Remortgage conveyancing fees

Remortgaging is the cheapest type of conveyancing. It is also where the cheapest option most often costs you time instead of money.

What a remortgage costs

A standard remortgage in England and Wales costs £300–£700 all in for 2026, including disbursements. There’s no Stamp Duty, no searches in most cases, and the Land Registry fee is smaller than on a purchase.

Many lenders include “free legals”, which means a firm from their own approved list at no cost to you. It is free, but it is also the reason most remortgage delays happen.

Why it costs less than buying

You already own the property, so most of the expensive work has been done.

• No searches in the ordinary case. Your lender usually accepts search indemnity insurance instead, at £15–£40.
• No Stamp Duty, unless ownership is changing (see transfer of equity below).
• No transfer of title, so registering the new charge is a smaller banded fee rather than the purchase scale in the cost guide.
• No chain, no exchange and no completion day to coordinate with anyone else.

The work that remains is getting a redemption figure from your existing lender, checking the title still supports the new lender’s requirements, meeting the new lender’s conditions, drawing down the funds, paying off the old mortgage and registering the new charge.

Free legals or your own conveyancer

This is the one real decision in a remortgage, and it is a trade-off rather than a trap.

With free legals, the lender instructs a firm from its approved list and pays the bill. You pay nothing. In return you join a high-volume queue, and the firm is chosen for its rate rather than its responsiveness. That firm also acts primarily for the lender.

Instructing your own conveyancer costs £300–£700. You get someone whose client is you, and a file that isn’t behind several hundred others. If your current deal ends on a fixed date and you face a jump to the standard variable rate, the difference between a four-week and a ten-week completion can be worth several times the fee.

If your remortgage is straightforward and your deal has months to run, free legals are fine. If there’s a deadline, anything unusual about the title, or a name changing on the deeds, paying for your own conveyancer is usually the cheaper choice.

Some lenders offer cashback instead of free legals. If yours does, compare the cashback with a quote from your own firm. The cashback is often larger than the fee.

When a remortgage costs more

Three situations push the cost above the standard range.

• Transfer of equity: £200–£400 extra. This means adding or removing someone from the title, commonly on marriage, separation or buying out a partner. It changes ownership, so Stamp Duty may become payable on the share transferred, and the Land Registry fee goes back to the price-banded scale. Ask your conveyancer whether this applies to yours.
• Leasehold: £150–£250 extra. That is lower than the £150–£400 a purchase attracts, because the lease is checked against the new lender’s requirements rather than read from scratch for a buyer. Notice of the new charge usually has to be served on the freeholder, who charges for it.
• Unregistered title, or a title with defects. Older properties occasionally turn out never to have been registered, or carry a covenant the new lender objects to. Indemnity insurance usually solves the problem, but you still pay for the legal work to arrange it.

Quotes from firms in our network are itemised and priced on your property and circumstances. Get my free tailored quotes.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a remortgage take?

Typically four to eight weeks from application to completion, of which the legal work takes about a fortnight. The usual delay is the redemption statement from your existing lender, or a leasehold freeholder responding slowly. Start about three months before your current deal ends.

Do I need a solicitor to remortgage with the same lender?

Usually not. A product transfer (moving to a new deal with your existing lender, with no change to the amount or the owners) normally needs no legal work at all. Only a new lender, or a change to who owns the property, requires conveyancing.

Can I add my partner to the deeds at the same time?

Yes, and doing both at once is cheaper than doing them separately. It is a transfer of equity, so expect the supplement above. Take advice on whether Stamp Duty is triggered. Where there is a mortgage, the share of debt being taken on can count as consideration.

Is my existing conveyancer the obvious choice?

Not necessarily. They’ll have your file, which saves a little time. But remortgage work is largely standardised, and the firm that handled your purchase three years ago may no longer be the quickest. It costs nothing to compare.