Residential property · Timescales
How long does conveyancing take, and what causes delays?
A freehold purchase or sale typically takes 8 to 12 weeks from instructing us to completion. Exchange of contracts sits inside that, usually one to two weeks before completion. A leasehold one typically takes 12 to 16 weeks. That is a guide, not a promise. The biggest single factor is usually something outside anyone's direct control: the chain, the lender, the council's search turnaround, or a landlord's managing agent. Most delays come from waiting for information, not from work sitting undone.
Written by Rebekah Brake Manning, Licensed Conveyancer (CLC) · Last reviewed
The stages, and what each one waits on
- Instruction and onboardingWeek 1Waits on: Your signed client care letter, identity checks and the money-laundering checks the law requires us to carry out
- Contract pack and searchesWeeks 1 to 4Waits on: On a sale: your completed property forms and title documents. On a purchase: the seller's contract pack, and the council, water company and search providers
- Enquiries and mortgageWeeks 3 to 8Waits on: Replies from the seller's side, your mortgage offer, and the lender's valuation
- Report and signingWeeks 6 to 9Waits on: Everything above being complete enough for us to report to you properly
- Exchange of contractsWeeks 7 to 10Waits on: Every party in the chain being ready on the same day, with deposits in place
- CompletionWeeks 8 to 12, usually 1 to 2 weeks after exchangeWaits on: The date agreed at exchange, and mortgage funds arriving
These stages show a typical freehold transaction. Leasehold stages run longer, which is why the guide is 12 to 16 weeks. Most of the extra time is spent waiting for the landlord's or managing agent's information (the LPE1) and on the enquiries that follow from it.
What commonly causes delays
1. Identity and source of funds checks
Before we can act, the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require us to verify who you are and where the money for the purchase comes from. Most checks are electronic and quick. Delays come when bank statements don't show the full history of the money, for example savings moved between accounts, an inheritance, or the sale of shares or crypto assets. A gifted deposit needs the person giving it to be checked too.
What helps: send complete statements, covering every account the money passed through, as soon as we ask.
2. The seller's paperwork (on a sale, that's you)
The buyer's solicitor can't start properly until they have the contract pack. That means the title, the Property Information Form (TA6), the Fittings and Contents Form (TA10) and, for leasehold, the Leasehold Information Form (TA7). Missing planning permissions, building regulations certificates, FENSA certificates and guarantees are the most common gaps.
What helps: instruct us when you put the property on the market, not when you accept an offer. Gather the certificates early.
3. Searches
On a purchase we order local authority, drainage and water, and environmental searches. Turnaround depends on the council, and varies from a few days to several weeks. Nobody can speed up a slow council. We order searches as soon as you instruct us and have paid for them, so they run alongside everything else.
4. Enquiries
Once we've reviewed the contract pack and searches, we raise questions with the seller's solicitor. Replies often depend on the seller finding documents, or on a third party. Unclear boundaries, extensions without paperwork, shared drives and rights of way are the usual subjects. Some issues are resolved with indemnity insurance. Others need the seller to obtain a consent or a document first.
5. The mortgage
Your lender values the property and issues an offer. If you're buying with a mortgage, we usually act for your lender as well as for you, and must follow the lender's instructions. Delays happen when the valuation comes in low, when the lender asks for more information about you, or when its conditions need satisfying before we can report the title. Mortgage offers also have an expiry date set by the lender. If a transaction drags on, check it with your broker.
What helps: apply for your mortgage promptly. Tell us at once if the lender or broker asks you for anything.
6. Leasehold information
On a leasehold sale, the buyer needs details of service charges, ground rent, buildings insurance, planned major works and the building's management. These come from the landlord or managing agent, usually on the Law Society's LPE1 form. The landlord or agent charges for it and sets its own timetable, and it is often the slowest document in the transaction. On a leasehold purchase, the lease itself may also need a deed of covenant or the landlord's consent.
What helps: if you're selling a leasehold property, give us your landlord's and managing agent's contact details as soon as you instruct us, so we can request the management pack straight away.
Leasehold reform. In England, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is only partly in force. At 24 October 2026, the parts in force include removing the two-year wait before a leaseholder can extend the lease or buy the freehold (from January 2025), and changes to the right to manage (from March 2025). Since 27 December 2025, a lease of more than 21 years can no longer be an assured tenancy, whatever the ground rent, which the government says makes it easier for leaseholders to get a mortgage or sell. The Act's measures on service charge information and transparency are not yet in force, so they do not change how leasehold information is provided on a sale today. Nor is its new way of valuing lease extensions and freehold purchases: the government says technical flaws in the Act must first be fixed by new legislation, so the existing valuation rules still apply. Other proposals, such as a ground rent cap, are in a draft bill and are not law.
7. The chain
Most homes are bought and sold in chains, where each sale depends on another. Everyone must be ready to exchange on the same day, and the chain moves at the speed of its slowest link. One buyer waiting for a mortgage offer, or one seller without a property to move to, holds up everybody. Estate agents usually have the best view of the whole chain.
What helps: make sure your own part is genuinely ready. Tell us early about any fixed dates you have to meet, such as a tenancy ending or a rate expiring.
8. Special cases
Some transactions have built-in waiting points:
- Probate sales. The sale cannot complete until the grant of probate (or letters of administration) has been issued. Most buyers won't exchange before then.
- New builds. Completion depends on the build being finished and signed off. The contract usually sets a long-stop date.
- Unregistered land. Older deeds need to be checked by hand, and the land registered for the first time.
- Shared ownership and similar schemes. The housing association or scheme administrator has its own approvals.
- Company buyers, or money from abroad. These need extra checks.
Exchange and completion
At exchange of contracts the deal becomes legally binding and the completion date is fixed. The buyer pays a deposit, often 10% of the price, although a lower figure can be agreed. Neither side can pull out after exchange without serious financial consequences. That is why we don't exchange until your report is complete, your mortgage offer is in place and your deposit funds are with us.
Completion is the day the money moves and the keys are released. It is usually one to two weeks after exchange, but can be the same day or longer if everyone agrees. We have to request your mortgage funds from the lender several working days before completion, so the date we agree needs to leave room for that.
After completion
On a purchase, we file the tax return and pay any tax due by the legal deadline: within 14 days of completion for Stamp Duty Land Tax in England, and within 30 days for Land Transaction Tax in Wales. We then apply to register you as owner at HM Land Registry. Before completion we make a priority search. Your application must reach HM Land Registry within that search's 30 working day priority period, and we send it well within that time. HM Land Registry may take longer than that to process it, but that doesn't affect your move.
What you can do to keep things moving
- Instruct us early. If you're selling, do it when you go on the market.
- Send identity documents and full bank statements as soon as we ask.
- Answer questions from us, your broker and your agent quickly. A day's wait at each step adds up.
- Tell us about anything unusual early: extensions, disputes, gifted money, or a fixed date you have to hit.
- If you're selling a leasehold property, give us your landlord's and managing agent's contact details as soon as possible.
Want to know where you stand?
Our conveyancing fees set out our fixed fees by price band, and what is and isn't included. To get a quote, or to ask where your transaction is up to, contact us.
Sources
- HM Land Registry Practice Guide 12: official searches: the 30 working day priority period (Land Registration Rules 2003, rule 131).
- HMRC: Stamp Duty Land Tax: the 14 day deadline in England.
- Welsh Revenue Authority: Land Transaction Tax returns and payments: the 30 day deadline in Wales.
- GOV.UK: Leasehold toolkit (England): which parts of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 are in force.
Timescales on this page are a guide based on typical residential transactions in England and Wales. They are not a promise for any particular matter. Last checked .
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