How much does conveyancing cost? What a quote should include

A conveyancing bill is made of four parts: the solicitor's legal fee, third-party costs (often called disbursements) such as property searches, the HM Land Registry fee, and tax. The firm sets only the first. The rest are set by councils, water companies, HM Land Registry and the government, which is why you can work out much of the total before you ask anyone for a quote. This guide covers buying a home in England and Wales, with figures checked on 11 October 2026.

What a conveyancing quote has to tell you

Since 6 December 2018 the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has required firms that offer residential conveyancing to publish their prices and what those prices cover. According to the SRA's transparency rules, the information must include:

• a total cost or, if that is not possible, an average or range
• the basis of the charges, including any hourly rate or fixed fee
• likely disbursements and what they cost
• whether VAT is included
• what is included in the price, and anything you might reasonably expect to be included that is not
• the key stages and typical timescales
• the qualifications and experience of the people doing the work

The SRA's advice for the public adds that you will still need to agree specific costs when you instruct a solicitor. Treat a website price as the starting point for a conversation. If a firm's website shows none of the items above, you can ask for them directly.

The four parts of the bill

The Law Society also lists survey fees among the other expenses of a purchase. It says the searches a lender usually requires are HM Land Registry, local authority, environmental, and water and drainage searches, and that they are not mandatory if you buy without a mortgage.

Work out the government charges yourself

HM Land Registry publishes its fees as scales. For a purchase, Scale 1 applies, based on the price paid. These are the figures on the HM Land Registry fees page, last updated 28 April 2025, for registering a transfer of a whole registered title:

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England is charged on slices of the price. For a single property, gov.uk shows no tax up to £125,000, 2% on the portion from £125,001 to £250,000, 5% from £250,001 to £925,000, 10% from £925,001 to £1.5 million and 12% above that. On a £250,000 purchase that is £2,500. First-time buyers pay no SDLT up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000, with no relief above £500,000. You usually pay 5% on top of the standard rates if the purchase means you will own more than one residential property. Rates depend on the date you buy, so use the HMRC calculator that gov.uk links to.

A worked example from published figures only: on a £250,000 purchase at the standard SDLT rates, tax is £2,500 and the Land Registry fee is £150 through the portal or £330 by post. That is £2,650 to £2,830 in government charges before any legal fee, searches or survey. No source we opened publishes a typical solicitor's fee, so we do not quote one. The figure to compare is the one each firm publishes.

In Wales the tax is Land Transaction Tax, not SDLT, as the Law Society's page notes. Ask your solicitor for the Welsh figure.

Questions to ask before you instruct

1. Is the legal fee fixed or hourly, and is VAT included? The SRA's rules require firms to explain this.
2. Which disbursements are in the quote, and which could be added later? Searches are the usual items. Ask about anything specific to your property, such as a leasehold.
3. What do I pay if the purchase falls through? The Law Society says some solicitors charge a fee even if the sale does not go through, so ask for this in writing.
4. Who will do the work, and how will you keep me updated? The SRA requires firms to publish the experience of the people doing the work. The Law Society suggests comparing opening hours and whether updates come online or by text.
5. Is the firm in the Conveyancing Quality Scheme? The Law Society says firms in the scheme meet its standards and carry the scheme logo. You can filter for them on its Find a Solicitor tool.

Check building work before you commit

The Law Society tells buyers to let their solicitor know if they plan to carry out building work. The reverse also matters: work the seller has already done. Gov.uk explains that without building regulations approval you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you sell your home. If a house you want to buy has an extension, ask your solicitor early what paperwork exists and what a gap would mean for you.

If the property is in London and the gap is drawings or a building regulations submission, FixedFeePlans, another site in our network, publishes fixed fees for planning and building regulations drawings in London. It will not tell you whether a missing certificate matters legally, which is a question for your solicitor, but it gives you a published price for the paperwork side before you decide how to proceed.

Check the firm and know how to complain

Check that a firm is regulated by searching the Solicitors Register, which the SRA calls the definitive source on the firms and people it regulates. Firms in our directory come from that register. You can browse by city or by conveyancing.

If something goes wrong, complain to the firm first. The Legal Ombudsman says the firm has up to eight weeks to respond. After that you can ask the Ombudsman to look at it, generally within one year of the problem happening or of you finding out about it, and within six months of the firm's final response. Costs, delay and poor information are among the most common complaints it resolves.

Questions people ask

Do I pay if the purchase does not go ahead?

It depends on your terms of engagement. The Law Society warns that some solicitors charge a fee even if the sale does not go through, so get the answer in writing before you instruct.

Is a fixed fee the whole cost?

No. A fixed legal fee leaves out disbursements, the Land Registry fee and tax unless the quote says otherwise. Add the lines in the table above and compare totals between firms.

Is the process the same in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. This guide covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own property law and taxes, so speak to a solicitor there.