How much does conveyancing cost?

This guide covers every fee and disbursement you’ll pay when buying, selling or remortgaging, and how to spot a quote that leaves some of them out.

Typical costs in 2026

For a typical freehold purchase in England and Wales in 2026, expect £850–£1,500 in legal fees (plus VAT) and £350–£700 in disbursements. Disbursements are the third-party costs your conveyancer pays on your behalf. Selling is usually a little cheaper, and a remortgage cheaper still. Leasehold adds several hundred pounds to almost any transaction.

These are market-wide ranges. For a figure based on your own property and circumstances, get a tailored quote. It’s free and takes seconds.

Legal fees and disbursements

Every conveyancing bill has two parts. Knowing the difference helps you spot a misleading quote.

• The legal fee is what the solicitor or licensed conveyancer charges for their work: checking the title, raising enquiries, reporting to you, exchanging contracts and completing. VAT is charged on it at 20%.
• Disbursements are costs paid to third parties, such as search providers, HM Land Registry and banks. They’re broadly the same whoever you instruct, so firms can’t compete much on them. They can only hide them.

If two quotes for the same property are far apart, the cheaper one is usually missing disbursements or moving them into “extras”. Always compare the total, including VAT.

Typical legal fees by property price

Most firms price by value band, because higher-value properties carry more risk and more lender requirements. As a guide, these are the legal fees we see quoted by firms in our network:

Property price	Typical legal fee (buying)
Up to £125,000	£800 – £1,100
£125,001 – £250,000	£850 – £1,250
£250,001 – £500,000	£950 – £1,500
£500,001 – £750,000	£1,100 – £1,800
£750,001 – £1,000,000	£1,300 – £2,200
Over £1,000,000	£1,800 and up, often individually priced

Typical legal fees for a freehold purchase, 2026. Excludes VAT and disbursements. Selling the same property usually costs £100–£200 less.

Disbursements when you’re buying

These third-party costs come on top of the legal fee when you buy.

• Search pack: £250–£450. This covers the local authority search, the drainage and water search, and the environmental search. Some councils turn these around in days. A few still take weeks, so ask about this if you’re in a hurry.
• HM Land Registry registration fee: £20–£500, set by a statutory scale based on price (see the table below).
• Bank transfer (CHAPS) fee: £20–£45, charged per same-day transfer. It is typically charged once, for sending completion funds.
• ID and anti-money-laundering checks: £10–£30 per person.
• Bankruptcy and priority searches: under £10. These are small statutory searches made just before completion.

Purchase price	Registration fee (digital)
Up to £80,000	£20
£80,001 – £100,000	£40
£100,001 – £200,000	£100
£200,001 – £500,000	£150
£500,001 – £1,000,000	£295
Over £1,000,000	£500

HM Land Registry Scale 1 fees for digital applications. Paper applications cost roughly double. Check HM Land Registry’s published fee scale before relying on a figure.

One more item goes through your solicitor’s account but isn’t a conveyancing cost: Stamp Duty Land Tax. On most purchases it is far larger than everything above, and the bands change with government policy. Use the official gov.uk guidance on Stamp Duty Land Tax to work out your own figures.

Quotes from firms in our network are itemised and tailored to your property, so you get one figure rather than a range. Get my free tailored quotes.

Supplements to watch for

Supplements are legitimate, because some transactions involve more work. But they belong in the quote from the start, not in the completion statement. These are the common ones.

• Leasehold supplement: £150–£400 on the legal fee, because the lease has to be reviewed. On top of that, the freeholder or managing agent charges a management pack fee of £200–£500 when you sell, and buyers often face notice fees of £50–£300 after completion, set by the lease.
• New-build supplement: £150–£350. Developer contracts, planning conditions and infrastructure agreements mean more checking.
• Help to Buy ISA or Lifetime ISA: £50–£100 per scheme, for the conveyancer’s part in claiming the bonus.
• Gifted deposit: £50–£150, for verifying the source of funds and advising the giver.
• Shared ownership, right to buy or unregistered land: each adds work and typically £100–£300.

When you compare quotes through Conveyancing Index, the form asks about tenure, new-build status and your deposit before pricing. The quotes you see already include the supplements that apply to you.

Selling and remortgaging

Selling involves less legal work, with no searches and no registration. Budget for the legal fee (usually £100–£200 below the buying fee for the same band), plus official copies of your title at a few pounds per document, and the management pack if the property is leasehold.

Remortgaging usually costs £300–£700 all in. Many lenders offer “free legals” through a firm from their own approved list. That is free, but you join their queue. Paying for your own conveyancer gets you speed, and someone acting for you rather than the bank.

How to compare quotes

• Compare totals, not headline fees. Add up the legal fee, VAT, disbursements and any supplements that apply to your circumstances.
• Insist on an itemised total, not a bare legal fee. A properly itemised quote should only change if the transaction itself changes.
• Ask whether the firm waives the legal fee if your sale or purchase falls through. Some firms do, and roughly a third of UK transactions fall through.
• Check regulation. Anyone doing this work should be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. Every firm in our network is, and each one is insured, credit-checked and monitored.
• Weigh responsiveness as well as price. A £150 saving is poor value if your file sits untouched for a fortnight at a time. Review scores tell you more than the fee line does.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays conveyancing fees, the buyer or the seller?

Each side pays their own conveyancer. Buyers usually pay more overall, because searches, Land Registry registration and Stamp Duty all sit on the purchase side. Sellers mainly pay their legal fee plus title copies and, for leasehold, the management pack.

When do you pay conveyancing fees?

Most firms take a small payment on account at the start to cover searches, with the balance due at completion. Some firms waive the legal fee if the sale or purchase falls through, though money already spent on searches usually isn’t refundable.

Can I do my own conveyancing?

Legally, yes, if you’re a cash buyer or seller. But almost every mortgage lender insists that a qualified conveyancer acts for them, so doing it yourself is rarely practical on a mortgaged purchase. You would also face significant personal liability if you missed a title defect.

Why do quotes for the same house differ so much?

Some quotes show only the basic legal fee and add supplements later. Leasehold, gifted deposit and transfer fees can add hundreds of pounds. Compare the total including VAT and disbursements, and check that every supplement that applies to you is already itemised in it.