Estate agent
Your conveyancer is paid on completion alongside the agent. Ask whether the agent is paid for recommending a firm.
Solicitor fees for selling a house or flat
What a conveyancer charges a seller, line by line, with the published averages named and dated. Your own written quote replaces every figure here.
On this page
The short answer
Solicitor fees for selling a house in England and Wales averaged £929 in reallymoving's quote data for the second quarter of 2026, including VAT and disbursements.1 Property Solvers' sample of 100 firms gave £1,316.52 for a freehold sale, including VAT but not disbursements.3 Most of the bill is paid on completion, from the sale money.14
Solicitors and licensed conveyancers set their own prices for selling houses and flats. There is no official scale, and the two published averages count different things. Every regulated firm has to publish its prices and tell you what they include, so a like-for-like quote is easy to ask for.
A seller's legal costs, as published
- Sale, average quote, Q2 2026
- £929 including VAT and disbursements1
- Freehold sale, 100 firms, February 2026
- £1,316.52 including VAT, before disbursements3
- Leasehold sale, same sample
- £1,628.58 including VAT, before disbursements3
- Buying and selling together, Q2 2026
- £2,438 including VAT and disbursements1
- Official copy of the register
- £7 online, £11 by post, no VAT4
How much do solicitors charge to sell a house?
On the two published sources, the average solicitors fees for selling a house in the UK run from about £929 to £1,317 including VAT. Neither is a price you will be quoted. They are averages of quotes, gathered differently:
- reallymoving, a home mover comparison site, published its Conveyancing Costs Index on 18 August 2026 from over 82,000 quotes made through the site. It puts the average sale at £929 in the second quarter of 2026, including VAT, disbursements and expenses, and says prices were up 0.1 per cent on a year earlier.1 HomeOwners Alliance reports the same figure from the same index.2
- Property Solvers, in research updated 17 February 2026, took online quotes from 100 firms for homes under £300,000 with a mortgage to repay. Its averages are £1,316.52 for a freehold sale and £1,628.58 for a leasehold one, including VAT but leaving out disbursements and any supplements.3
Each publisher has a stake. reallymoving and HomeOwners Alliance earn from introducing conveyancers, and Property Solvers is a house-buying company.13 The legal line on our cost of selling page uses the same range.
| Source | Basis | Sale | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| reallymoving, Q2 2026 | Over 82,000 quotes on its own site | £929 | VAT, disbursements, expenses1 |
| Property Solvers, February 2026 | 100 firms, freehold, under £300,000 | £1,316.52 | VAT only3 |
| Property Solvers, February 2026 | 100 firms, leasehold, under £300,000 | £1,628.58 | VAT only3 |
HomeOwners Alliance describes the reallymoving figure as coming from about 34,000 quote forms. The release from reallymoving itself says over 82,000 quotes. We print both counts because we could not reconcile them.
Property value and tenure both change the quote. Fees usually rise with the price of the property, according to HomeOwners Alliance.2 Neither source breaks the sale figure down by price band, so we cannot give you a typical fee for your price. Tenure is the other. Solicitors fees for selling a leasehold flat run higher. The gap is about £300 on the HomeOwners Alliance figures, and £312.06 between Property Solvers' two averages.23
What is included in conveyancing fees for a sale?
A seller's conveyancing bill has four parts: the firm's legal fee, supplements for extra work, disbursements the firm pays to others on your behalf, and VAT. Solicitors must say exactly what their published price includes, and list likely disbursements.67 Where a quote leaves a line out, ask for it before you sign.
| Part | What it pays for | Published figure |
|---|---|---|
| Legal fee | Drafting the contract, answering the buyer's solicitor, repaying your mortgage and sending you the balance14 | The averages above |
| Leasehold supplement | The extra work on the lease and the landlord's information | About £300 more than freehold2 |
| Money transfer fee | Sending funds electronically, which firms must include in their price information | No published average7 |
| Identity and anti-money laundering checks | Checking who you are before the firm acts | £6 to £20, plus about £10 for a property fraud check2 |
| Official copies of the register | The title documents the buyer's solicitor needs | £7 each online, £11 by post, no VAT4 |
| Leasehold management pack | Service charge, insurance and works information, set by the freeholder or managing agent | £300 to £8002 |
| Help to Buy equity loan, England | Repaying the government loan on sale, which needs a chartered surveyor's valuation report | Administration fees apply. The amount is not on GOV.UK15 |
VAT is charged at the standard rate of 20 per cent on most services.5 Solicitors must say whether a published price includes it and how much it is.7 A fee quoted "plus VAT" therefore costs a fifth more than the headline figure. HM Land Registry's fees carry no VAT at all.4
Repaying your mortgage is part of every sale with a loan on it. Your conveyancer pays the lender out of the buyer's money on completion.14 Firms price that work in different ways, so ask whether it sits inside the legal fee or on a separate line. The management pack is the largest item a leasehold seller pays outside the legal fee, and nothing caps it yet. Section 67 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 would let regulations limit these charges, but legislation.gov.uk still showed it as not in force when we checked on 24 September 2026.16
Prices every conveyancer must publish
Firms that advertise residential conveyancing must put their prices on their website, sales included. The Solicitors Regulation Authority's Transparency Rules cover freehold and leasehold sales and purchases. A firm must show the total cost, or an average or range where a single figure is not practicable. It must also show the basis of its charges, likely disbursements, VAT, what is and is not included, and the key stages with likely timescales. All of it must sit in a prominent place on the site.6
What each kind of conveyancer must tell you
Solicitors, regulated by the SRA Licensed conveyancers, regulated by the CLC
Prices on the website10 Solicitors, regulated by the SRA: Yes, for freehold and leasehold sales and purchases Licensed conveyancers, regulated by the CLC: Yes, under matching rules since December 2018
Referral fees8 Solicitors, regulated by the SRA: Any financial interest an introducer has in sending you, and any fee sharing on your matter Licensed conveyancers, regulated by the CLC: Whether the firm pays them, and the average or range it pays
Changes to the cost9 Solicitors, regulated by the SRA: The best possible information on the likely overall cost, at the start and as the matter goes on Licensed conveyancers, regulated by the CLC: Any change to the charges as soon as possible, with the reason
Under the rules of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, a CLC firm's online quote calculator has to produce a price without asking for your phone number or email address.11 Chartered legal executives and CILEX practitioners can also act on a sale. GOV.UK advises checking that whoever you use is regulated, and notes that you can do the conveyancing yourself.13
Compliance is uneven. When the CLC checked the websites of 12 of its practices for its June 2026 review, it found them largely non-compliant on referral disclosure, and most of their quote tools asked for contact details first.12 A published price is where a quote starts. For a sale figure you can rely on, ask for a written quote naming your property, its tenure and your mortgage.
When you ask for quotes, tell each firm about anything out of the ordinary, such as part of the title not being registered, or building work done without regulations approval or planning permission. The regulator names problems like these as ones that can raise the fee, so only a quote given with them on the table is worth setting against another.
Haroon Ali Author, The House Desk. Over 11 years in property and renovation Do solicitors charge a percentage for selling a house?
Usually not. Property Solvers, reporting on its survey of 100 firms, states that most conveyancers charge a fixed fee.3 A fixed fee covers the work set out in the quote, whatever time it takes.2 An hourly rate leaves the final bill open. Either way the firm must state the basis of its charges6, and a solicitor must give you the best possible information about the likely overall cost, at the start and as the matter goes on.9
Some firms offer a no sale, no fee arrangement, where you do not pay the full bill if the sale falls through.2 Terms differ from firm to firm. Before choosing one on that basis, find out:
- whether disbursements already paid out are still charged
- how the price compares with the same firm's standard fee
- whether it still applies if you are the one who withdraws
When do I pay solicitors fees when selling a house?
Mostly on completion. On the day the sale completes, the buyer's conveyancer sends the money to yours, who repays your mortgage and pays the fees before sending you the balance.14 So the bulk of the legal fee usually comes out of the proceeds, in the order set out in what happens on completion day. Some money may be asked for earlier.
- 01 On instruction A payment on account is often asked for, typically £250 to £500.2
- 02 Under offer Some firms bill 25 to 30 per cent of the fee once a buyer is found. Most wait until completion.3
- 03 Completion The rest comes out of the sale money, after the mortgage is repaid, and you receive the balance.14
How long the legal stage itself takes, from offer to completion, is set out on our selling timeline page.
Who pays solicitor fees when the seller pulls out?
Each side usually pays its own. Buyer and seller can both withdraw at any point between an accepted offer and exchange of contracts, the moment the deal becomes legally binding.1714 So when a seller pulls out, the buyer's legal costs generally stay with the buyer.
Who pays the legal costs when a sale does not complete
- Had contracts been exchanged?
- Yes The contract decides From exchange the deal is legally binding, and what each side can claim turns on its terms.14 A sale that has fallen through
- No Did you agree no sale, no fee terms?
- Yes Those terms decide what you owe Check whether disbursements already paid out are still charged, and whether the terms apply if you are the one who withdraws. No sale, no fee
- No Each side pays its own firm You owe your conveyancer for the work done, on the terms in your client care letter.
The same holds the other way round when a buyer walks away. A signed reservation agreement can change who bears what, and our guide to a sale that has fallen through covers those agreements and what to do next. The government puts the wasted costs from failed transactions at about £400 million a year for buyers and sellers, attributing the estimate to unpublished 2023 research by TPX Impact for the department.17
Referral fees and the agent's recommended conveyancer
An estate agent that recommends a conveyancer may be paid for the introduction, and the agent should tell you. National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team guidance of February 2019 says an agent should disclose in writing that a referral arrangement exists and with whom. It should also give the amount of any referral fee for your transaction. For a seller, that belongs in the agent's terms and conditions.18
The conveyancer has its own duty to tell you, set out for both kinds of firm under prices every conveyancer must publish.
Published amounts are rare, but some exist. Purplebricks' referral fee page, updated 22 April 2026, sets out what its conveyancing partner in England and Wales pays it. The page states that using certain recommended services, such as conveyancing, is a condition of some of its products, and that the fees do not change what you pay the provider.19
Referral fees where the amount is published
The CLC found that clients tend to learn about referral arrangements from the client care letter, which it says is probably too late to inform their choice.12 Ask the agent in writing before you sign, and get one quote from a firm the agent did not suggest so you can see the difference. The agent's own charges are covered in our guide to estate agent fees.
Solicitor fees for buying and selling a house
Moving home means paying for two pieces of legal work, and London was the most expensive region for it in reallymoving's figures for the second quarter of 2026.1
Average conveyancing quotes, second quarter of 2026
- Selling £929 1
- Buying £1,509 1
- Buying and selling together £2,438 1
- Buying and selling together, London £3,096 1
The purchase side carries its own items, such as searches and the Land Registry fee for registering the buyer, and stamp duty is separate from the conveyancing fee.7
Using one firm for both halves keeps the two completions on one desk. We found no published data on whether it lowers the combined price in England and Wales, so ask for a joint quote and a separate one for each side. No calculator can give you solicitors fees for buying and selling a house on your property. Each firm's own quote tool is the nearest thing, because only the firm can price its own work. For the sale side, our cost of selling calculator sets your legal quote beside the agent's fee and the other costs of selling.
Scotland
Solicitors in Scotland often do more than the legal work. A seller can use a solicitor as selling agent, who will market the home or register it with a local solicitors' property centre. A solicitor acting for you must write as soon as possible with an estimate of the total fee. Some charge less, or offer a package, when they handle both your buying and your selling.20 The rules and averages elsewhere on this page are for England and Wales.
What to check before you instruct a solicitor
A quote you can compare with another firm's covers the same items on the same basis. Get it in writing and check these six points before you instruct anyone. The firm's published price information should already answer most of them.6
If the final bill is higher than the quote and the firm's explanation does not satisfy you, complain to the firm first. It has eight weeks to resolve the complaint. After that you can go to the Legal Ombudsman, within six months of the firm's final response and within a year of the problem. The Ombudsman is free, and it can look at the costs you were asked to pay.21
Questions people ask about solicitor fees for selling
Who pays solicitors fees, buyer or seller?
Each side pays its own firm. Your conveyancer’s bill as the seller is mostly settled on completion, taken from the buyer’s money after your mortgage is repaid, with the balance then sent to you. The buyer pays for their own legal work, and a purchase carries items a sale does not, such as searches and the Land Registry fee for registering the new owner.
Do you need a solicitor to sell a house?
GOV.UK notes that you can do the conveyancing yourself. If you pay for it, a solicitor, a licensed conveyancer or a chartered legal executive can act, and GOV.UK advises checking that they are regulated. Whoever does it drafts the contract, answers the buyer’s solicitor and, where there is a loan, repays your lender from the buyer’s money.
Legal costs on each route
Every route needs a conveyancer. What changes is when the legal work happens and who may be paid for recommending one.
Not sure which fits? Answer three questions and we will suggest one.
Property auction
The legal pack has to be ready before the sale day, so the legal work moves earlier. Ask how the firm bills if the lot does not sell.
House-buying company
Each company sets out in its own terms who pays the legal costs of the sale. Weigh them against the price offered.
Find the route that fits you
Three questions, about 30 seconds. Your answers stay in your browser.
Question 1 of 3
Your best fit
What you give up:
Why this route
Close second: Property auction.
Selling in Scotland works differently, with a Home Report and offers over a closing date. The guides note where Scottish rules differ.
Get help with your sale
Leave your details and tell us how you would like to sell.
While you wait, the guide covers what to check before you agree to anything.
Sources
(21)
Numbers in the text link to these. Each was read on the date shown. How we research
- Conveyancing Costs Index Q2 2026
- Conveyancing fees: what to expect in 2026
- Conveyancing fees: the essential guide (2026)
- HM Land Registry: Information Services fees
- VAT rates
- SRA Transparency Rules
- Transparency in price and service
- SRA Code of Conduct for Firms
- SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs, paragraph 8.7
- Informed choice: helping you find the right conveyancer
- Informed Choice: frequently asked questions
- Thematic Review of Referral Arrangements 2026: Interim Report
- Selling a home: finding a solicitor or conveyancer
- Selling a home: transferring ownership (conveyancing)
- Help to Buy: Equity Loan, repaying your equity loan
- Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, section 67: leasehold sales information requests
- Home buying and selling reform: consultation document
- Guidance on transparency of fees involving property sales
- Referral fees, updated 22 April 2026
- Finding a selling agent
- Legal Ombudsman: FAQs for consumers