What conveyancing actually is

Conveyancing is the legal transfer of property ownership from seller to buyer. In the UK, this is handled by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer acting for each party. The buyer and seller each instruct their own legal representative — the two sets of solicitors communicate throughout the process, carrying out searches, reviewing contracts, raising and answering enquiries, and ultimately co-ordinating exchange and completion.

The process is legally required in England and Wales for every residential property transaction. It cannot be skipped, shortened by good intent, or accelerated by urgency alone — each stage has legal requirements that must be satisfied before the next can begin.

Scotland is different

Property law in Scotland operates under a separate system. Offers are made through solicitors, binding at an earlier stage, and the "missives" system means the transaction proceeds differently. This guide covers England and Wales. Scottish agents should refer to the Law Society of Scotland's guidance.

The UK conveyancing process: stage by stage

A typical residential conveyancing transaction in England and Wales involves six main stages. Timelines below are averages under normal conditions — delays at any stage can extend the overall process significantly.

1
Instruction and initial paperwork
Week 1–2 after offer accepted
The buyer instructs a solicitor or conveyancer. The seller's solicitor prepares and issues the draft contract pack — including title deeds, property information form (TA6), and fittings and contents form (TA10). The buyer's solicitor reviews the pack and begins raising enquiries.
For estate agents: this is where a buyer who hasn't yet identified a solicitor falls behind. A buyer with a conveyancer already instructed can typically start this stage within days of offer acceptance.
2
Searches and enquiries
Weeks 2–6
The buyer's solicitor orders property searches: local authority (planning permissions, road adoptions), water and drainage, environmental (flood risk, contamination), and sometimes mining or chancel repair searches depending on location. Simultaneously, the buyer's solicitor raises legal enquiries on the title and property information. The seller's solicitor must respond to each enquiry — some require input from the seller directly.
For estate agents: local authority search turnaround times vary significantly by council — some return results in 5 days, others take 8 weeks. This is often the longest single variable in the timeline and is largely outside anyone's control.
3
Mortgage offer received
Weeks 3–8 (overlaps with searches)
The buyer's mortgage lender carries out a valuation survey on the property and — if satisfied — issues a formal mortgage offer. The buyer's solicitor reviews the offer and raises any conditions with the lender. The mortgage offer must be in place before contracts can be exchanged.
For estate agents: a buyer with only a Decision in Principle (DIP) still needs to submit a full mortgage application and receive the offer after survey. This typically adds 3–6 weeks from application to offer received. A buyer who applied for their mortgage immediately after offer acceptance will be ahead of one who waits.
4
Exchange of contracts
Typically weeks 8–14 from offer
Exchange is the legally binding moment. Both parties sign identical contracts; the buyer's solicitor transfers the deposit (typically 10% of the purchase price) to the seller's solicitor; and a completion date is agreed and fixed. Neither party can withdraw after exchange without significant financial penalty. In a chain, all parties must be ready to exchange simultaneously.
For estate agents: exchange is the milestone that makes a transaction "safe." Until exchange, any party can withdraw at any time for any reason. The period between offer accepted and exchange is when fall-throughs happen. A transaction that reaches exchange quickly — within 8 weeks — is materially less likely to fall through.
5
Pre-completion period
Typically 1–4 weeks between exchange and completion
Between exchange and completion, final checks are carried out: the buyer's solicitor submits pre-completion searches, the mortgage funds are requested from the lender, and removal arrangements are made. The completion date is fixed at exchange and both parties are contractually bound to it.
For estate agents: this period is usually straightforward — the hard work is done. Coordinate with all parties on completion date expectations at exchange stage, not after.
6
Completion
The completion date fixed at exchange
The purchase price (minus deposit) is transferred from buyer's solicitor to seller's solicitor. Once funds are received, keys are released. The buyer's solicitor registers the new ownership at HM Land Registry. The transaction is complete.
For estate agents: keys are only released when funds are confirmed received — not when they're "in transit." Instruct sellers to remain available on completion day until you confirm the transfer.

How long does conveyancing take in the UK?

The industry average for a straightforward freehold transaction is 10–12 weeks from offer to exchange. Leasehold transactions typically add 2–4 weeks due to additional enquiries required of the management company or freeholder. Chains add further complexity — every link must reach readiness simultaneously.

The range in practice:

Leasehold adds meaningful time

Leasehold transactions require the management company or freeholder to respond to enquiries about service charge history, ground rent, planned works, and building insurance. Response times vary enormously — some management companies turn around enquiries in days; others take 6–8 weeks. For leasehold properties, manage buyer expectations on timeline from the outset.

The three conveyancing bottlenecks estate agents encounter most

Slow or unresponsive solicitors

The biggest single cause of delay in residential transactions. Both buyer's and seller's solicitors must remain responsive throughout — a solicitor who takes 2 weeks to respond to enquiries or raise a query can add a month to the process. Estate agents have limited leverage here, but early relationships with responsive firms — and the ability to recommend them to buyers — make a material difference to completion timescales.

Survey renegotiation

If a buyer commissions a HomeBuyer Report or Building Survey and the surveyor identifies significant defects, buyers often use the findings to renegotiate the purchase price or request remedial works. This pauses the legal process while both parties negotiate. The better a buyer has been qualified up front — and the more clearly price expectations have been set — the less vulnerable a transaction is to survey-triggered renegotiation.

Chain breaks

In a linked chain, any party withdrawing — for any reason — can collapse the entire chain. A buyer at the top of your chain losing their mortgage offer, a seller who receives a better offer from another buyer, or a solicitor's client who simply changes their mind: all of these can cause transactions several links away to fall through. Chains with more links carry exponentially more risk. When qualifying buyers with a property to sell, assessing the stability of their own chain is part of assessing their proceedability.

Legal readiness as a buyer qualification signal

Understanding the conveyancing process makes one thing clear: a buyer who has already instructed a solicitor is measurably further ahead than one who hasn't. This is not a minor administrative detail — it's a 2–3 week head start on stage one of the process.

Solicitor instructed and ID verified

The buyer has engaged a conveyancer, completed client onboarding (AML identity checks), and is ready to receive the draft contract pack. Can start stage 1 immediately on offer acceptance. Fastest possible route to exchange.

Solicitor identified but not yet instructed

The buyer has chosen a conveyancer but hasn't formally instructed them yet. Typically 3–5 business days to get fully onboarded. Meaningfully ahead of a buyer who hasn't started this process.

No solicitor identified

The buyer has not yet started the search for a conveyancer. They need to research firms, obtain quotes, select, and complete onboarding — typically 1–3 weeks before the legal process can begin. This adds time that a more prepared buyer wouldn't incur.

For a full framework on how legal readiness contributes to a buyer's overall lead score alongside chain status, mortgage position, and timeline, see the estate agent lead scoring guide.

The question most agents don't ask

"Have you identified a solicitor yet?" is one of the five proceedability checks covered in the proceedable buyer guide — and one of the least commonly asked on a first call. Yet the answer gives you meaningful information about how quickly a transaction can progress if the buyer makes an offer. Add it to your standard first-call script.

What to ask buyers about their legal position

On a first qualifying call, two questions close the conveyancing knowledge gap:

  1. "Have you identified a solicitor or conveyancer yet?" — A yes/no question that immediately tells you whether they've started thinking about the legal process. If yes: "Have you instructed them yet, or are you still in the process of choosing?" If no: offer to recommend local firms you work with — it's helpful for the buyer and improves your transaction timescale.
  2. "Are you aware of any issues with the current property that might come up in searches?" — Asked on the seller side, this is standard. But asking it of buyers who are also selling (chain situations) can surface issues early — for example, a buyer whose own property has a known title defect or pending lease extension. Catching this at qualification rather than at exchange prevents late-stage surprises.

For a full first-call qualifying script, see How to Qualify Property Buyers in the UK.

Know a buyer's legal readiness before you call them

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