Exchange of contracts and what happens on completion day
Exchange binds you and the buyer and fixes the date. Completion moves the money and the keys. Between the two sit most of a seller's obligations, and the rules for what happens if either side runs late.
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The short answer
On completion day in England and Wales, the buyer's conveyancer sends the rest of the price to yours by same-day bank transfer.28 The sale completes when it arrives,4 and what happens next is your conveyancer's work. Your conveyancer releases the keys,5 repays your mortgage, pays the agent and legal fees, and sends you the balance.1
Exchange vs completion: what is the difference?
Exchange comes first. At exchange of contracts the sale becomes legally binding and the completion date is fixed. Completion comes later, when the money moves and the buyer gets the keys.1 In England and Wales they are two separate legal steps, in that order, even when they fall on the same day. Most of what a seller has to do falls in the gap between them.
Exchange of contracts and completion, side by side
What does exchange of contracts mean?
Exchange of contracts is the moment your sale becomes legally binding. Before it, either of you can pull out of the sale. After it, neither of you can usually withdraw without paying compensation.1 A contract for land must be in writing and signed, with every agreed term in it, so each side signs an identical copy.3 What a seller can do when a buyer walks away before this point is covered in what to do when a sale falls through.
How does exchange of contracts work?
Nobody meets. The solicitors or conveyancers on each side confirm by phone that they hold matching signed copies and agree that exchange happens at that moment. They insert the agreed completion date, note the time of the call, and post the signed copies afterwards.3 The Law Society publishes three formulae for the call, and your contract names the one used.2
The Law Society formulae for exchanging by phone
You do not need to be there, but your conveyancer must have your authority before exchanging, and a chain exchange under formula C needs your express authority.3 Stay reachable on the day you expect to exchange.
What time of day does exchange of contracts happen?
No rule sets a time. In a chain, the conveyancers agree a final time for exchange later that day, and every buyer's offer to exchange stays open until then.3 We found no published figure for when exchanges usually happen.
The deposit on exchange of contracts
The standard conditions set the deposit at 10 per cent of the price, paid by the date of the contract by electronic transfer between conveyancers. Your conveyancer holds it as stakeholder, meaning it belongs to neither side until completion, when it is released to you with interest.2 If you are buying a home in England and Wales as well, you can pass some or all of it on as the deposit for your purchase, which is how formula C moves deposits up a chain.23
A reduced deposit can be agreed. The Law Society's protocol tells the buyer's conveyancer to warn their client of what that means if they later default.4 If a notice to complete is ever served, a buyer who paid less than 10 per cent must top it up.2
How long does it take to exchange contracts?
About three and a half months, on the latest figure we found. Connells Group, an estate agency and conveyancing group, found that homes exchanging in April 2026 had gone under offer 104 days earlier, and leasehold homes 155 days.9 No one publishes a timing for the exchange call itself. Where those months go, and what stretches them, is in our timeline of a sale, stage by stage.
How long between exchange and completion?
As long as you and the buyer agree. You decide the exchange and completion dates together, through your conveyancers. The completion date is settled before exchange and written into the contract during the call.43 A contract under the standard conditions that gives no date completes 20 working days after exchange, and a working day there means Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.2 There is no legal minimum or maximum gap in those conditions, so an exchange with delayed completion months later is allowed, and we found no published national average.
The shortest gap is none at all, with exchange and completion on the same day. When exchange and completion are less than 15 working days apart, the conditions shrink their own deadlines for preparing the transfer deed in proportion.2
Can you change the completion date after exchange?
Only if the buyer agrees, because the date is a term of the contract you exchanged. In a chain the completions usually fall on the same day, so every linked sale has to move with yours.4 Ask your conveyancer to record any new date in writing.
Can you exchange and complete on the same day?
Yes. The standard conditions do not prevent it.2 If your buyer wants to exchange and complete on the same day, the advantages for you come down to speed, and the cost is certainty. Until exchange the buyer can still walk away,1 so with simultaneous exchange and completion you pack and book the removal with nothing binding until the day itself. A gap gives you a fixed date that the buyer is bound to.
Should you exchange and complete on the same day?
- Do you need a binding date before you book the removal or commit to your next home?
- Yes Exchange first, complete later The gap gives you a date the buyer cannot walk away from without consequences.1 What the gap involves
- No Is anyone else in a chain relying on your sale or purchase?
- Yes Agree it with the whole chain Exchanges in a chain may need to happen together and completions usually coincide. Same day works only if every link can do both that day.4
- No Same day is possible Nothing in the standard conditions stops it. Weigh the speed against packing up before anything binds.2
What happens between exchange and completion?
Your conveyancer finishes the paperwork for the day, and you keep the house as you sold it. The Law Society's Conveyancing Protocol sets out these steps, which run side by side.4
- 01 Completion information Your conveyancer answers the buyer's completion questions on form TA13, covering the mortgage to be repaid, the keys and vacant possession.6
- 02 Transfer deed You sign the transfer, the deed that passes ownership. A copy goes to the buyer's conveyancer, and the original is handed over on completion.4
- 03 Redemption figure Your conveyancer gets an up-to-date figure from your lender for paying off the mortgage on the day.4
- 04 Completion statement Your conveyancer tells the buyer's side, in writing, exactly what must be paid on the day.5
- 05 The buyer's side The buyer's conveyancer runs final searches and asks the buyer's lender for the mortgage money.4
A redemption statement, your lender's figure for clearing the mortgage, is asked for twice. The first comes when you instruct your conveyancer, to check the sale will pay off the loan and any early repayment charge. The second comes after exchange, for the exact sum on the day.4 How lenders set that charge is covered under early repayment charges and exit fees.
What you must do as the seller
Until completion you keep paying the mortgage and any ground rent and service charge, and keep the property in the state agreed. By the contract time the house has to be empty, with the agreed fittings left behind.42
| Obligation | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Keep paying the mortgage, ground rent and service charge up to and including completion day | The Law Society Conveyancing Protocol4 |
| Leave the house empty by the latest time in the contract | The contract's vacant possession condition2 |
| Leave the fittings and contents you listed as included, and take only what you listed as excluded | Your TA10 fittings and contents form, attached to the contract6 |
| Leave the property in the state agreed in the contract | GOV.UK1 |
| Tell the buyer in writing, without delay, of any new official notice about the property | Standard condition 3.1.32 |
Anyone else living in the house may be asked to sign the contract, agreeing to leave by the completion date.2
Who owns the house between exchange and completion, and who is responsible for insurance?
You still own it until completion. The price has not been paid, the transfer has not been handed over, and any contents included in the sale pass to the buyer only on actual completion.2
Risk moves earlier. Under the fifth edition of the Standard Conditions of Sale, the property is at the buyer's risk from exchange, and you owe the buyer no duty to insure it unless the contract says so. If both of you are insured and the buyer's insurer pays less because your policy also covers the damage, the price is reduced by the difference.2
The buyer can move in early only if you agree. They would then occupy as a licensee, not a tenant, paying the outgoings and a fee at the contract rate on the unpaid price, keeping the property in repair, and leaving when the licence ends.2
What can go wrong between exchange and completion?
The buyer's money can arrive late, the buyer can fail to complete, or you can fail to move out in time. Both of you are bound after exchange, so each becomes a question of late completion and contract remedies. The House Desk read the Standard Conditions of Sale, fifth edition, on 28 September 2026 for what happens in each case a seller is likely to meet.2
| What happens | What the conditions say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The buyer's money arrives after 2pm | For compensation, completion counts as the next working day, as the buyer's delay (6.1.2)2 | Ask your conveyancer whether to claim it |
| The buyer does not complete on the day | The side whose delay is longer pays compensation at the contract rate. From 2pm, a party ready to complete can serve a notice to complete giving ten working days (7.2, 6.8)2 | Speak to your conveyancer that day |
| The buyer still fails after that notice | You can end the contract, keep the deposit, resell and claim damages (7.4)2 | See a buyer pulling out after exchange |
| You have not moved out by 2pm and the buyer is ready to pay | You are treated as the one in default (6.1.3)2 | Be out, with the keys handed over, before the deadline |
| You pull out, or you don't complete on the day | The buyer can serve notice. On a seller's failure to complete after that, they can end the contract and have the deposit back, and keep their other remedies (7.5)2 | Tell your conveyancer at once, so the buyer's side hears the day before if possible4 |
| The buyer's mortgage offer is withdrawn or expires | The standard conditions contain no condition about the buyer's mortgage, so the buyer is still bound2 | The late completion rows above apply if the money does not arrive |
Compensation runs at the contract rate on the price, less the deposit when the buyer is the one paying. The contract rate is the Law Society's interest rate unless your contract names another.2
Late completion in numbers
- 7.75% Law Society interest rate from 18 December 2025, unchanged on 28 September 20267
- £47.77 a day Illustrative compensation from a buyer on a £250,000 sale with a £25,000 deposit2
- 10 working days To complete after a notice to complete, excluding the day it is given2
A buyer who walks away after exchange risks the deposit and a claim for your losses. The procedure and your options are in what to do when a sale falls through. The same rules bind you if you are the one who pulls out, as the table shows.
What happens on completion day?
On completion day the money moves from the buyer's conveyancer to yours, and your part is to be out on time with the keys handed over. The rest happens between the two conveyancers and the banks, in this order, and its timings depend on the chain.
- 01 The buyer's money is sent The buyer's conveyancer sends the balance as a direct transfer of cleared funds from a bank that is a direct member of CHAPS, the same-day payment system.2
- 02 Your conveyancer receives it The sale completes when the money arrives. The standard deadline is 2pm unless your contract sets another time.2
- 03 Keys released Your conveyancer tells the estate agent or other keyholder that the sale has completed and authorises the keys to go to the buyer immediately.5
- 04 Mortgage repaid Your lender is paid the redemption figure, and the buyer's side is told once the lender confirms the discharge.5
- 05 Agent paid The estate agent's commission is paid, if you have authorised your conveyancer to pay it.4
- 06 The balance to you What is left is sent to you, to the account details you gave at the start.4
CHAPS is usually open from 6am to 6pm on weekdays, except bank holidays in England and Wales, and its payments cannot be reversed.8 How long the money takes to reach your conveyancer depends on when the buyer's side sends it, and in a chain on every sale below yours. We found no published figure for a typical completion day money transfer.
What time do you get keys on completion day?
The buyer can collect them from the keyholder once your conveyancer confirms the money has arrived, and no later than the time in the contract. The Law Society divides completion into two parts. The legal part is when the funds reach your conveyancer. The practical part is when the house is confirmed empty and the keys are collected, and the Law Society says the two rarely happen at the same moment.4 We found no published figure for the usual time. Settle in advance who holds the keys. The Law Society code names your estate agent or another keyholder, and that is who your conveyancer calls.5
When do you get the money after completion?
You receive the balance on completion, after your conveyancer has paid the mortgage and the bills out of the sale money. GOV.UK lists what comes out first: the mortgage and any other secured debts, stamp duty if you are also buying, the estate agent's fee, any service charges, and your conveyancer's fee.1 Ask your conveyancer before the day how and when they will send the balance. How the legal bill is settled is covered in solicitor fees for selling a house.
Completion day in a chain, and with no chain
In a chain, completions usually fall on the same day and go through in turn. Once your sale completes, your conveyancer reports it to you and goes straight on to your purchase, using the money from your sale.4 A chain moves only as fast as its slowest member, so a late payment lower down holds up the whole chain above it.4 With no chain, the day turns on one payment, your buyer's.
Ask your conveyancer, before you exchange, for the exact time your contract gives for completion, and book the removal so the house is clear and the keys are with the agent well ahead of it. A buyer whose money is ready while you are still loading the van can put the late completion on your side of the ledger. With a chain above you, that hour can also hold up the home you are buying.
Haroon Ali Author, The House Desk. Over 11 years in property and renovation Completion day checklist for sellers
Completion day is the latest a seller can move out, because the house has to be empty by the contract time. The list covers the day before and the day itself.
The deadline, the empty house and the TA10 list come from your contract and the Law Society's forms.26 The meter readings come from Citizens Advice's guidance for England, which also says to give your energy supplier at least 48 hours' notice of the move.10
What to do after completion
After completion, give your energy supplier, the council, DVLA and HMRC your new details, and report and pay any Capital Gains Tax due within 60 days of completion.14 Completion ends the sale, but any obligation in the contract that is still outstanding survives it.2
After completion: what a seller still has to do
- Energy
- Give the supplier a forwarding address for the final bill, then pay it within 28 days10
- Council Tax
- It is run by your local council, so tell the council the date you left11
- DVLA
- Change the address on your licence and log book. Not telling DVLA can bring a fine of up to £1,00012
- HMRC
- Tell HMRC your new address13
- Capital Gains Tax
- If any is due on the sale, report and pay it within 60 days of completion14
Once your lender confirms the mortgage is discharged, your conveyancer passes that on to the buyer's side.5 Who owes the tax, and at what rate, is set out under Capital Gains Tax on a sale. How long a buyer has to bring a claim afterwards is in liability after the sale. If anything goes wrong on either day, take legal advice on your own contract before you act.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland has no exchange of contracts. The solicitors trade letters called missives, and the concluding missive is the binding contract.15 The buyer should insure from the conclusion of missives unless they say otherwise.16 Completion is called settlement and usually happens on the agreed date of entry.18 Just before it, you sign the disposition, the deed that transfers ownership, and arrange the handover of the keys, and your solicitor repays the mortgage.17
Northern Ireland has an exchange, and the sale binds at that point. The buyer usually pays a deposit of at least five per cent, against 10 per cent under the English and Welsh standard conditions.19 Completion follows when the rest of the money reaches your solicitor. The Standard Conditions of Sale on this page are written for England and Wales, so ask your solicitor which terms your contract uses.2
Working back from a moving date? The sale timeline planner shows when each stage needs to start. Other guides for sellers are on selling a house.
Questions people ask about exchange and completion
Can I move out before completion day?
Yes. The contract only requires the house to be empty by the completion time. It stays yours until completion, so keep paying the mortgage, ground rent and service charge to that day, and ask your conveyancer about your buildings insurance before you change it.
Can the buyer move in between exchange and completion?
Only if you agree. Under the Standard Conditions of Sale they would then live there as a licensee, not a tenant, paying the outgoings and a fee at the contract rate on the unpaid price, keeping the place in repair and leaving when the licence ends.
Can you exchange contracts without a completion date?
Under the Standard Conditions of Sale, a contract with no completion date completes 20 working days after exchange. In practice the date is agreed before exchange and written into both copies of the contract during the phone call that exchanges them.
Does completion day have to be a Friday?
No. The completion date is whatever you and the buyer agree. The standard conditions count only Monday to Friday, less bank holidays, as working days, and CHAPS, the payment system conveyancers commonly use, is usually open on those days only.
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Sources
(19)
Numbers in the text link to these. Each was read on the date shown. How we research
- Selling a home: transferring ownership (conveyancing)
- Specimen contract incorporating the Standard Conditions of Sale (Fifth Edition, 2018 Revision)
- Formulae for exchanging contracts by telephone
- The Law Society Conveyancing Protocol (2019 edition)
- Code for Completion by Post (2019)
- Transaction (TA) forms
- Law Society interest rate
- CHAPS
- Conveyancing delays push time to exchange contracts past 100 days
- Moving home: dealing with your energy supply
- How Council Tax works
- Change the address on your driving licence
- Tell HMRC about a change to your personal details
- Report and pay Capital Gains Tax: if you sold a property in the UK on or after 6 April 2020
- Selling a home: missives
- Making an offer on a property
- Selling a home: conveyancing and settlement
- Buying a home: settlement
- Buying a home: step-by-step guide