How much are average conveyancing fees?

Any property transaction, whether it's buying or selling, remortgaging or transferring equity, involves legal formalities and paperwork known as conveyancing. 

The legal formalities and paperwork are carried out by a qualified conveyancer, also known as a conveyancing solicitor, on your behalf. 

The costs of your conveyancer's services are known as conveyancing fees, and It includes a legal fee and disbursements.

We have listed all the legal fees and disbursements you may come across.

Legal Fees

The legal fee is part of your conveyancing fees and covers work carried out by your conveyancing solicitor. 

It will vary based on various factors including:

• The price of the property
• The property is a leasehold or freehold
• Where the conveyancing solicitor is based
• If you are using online conveyancing
• If you are using a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor
• If you're purchasing a Shared Ownership or First Homes Scheme property
• If you need potential additional searches (when the property is next to a river for example)

Disbursements

Disbursements are also part of the conveyancing fees and are paid to the solicitor to cover costs associated with third-party services, such as property searches. 

• Title deeds: If you are selling a house, you will need a copy of your title deeds. These documents are usually held at the Land Registry. You should be aware that leasehold property costs are higher than those for freehold. Title deeds cost £6.
• Searches: They are necessary if you plan to buy a house. You will need a local authority search; this includes a drainage and environmental search. A planning search is also required if you wish to learn about nearby development plans. Local authority searches cost up to £450, depending on the local council.
• Transferring ownership: You will have to pay a fee at the Land Registry for transferring your buyer's names. The cost to transfer ownership is between £200 and £300.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax: If you are buying a home worth more than £250,000, you will need to pay this tax. The stamp duty rates vary depending on the property value. The rules for first-time buyers are also different.
• Anti money laundering (AML) checks: Online companies are most likely to perform these checks. If you live abroad or are a foreigner, you will have to pay more. The cost for anti-money-laundering checks ranges from £6 to £20.
• Property fraud: Checks that the solicitor you are sending money to has a valid licence. Checks for property fraud are £10.
• Bank transfer fee: Your mortgage provider will require you to use a bank transfer or telegraphic transfer in order to ensure that funds are received on a specific date. Bank transfer fees range from £20 to £30.
• Help to Buy: You'll likely be charged more if you buy with a scheme that offers Help to Buy as it involves additional legal work. The cost of a Help to Buy Supplement is typically between £200 and £300.
• Lifetime or help to buy ISA: You will need to work with your conveyancer to redeem the bonus, but you are only charged £50+VAT.
• Gifted deposits: If you are getting assistance with your deposit, it is likely that you will need to pay a little more for the paperwork required to prove the money came from a legal source. If you deposit money with the Bank of Mum and Dad, law firms can charge up to £100. Insurance can also cost you up to £200. 
• Unregistered property supplement: Although most properties are registered at HM Land Registry, some aren't. If the property is not registered, the conveyancer will have to do extra work. This usually adds on £120-£240.

Whether you are buying or selling a property, the conveyancing fees are different.

Find in the table below a summary table including the most common conveyancing fees and disbursements for buying and selling.

As we've already mentioned, conveyancing costs can vary widely depending on the value of the property.

We've provided the average costs for buying a freehold or leasehold property when using Homeward Legal for your conveyancing. 

Freehold property (assuming with mortgage)

Leasehold property (assuming with mortgage)

The legal fees for buying a leasehold property include a leasehold supplement fee, which is why the total cost works out a little higher than for a freehold property.

At Homeward Legal, our instant conveyancing quote service allows you to quickly view your conveyancing fees.

As with buying a property, conveyancing solicitors' fees for selling a house can vary depending on the property's value.

Find below the average costs for buying a freehold or leasehold property when using Homeward Legal for your conveyancing. 

Freehold property

Leasehold property

Remember, it takes a matter of seconds to get a quote for conveyancing costs with Homeward Legal and you can always give us a call on .

The cost of conveyancing on leasehold properties is higher because the solicitor must do extra work to check the length and duration of the lease. 

They also have to communicate with the landlord or managing agent to give them notices or to get more information on the service charges or management details. 

The additional costs can range from £100 up to £1,000 and it's important to note that these costs may not appear in any quotes you get online as the costs are set by the landlord. 

For the seller

• They will be responsible for paying the Leasehold Management Pack, which includes information on service charges and other fees. The price can range from £300 up to £800.

For the buyer

• A Notice of Assignment, also called a Transfer Notice, will be charged. This is sent by your conveyancer to the landlord as a notification that you are now the owner. It can sometimes be free but the price can go up to £300.
• A Notice of Charge will be sent to your landlord if you have a mortgage. This notifies them that the lender is interested in the property. This can cost between £50 and £200.
• Deeds of Covenant might also be required. This is a legally-binding agreement between a buyer and a landlord or management firm about things like repair work.

A good way to save on conveyancing fees is to get a quote that covers every aspect of your transaction, with a fixed fee policy. 

Our clients save on average £360 on their conveyancing fees.

At Homeward Legal we offer a Fixed Legal Fee for your conveyancing and a No Completion No Fee (or No Sale No Fee) protection. We also include a Search+ protection, would you need to pay for searches.

A Fixed Legal Fee means you will pay the fixed price that you were quoted from the beginning, and that price won't change and you won't get any hidden costs. Remember that 'fixed legal fee' is used to describe the legal services, not disbursements.

The No Completion No Fee conveyancing guarantee ensures that you will not lose money should your property purchase or sale fall through for any reason.

The SearchPlus Protection means that if your purchase falls through for any reason, your second set of searches is free. This is another great way of saving money on your conveyancing.