Buying & Affordability
What are solicitors' fees when buying a house?
Conveyancing fees on a typical UK residential purchase fall between £800 and £1,500 plus VAT, with leasehold and new-build transactions sitting at the higher end. Onto that you add disbursements — third-party costs the conveyancer pays on your behalf.
Standard disbursements are local authority searches (£100–£250 depending on council), water and drainage search (£40–£70), environmental search (£40–£80), Land Registry priority and title searches (£3–£7 each), bank transfer fees (£20–£40) and the Land Registry registration fee, which is a sliding scale set out by HM Land Registry (typically £150–£500 for online applications).
SDLT, where payable, is separate again — see the stamp duty calculator. Always insist on a written quote breaking out fees, disbursements and VAT before instructing.
What this means in practice
A worked quote on a £325,000 freehold house purchase: legal fee £1,100 + £220 VAT, local search £180, water & drainage £55, environmental £45, chancel £20, Land Registry searches £14, ID verification £30, telegraphic transfer £42, Land Registry registration fee £150 (online application). Add SDLT at £6,250 (existing homeowner) or £1,250 (first-time buyer). Total disbursements: £536. Grand total ex-SDLT: £1,856. A £600,000 leasehold purchase typically runs £400–£700 higher because of the leasehold management pack review and the £295 Land Registry fee at that band.
Related questions
What is "no completion no fee" conveyancing?
The conveyancer waives their professional fee if the transaction falls through, but disbursements already incurred (searches, ID checks, Land Registry priority) remain payable. Practical cost of a fall-through under no-completion-no-fee is typically £200–£400 in disbursements, against £800–£1,500 with conventional billing. About 30% of agreed sales fall through, so the structure shifts risk meaningfully. The trade-off: the headline fee is usually £100–£200 higher than fixed-fee competitors.
Should I use a solicitor or licensed conveyancer?
Both are regulated to handle conveyancing. Solicitors are regulated by the SRA and can advise on related legal issues (wills, trusts, divorce, probate) where the property purchase intersects with them. Licensed conveyancers are regulated by the CLC and specialise in property only — typically faster on standard residential transactions but unable to advise outside conveyancing. For a vanilla freehold purchase, either is fine. For complex cases (probate, trusts, matrimonial, unregistered title), prefer a solicitor.
Related reading
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