How long does conveyancing take? Stages, who does what and common delays

No official statistics measure the legal work on its own. GOV.UK's guide to buying a home says buying takes about 5 months on average, and longer in a chain. The government's June 2026 home buying and selling reform roadmap says it takes around 120 days on average to complete once an offer is accepted. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) says in its consumer FAQs that a transaction usually takes 8 to 12 weeks if there are no significant delays. GOV.UK and the CLC don't say what data their figures are based on, and GOV.UK's covers the whole purchase, not just the legal work.

A better guide is the firm you instruct. SRA-regulated firms must publish the key stages of their conveyancing service and the likely timescale for each one, and the CLC says you should be told at the outset how long your matter is likely to take and be kept updated.

The table follows a typical purchase with a mortgage in England and Wales. Some stages overlap: searches, the survey and the mortgage application usually run at the same time.

Exchange is when the deal becomes legally binding; completion is when the money moves and you get the keys. Until exchange, either side in England and Wales can pull out or renegotiate, because an offer isn't legally binding. At exchange, buyer and seller sign matching contracts, the conveyancers swap them and the buyer's deposit is paid. GOV.UK says that from then on, neither side can usually pull out without paying compensation.

On completion day the buyer's conveyancer sends the rest of the money, the seller moves out and the keys are released. The gap is agreed in the contract: days or weeks, or even the same day, though that leaves no time to fix a problem in between. Ask your conveyancer when buildings insurance must start, as that depends on your contract and lender. See what happens on completion day.

Your conveyancer still has two jobs after you've moved in: the tax return and registration. The tax deadlines are set by law and differ by nation (see the table).

Just before completion, your conveyancer's OS1 search gives you 30 working days' priority: if the application reaches HM Land Registry in that time, nothing lodged in the meantime can jump ahead of it. The transfer doesn't take legal effect until it's registered, but HM Land Registry says your rights are protected from the day it receives the application. Its processing times page (updated 22 September 2026, July 2026 data) says over half of applications to transfer a title take 13 weeks, most are done in about 6 months and some take about 10 months. You can ask for a free expedite if a delay puts a sale or remortgage at risk. Unregistered property must be registered for the first time within 2 months of completion.

Worked example: you complete in England on Wednesday 14 October 2026. The SDLT return and any tax must reach HMRC by Wednesday 28 October 2026, 14 days later. If you complete in Wales or Scotland on the same day, the LTT or LBTT return is due by Friday 13 November 2026, 30 days later. A first-time buyer who owes no SDLT still needs a return to claim the relief. If you used a Lifetime ISA, your conveyancer must also tell the ISA provider within 10 business days of completion.

Chains. Each sale depends on the one below it and the purchase above it, and everyone has to be ready to exchange on the same day, so a delay anywhere holds up everyone. Our guide to buying and selling at the same time covers chains in more detail.

Leasehold information. The buyer's conveyancer needs the landlord's or managing agent's information on service charges, ground rent and the building, and there's no legal deadline for providing it yet. Section 67 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 lets the government set time limits and cap fees, but it was not in force at 25 September 2026.

The mortgage offer. The lender won't release money until the valuation is done and its conditions are met, and offers expire, so check the date on yours. See mortgage offer to completion.

Searches. Response times vary by council and search company, and no national figures are published. HM Land Registry's own searches are quick: it handled 93.6% of its information requests, which include official searches and official copies, within a day in July 2026.

New builds. You can't complete until the home is finished, so check the contract for any deadline to exchange and how much notice the developer must give you to complete, and plan around your mortgage offer's expiry date. With a Lifetime ISA, the purchase must complete within 90 days of your conveyancer receiving the money, though extensions can be requested.

1. Instruct a conveyancer early. Sellers can do this when they put the home on the market, so the contract pack is ready when an offer comes in.

2. Have your ID, bank statements and proof of where your deposit comes from ready. Anyone giving you money may be asked for ID and evidence of their funds too.

3. Sellers: gather documents before you list. GOV.UK suggests title deeds, the EPC, planning permissions and building regulations certificates, FENSA or CERTASS window certificates, guarantees and warranties, electrical checks and party wall agreements. If the home is leasehold, ask the managing agent for its information early.

4. Ask whether seller-bought searches would help. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has told buyers' conveyancers to consider accepting a local search ordered by the seller if it meets their lender's requirements.

5. Book your survey as soon as your offer is accepted, and reply to your conveyancer quickly.

6. Agree a realistic completion date with everyone in the chain before exchange, and keep your mortgage offer's expiry date in view.

In Scotland the deal becomes binding once missives are concluded. mygov.scot says most homes are sold by asking for offers over or around a minimum price, and sets out these steps.

1. Home Report. The seller provides a Home Report, with a single survey and valuation, a property questionnaire and an energy report. The seller or selling agent must give you a copy within 9 days of you asking for it.

2. Noting interest and offers. Your solicitor formally notes your interest. If several people do, the seller sets a closing date. Offers are made by letter from your solicitor.

3. Missives. The seller's solicitor usually replies with a 'qualified acceptance', and the solicitors exchange letters (missives) until the terms are agreed. Once the missives are concluded you have a binding contract, and pulling out can make you liable for damages. mygov.scot says you should insure the home from that point unless the missives say otherwise.

4. Conveyancing and settlement. Your solicitor checks the title and, at settlement on the date of entry, pays the price in exchange for the disposition and the keys, then registers you with Registers of Scotland and files the LBTT return within 30 days. For new builds, the builder makes the offer to sell, and accepting it creates a binding contract, so take legal advice first.