The Conveyancing Process: What Your Solicitor Should Be Doing
Once your offer is accepted, the conveyancing process begins. For many buyers this is the most stressful part of the purchase, not because it's complicated, but because it often feels like nothing is happening. Weeks go by with little communication and you're left wondering whether things are even moving at all.
Understanding what your solicitor should actually be doing at each stage, and what to ask if you're not hearing from them, puts you back in control.
What is conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from the seller to you. Your solicitor or conveyancer handles this on your behalf, and their job is to make sure that what you're buying is what you think you're buying, legally and structurally.
The key stages of the conveyancing process
Instructing your solicitor
Once you've appointed a solicitor, they'll ask you for identification and proof of funds. They'll also need basic information about the property: the brochure, floor plan and details of any recent works. Getting this to them quickly helps avoid early delays. If you're still at the stage of choosing a solicitor, our guide to making an offer on a house covers the key questions to ask when appointing your conveyancer.
Searches
Your solicitor will order a series of property searches on your behalf. These typically include a local authority search (covering planning history, road adoption and local restrictions), an environmental search (checking for flood risk, contamination and subsidence), and a water and drainage search (confirming connections and whether any sewers run within the boundaries).
Searches can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the local authority, so this is often where the first waiting period occurs. It's reasonable to ask your solicitor when searches were ordered and when results are expected.
Reviewing the contract and raising enquiries
While searches are underway, your solicitor will review the draft contract and title documents provided by the seller's solicitor. If anything is unclear or missing, they'll raise formal enquiries. These questions and answers form part of the legal record of your purchase, which is why getting everything in writing matters.
Common areas where enquiries are raised include planning permissions and building regulation approvals for any alterations, restrictive covenants on the property, rights of way or shared access arrangements, and any outstanding notices from the council.
If the property has had any alterations, extensions or conversions, your solicitor should be checking that the appropriate completion certificates exist. If they don't, they may recommend an indemnity policy or ask the seller to regularise the works before exchange.
The seller's property information forms
Alongside the contract, the seller's solicitor will provide a set of standard forms that you and your solicitor should review carefully. The key ones are the TA6 (Property Information Form), which contains the seller's disclosures about the property including disputes, notices, and any alterations carried out; the TA10 (Fittings and Contents), which sets out exactly what is included in the sale and what the sellers are taking with them; and if the property is leasehold, the TA7 (Leasehold Information Form), which covers service charges, ground rent and management arrangements.
These forms are the seller's formal declarations about the property and its history. If anything on them raises questions, your solicitor should raise enquiries with the seller's solicitor to get clarification in writing before exchange.
Mortgage offer
If you're buying with a mortgage, your lender will carry out their own checks on the property before issuing a formal mortgage offer. In many cases your solicitor can act for both you and your lender, which avoids duplication of legal work and reduces costs. However not all solicitors are on every lender's approved panel, so it's worth checking early whether your chosen solicitor can act for your lender too. If they can't, your lender will appoint their own solicitor, which means two sets of legal fees. Once the mortgage offer is issued, your solicitor will review it and flag anything you need to be aware of.
Exchange of contracts
Exchange is the point at which both parties are legally committed to the transaction. You'll pay your exchange deposit (typically 10% of the purchase price) and a completion date is set. Once contracts are exchanged, neither side can pull out without significant financial penalties.
Before exchange your solicitor should confirm that all searches are back and satisfactory, all enquiries have been answered, the mortgage offer is in place, and you've reviewed and signed the contract. If you haven't already had your survey carried out by this point, read our guide to understanding the three levels of house survey so you know what to expect from the report.
Completion
Completion is moving day. Your solicitor transfers the remaining funds to the seller's solicitor, the title is transferred into your name and you get the keys. After completion your solicitor will register the title at Land Registry and pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax due.
How to keep things moving
The most common cause of delays in conveyancing is slow responses from sellers or their solicitors. Your solicitor should be chasing proactively, but it's also reasonable to ask for a regular update, even just a brief email confirming where things stand. If your solicitor uses an online portal you can track progress yourself, which reduces the need to chase. And if you're still in the earlier stages of your purchase, it's worth reading our guide to 10 questions to ask when viewing a house to make sure you're protected from the very beginning.
The full list of questions to ask your solicitor throughout the buying process is included in the Home Truths Guide, alongside checklists covering every stage of buying a home in the UK, from house viewings and making an offer through to exchange and completion.
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