Conveyancing fees aren't a single bill at the end. They land in four discrete stages: a small retainer up front, search disbursements early in the transaction, the 10% deposit just before exchange, and the bulk of the legal fee plus stamp duty at completion. Knowing the cash-flow timing matters because your deposit, contingency and SDLT all need to be liquid at specific points — not all at once.

The four payment stages

Stage	When	Typical amount	What it covers
1. Retainer	At instruction (week 0–1)	£200–£300	ID checks, initial searches
2. Mid-transaction top-ups	Weeks 2–8	£100–£500	Additional searches, mortgage valuation, indemnity policies
3. Exchange deposit	Day before exchange (~week 10–14)	10% of price	Released to seller's solicitor on exchange
4. Completion balance	Completion day	Mortgage + remaining deposit + SDLT + legal fee + Land Registry	Everything else, transferred to your solicitor

Use the conveyancing fees calculator to get a tiered estimate of total fees for your purchase price and complexity. Use the home buying cost calculator for the full upfront cash picture including SDLT, removals, and other items.

Stage 1 — The retainer at instruction

When you instruct a conveyancer (the day after your offer is accepted, typically), you pay an upfront retainer of £200–£300. This is sometimes called the "money on account" — money sitting in the firm's client account ready to be drawn down against costs as they're incurred.

The retainer covers:

• ID checks — electronic verification (usually £15–£25 per person) plus AML source-of-funds work.
• Local-authority search — £80–£250 depending on the council.
• Environmental search — £40–£90.
• Water-and-drainage search — £40–£80.
• Office copies from HM Land Registry — £3 each, usually 2–4 copies (~£10–£20).

Your conveyancer commissions these in the first 1–2 weeks. The retainer is reconciled at completion — if you've used less than you paid, the difference comes back; if you've used more, the shortfall is added to the completion bill. See the what conveyancers do guide for what each search actually checks.

Stage 2 — Mid-transaction top-ups

Most of the time, the retainer covers all early costs. Cases where you might be asked for a top-up of £100–£500 mid-transaction:

• Specialist searches required. Mining search (~£60), chancel insurance (~£25), HS2 search (~£50), flood report (~£80), planning history (~£60). Common on rural or older properties.
• Mortgage valuation fee. Usually ~£300 paid to the lender. Some lenders charge it via your conveyancer; others bill you directly.
• Indemnity insurance. One-off policies covering specific title risks the searches uncovered (missing planning consent, absent building regs sign-off, restrictive covenant). £20–£200 each.
• Leasehold management pack. Charged by the freeholder/managing agent for compiling the LPE1 pack — typically £200–£400, often payable up front before they'll release it.
• New build indemnity. Usually £100–£150 for a single policy bundled into the disbursement schedule.

If your conveyancer needs a top-up they'll ask in writing. Pay promptly — these costs are gating items and a £400 missing payment can hold the entire transaction up by a week.

Stage 3 — The 10% deposit, day before exchange

This is the largest single payment between instruction and completion. A few days before exchange, you transfer 10% of the property price to your conveyancer's client account (or, if you have a smaller deposit, an agreed lower percentage — see below).

On exchange, your conveyancer sends this money to the seller's conveyancer by CHAPS or Faster Payments. The deposit is then at risk — if you pull out of the purchase after exchange, you forfeit it. If the seller pulls out, you get it back plus you can claim damages.

Practical points:

• 10% is conventional, not mandatory. If you only have a 5% deposit overall (95% LTV mortgage), the contract can specify 5%. Some sellers refuse, but new-build developers often accept lower exchange deposits as standard.
• It's deposit money from your overall pot. If your total deposit is £40,000 on a £400,000 home, that £40,000 = the 10% on exchange. The balance of completion funds is your mortgage advance + SDLT + fees.
• Where to send it from. Most conveyancers prefer the deposit to come from a clearly-named UK current or savings account in your name. Crypto-funded deposits, foreign-account deposits, or gifted deposits add 1–3 weeks of AML checks if not flagged early.
• Same-day transfers. Use Faster Payments (instant, up to £1m per transaction with most banks in 2026) where possible. CHAPS is the fallback for older bank infrastructure or transfers above the FP limit; CHAPS fees are typically £25–£35.

Stage 4 — Completion day balance

Completion is when the biggest cash movement happens. On the morning of completion, your conveyancer needs to have in their client account:

• Your remaining deposit (overall deposit minus the 10% already released on exchange)
• Your mortgage advance from the lender (sent automatically once the lender confirms readiness)
• Stamp duty in full — the conveyancer pays HMRC from these funds
• Their legal fee plus VAT (current rate 20%)
• Land Registry registration fee on HM Land Registry's published Scale 1
• CHAPS transfer fees — usually £25–£35 per outgoing transfer (you'll have 1–3 of them)
• Any final disbursements still outstanding (e.g. last-minute indemnity policy)

Your conveyancer sends you a completion statement 5–10 working days before completion showing exactly what to transfer. The figure is the all-in amount — money in, balance to the seller's conveyancer goes out. Use the home buying cost calculator to plan the full upfront cash picture, and the house buying budget planner for the broader budget context.

Worked example — £350,000 freehold purchase, 10% deposit, with mortgage

First-time buyer, £350,000 home, £35,000 deposit, £315,000 mortgage, FTB SDLT relief (£2,500), standard conveyancing.

When	What	Amount
Week 1 (instruction)	Retainer to conveyancer	£300
Week 4	Survey fee (RICS L2 HomeBuyer)	£700
Week 6	Mortgage valuation fee	£300
Week 12 (day before exchange)	10% deposit to conveyancer	£35,000
Week 14 (completion morning)	Stamp duty (FTB relief)	£2,500
Week 14	Legal fee + VAT	£1,800
Week 14	Land Registry registration	£150
Week 14	CHAPS fees	£70
Week 14	Searches (already paid from retainer)	£0
Week 14	Remaining sum to fund completion = balance after mortgage advance	~£4,500
Total upfront cash (deposit + fees + SDLT + post-move)		~£42,400

Numbers will vary by lender, conveyancer, and property type. The shape of the cash flow is constant: small payments early, big payment late. Plan accordingly using the deposit savings calculator for the savings runway and the affordability calculator to confirm the mortgage is comfortable.

What happens if the sale falls through?

Most reputable firms now operate no-completion, no-fee on the legal fee itself. If the sale falls through before exchange you don't pay the headline £1,200–£2,500 legal fee. What you do still pay:

• Disbursements already incurred (searches, ID checks, Land Registry office copies)
• Mortgage valuation fee paid to the lender
• Survey fee paid to your RICS surveyor
• Sometimes a small "abortive fee" of £200–£400 to cover the conveyancer's wasted work

Read the client care letter carefully at instruction. The terms will be set out in writing — if the policy isn't "no-completion, no-fee", you might pay the full legal fee even on an abortive transaction. You can ask for a different firm or a different fee structure if the terms feel unfair.

Why the bulk is paid at completion

Two practical reasons. First, conveyancing legal work mostly happens late in the transaction — Report on Title, mortgage condition checks, contract signing and exchange arrangements compress into the last 4 to 6 weeks. Until that work is done, billing for it wouldn't be fair.

Second, taking the full fee from the completion funds is administratively clean. Your conveyancer is already handling six-figure sums on completion day; deducting their £1,800 fee plus disbursements before sending the seller's balance is one less transfer to manage. It's also what mortgage lenders' rules require: solicitor fees come from buyer's funds, not the lender's mortgage advance.

VAT — when it applies and when it doesn't

Conveyancers' legal fees are subject to VAT at the standard rate (20% in 2026). Most quoted "from £950" headline fees are exclusive of VAT. Read the small print:

• Legal fee £1,500 + VAT = £1,800 to pay.
• Search disbursements are typically VAT-free (paid to councils, search providers etc.) — but the small "search admin" fee some firms add is VAT-able.
• Land Registry fees are VAT-free.
• Stamp duty is not subject to VAT.
• Indemnity insurance premiums include Insurance Premium Tax (12% in 2026), not VAT.

The conveyancing fees calculator shows legal fee and VAT separately so you see the all-in cost.

Funding the completion balance — practical tips

• Move money in good time. Your conveyancer needs cleared funds before 11am on completion day. Late funds = late completion = potential breach of contract. Transfer 2–3 working days before to be safe.
• Use Faster Payments where you can. In 2026 most UK current accounts support Faster Payments up to £1m per transaction. Free, instant, no fee.
• Check the bank reference precisely. Your conveyancer will give you a specific reference — get this exactly right or the funds will land in a holding account and take longer to clear.
• Send too much, not too little. Round up by £100. Any overpayment comes back within a week. Underpayment can hold completion.
• Watch for bank limits. Some banks impose daily online transfer limits (£25k–£100k). Larger amounts may need a branch visit or pre-arranged limit increase. Talk to your bank a week before completion.

Common payment-timing surprises

The cash-flow events that catch buyers most often unprepared:

• Survey fees are paid up front. Most surveyors invoice on instruction, not after report delivery.
• Mortgage product fees. A £999 product fee can be added to the loan (cheaper monthly but more interest) or paid up front (cheaper overall). You decide at application.
• Leasehold pack fees vary widely. £200 to £400 typical, but freeholders can charge much more — sometimes £700+. Budget the upper end if buying leasehold.
• The "deposit" double-meaning. "Deposit" in conversation often means your overall pot of cash. "Deposit" in conveyancing means specifically the 10% paid on exchange. They're not the same thing.
• SDLT is your money, not the lender's. Mortgages fund the property purchase only. Stamp duty comes from your savings.

Frequently asked questions

When do you pay conveyancing fees?

Conveyancing fees are paid in stages. A retainer of £200–£300 is paid at instruction to cover the initial searches. The bulk of the fee (£1,000–£2,500) is paid at completion, when your solicitor takes their costs from the completion funds before sending the balance to the seller. Disbursements are added on top — some during the transaction, most at completion.

Do you pay the conveyancer up front?

You pay a small retainer up front — typically £200–£300 — to cover the initial searches and ID checks. The bulk of the legal fee is paid at completion, deducted from your funds before they're sent to the seller's solicitor.

What if my purchase falls through — do I still pay?

You pay for work done. Most firms operate "no-completion, no-fee" on the headline legal fee — but you still pay disbursements already incurred (searches, ID checks, mortgage valuation) and sometimes an "abortive fee" of £200–£400. Read the client care letter carefully on this point.

When is the 10% deposit paid?

The 10% deposit goes to your solicitor's client account a few days before exchange of contracts. On exchange, your solicitor sends it to the seller's solicitor by CHAPS or Faster Payments. This is the deposit that's at risk if you withdraw.

When do you pay stamp duty?

Stamp Duty Land Tax is due within 14 days of completion in England and Northern Ireland. Your solicitor files the SDLT return with HMRC and pays the duty from the completion funds — you don't physically pay HMRC yourself.

When are searches paid for?

Searches are typically paid from your initial retainer (the £200–£300 paid at instruction). Most firms commission searches in the first two weeks of the transaction, so they're paid early.

When is the Land Registry fee paid?

The Land Registry fee is paid from completion funds. Your solicitor sends the application to register the transfer (the AP1) to Land Registry within days of completion, along with the fee.

Can I add the fees to my mortgage?

No — conveyancing fees are paid from your own funds, not your mortgage. Some lenders offer fee-assisted purchase deals where they pay specific costs (like the valuation) on your behalf, but the conveyancer's legal fee always comes from you.

Related guides

Related calculators

Last reviewed: 25 May 2026.