer cliff edge at £500,000, and how England compares with Scotland and Wales.
The Hidden Costs of Moving House
Beyond the deposit and mortgage lies a long tail of moving costs: disbursements, survey, removals, set-up and changed monthly bills. Here is what to budget for.
What Fees Do You Pay If a Sale Falls Through?
What you can lose when a property deal collapses, what no sale no fee really covers, why disbursements are still payable, and how the risk differs in Scotland.
First-Time Buyers
First-Time Buyer Conveyancing: A Complete UK Guide
What to sort before you look, how first-time buyer relief differs across the UK, and the mistakes that cost new buyers the most money.
Choosing a Solicitor
10 Questions to Ask Before Instructing a Conveyancer
Ten questions that reveal whether a conveyancer is right for you: fixed fees, disbursements, named contacts, lender panels and what happens if the sale falls through.
Online vs Local Conveyancer
The real trade-offs between online conveyancing firms and local solicitors, when local knowledge genuinely matters, why Scotland is different, and how to decide.
Should You Use Your Estate Agent's Recommended Solicitor?
Estate agents commonly earn £200–£400 for recommending a conveyancer. How those arrangements work, and the one question that clears it up.
Solicitor vs Licensed Conveyancer: Which Should You Use?
Both are properly regulated and both can handle your purchase. When the difference genuinely matters, and the three questions that matter more.
What Is CQS? The Conveyancing Quality Scheme
What CQS accreditation means, what it involves, why mortgage lenders want it, why it does not exist in Scotland, and how much weight to give it when choosing a solicitor.
The Process
Conveyancing Document Checklist
The documents your solicitor needs when buying or selling: ID, source of funds, gifted deposits, and seller paperwork across Scotland and England and Wales.
Exchange of Contracts Explained
What exchange of contracts means in England and Wales, what happens at that moment, what must be in place first, and why Scotland has no equivalent step.
How Long Does Conveyancing Take?
Realistic timescales for freehold, leasehold and Scottish transactions, the most common causes of delay, and the parts you can actually influence.
The Conveyancing Process in England & Wales, Step by Step
A step-by-step walkthrough of buying a home in England and Wales, from offer accepted through searches, enquiries and exchange to completion and registration.
What Happens on Completion Day?
How completion day unfolds hour by hour: when money moves, when keys are released, and the one check that protects you from transfer fraud.
Why Your Solicitor Needs Your ID
Why solicitors must verify your identity and source of funds before acting, what money-laundering rules require, and the difference between source of funds and wealth.
Searches and Surveys
Coal Mining Searches: When You Need One
When a coal mining search is required, what it reveals about workings, shafts and subsidence, how to read the result, and why it matters across the Scottish central belt.
Do You Need a Survey When Buying a House?
Whether you need a survey when buying, why the lender's valuation is not one, the three survey levels, when to choose each, and how Scotland's Home Report changes things.
Indemnity Insurance Explained
What legal indemnity insurance covers, when it is used for title and paperwork defects, why you must not contact the authority, and when you should not accept it.
Property Searches Explained: What Your Solicitor Checks
What local authority, drainage, environmental and mining searches reveal, what they cost, how Scotland differs, and what to do when one flags a problem.
Special Situations
Buy-to-Let Conveyancing
How buy-to-let conveyancing differs: the additional-property surcharge, buy-to-let mortgages, company purchases, letting restrictions and buying with tenants in place.
Buying a Property at Auction
How buying at auction works: why the hammer binds you instantly, why a solicitor must review the legal pack before you bid, finance options, and the modern method.
Divorce and the Family Home
How the family home is handled on divorce or separation: sell or buy out, transfer of equity, releasing the mortgage, the tax reliefs, and why order of events matters.
Gazumping and Gazundering
What gazumping and gazundering are, why they are possible in England and Wales, how buyers and sellers can protect themselves, and why Scotland largely avoids both.
Japanese Knotweed and Property
How Japanese knotweed affects a property sale: disclosure duties, the mortgage problem, treatment plans and guarantees, encroachment liability, and negotiating.
Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
What listed status and conservation areas mean when buying: the consents required, the no-time-limit enforcement risk, and what your solicitor must check.
Restrictive Covenants Explained
What restrictive covenants are, common examples, who can enforce them, what happens if breached, how covenant problems are resolved, and Scotland's real burdens.
Right to Buy Conveyancing
How Right to Buy works in England, why it no longer exists in Scotland or Wales, the discount repayment trap, mortgaging the discount, and major-works liability on flats.
Selling an Inherited Property
Selling an inherited property: probate or Scottish confirmation, who sells, title and empty-property issues, and the inheritance and capital gains tax picture.
Septic Tanks and Private Drainage
What to check when buying with a septic tank or private drainage: the systems, the discharge-to-watercourse rules, compliance on sale, shared systems and costs.
Shared Ownership Conveyancing
How shared ownership works, why the lease is central, what your solicitor checks, how staircasing and the true monthly cost work, and why resale is more complex.
Tyneside Flats Explained
What a Tyneside flat is, the reciprocal criss-cross structure that makes each owner the other's landlord, what to check when buying, and why local knowledge matters.
Unregistered Land and First Registration
What unregistered land is, how title is proved by deeds, its risks, how first registration works on purchase, voluntary registration, and the Scottish position.
When the Property Chain Collapses
What a property chain is, why chains are so fragile in England and Wales, the common causes of collapse, how to cut your risk, and why Scottish chains are steadier.
Jurisdiction Guide
Buying in Scotland While Living in England
Buying property in Scotland while living in England: why you need a Scottish solicitor, how the process and tax differ, the ADS trap, mortgages and coordinating a sale.
Conveyancing in Northern Ireland
Conveyancing in Northern Ireland: a separate jurisdiction using the exchange model, NI solicitors and registration, SDLT as in England, and the rates system.
Conveyancing in Wales
How conveyancing works in Wales: the shared England and Wales process, Land Transaction Tax instead of SDLT, Welsh renting and licensing law, and second-home measures.
Land Transaction Tax: Buying Property in Wales
How Land Transaction Tax works in Wales, why there is no first-time buyer relief, the 2026 rates and thresholds, and how LTT compares with SDLT and LBTT.
Scottish vs English Conveyancing: 10 Key Differences
Missives versus exchange of contracts, Home Reports, LBTT versus SDLT and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement. What changes when you cross the border.
Scotland
Buying a Scottish Tenement Flat
Before buying a Scottish tenement flat: shared roof and stair costs, factors, the Tenements Act 2004, common repair bills, and why it is not leasehold.
Buying in the Highlands: Crofting and Rural Property
What crofting means when buying in the Highlands: the tenanted versus owner-occupied distinction, decrofting, why lenders are cautious, and remote-property issues.
Missives Explained: How Scottish Property Contracts Work
How Scottish missives work, from formal offer through qualified acceptance to conclusion, plus closing dates and why you need a solicitor before you offer.
The Conveyancing Process in Scotland, Step by Step
A step-by-step walkthrough of buying a home in Scotland, from the Home Report and noting interest through missives and conclusion to settlement and registration.
What Is a Home Report? Scotland's Seller Survey Explained
What the Single Survey, Energy Report and Property Questionnaire contain, how the valuation affects your mortgage, and how to read one properly.
Leasehold
Cladding, EWS1 and the Building Safety Act Explained
What an EWS1 form is, how Building Safety Act leaseholder protections work, and which documents you need when buying a flat in an affected building.
Short Leases Explained: Why 80 Years Matters
Why a lease below 80 years costs sharply more to extend, how marriage value works, and what to check before buying a leasehold flat.
Reference
Conveyancing Glossary: Every Term Explained
45 conveyancing terms in plain English, each tagged by jurisdiction so you can see how Scottish and English terminology maps onto each other.