What is conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from one person to another.

If you are buying or selling a home, conveyancing is what turns an agreed deal into a legally completed transaction. Our guide to the process from offer to completion walks through each step in order.

It covers everything from checking who owns the property and reviewing the title, through to exchanging contracts, transferring the money and registering the new owner with HM Land Registry.

It is also the part of moving home that often feels the least visible.

You may have agreed a sale weeks ago, packed half the house and chosen a moving date, while your solicitor is still talking about searches, enquiries and outstanding documents.

Understanding what conveyancing actually involves makes the whole process much easier to follow.

What does a conveyancer do?

A conveyancer handles the legal work involved in buying or selling a property.

This can be done by a solicitor, a licensed conveyancer or another appropriately qualified legal professional.

Their job is not simply to complete paperwork.

For a buyer, they are checking that you can safely buy the property and that you are getting the legal rights you expect.

For a seller, they are preparing the information and legal documents needed to transfer the property to the buyer.

What happens during conveyancing when selling a house?

If you are selling, the conveyancing process will usually begin when you instruct your solicitor or conveyancer.

They will ask you to provide information about the property.

This can include:

• your identity
• proof of ownership
• details of any mortgage
• property information forms
• fixtures and fittings information
• planning permissions
• building regulation certificates
• guarantees and warranties
• details of extensions or alterations
• leasehold information if applicable

Your conveyancer then prepares the contract documentation and sends it to the buyer's solicitor.

The buyer's solicitor reviews everything and may raise questions, known as enquiries.

Your solicitor will work with you to answer these.

Once the legal work is complete and everyone is ready, contracts can be exchanged.

What happens during conveyancing when buying a house?

For a buyer, conveyancing is more investigative.

Your conveyancer needs to establish whether there are any legal issues that could affect your ownership or use of the property.

They may look at:

• who legally owns the property
• the boundaries
• rights of way
• restrictive covenants
• mortgages or charges
• planning history
• building regulation issues
• access
• drainage
• environmental risks
• lease terms
• service charges
• management arrangements

They will also normally arrange property searches and deal with your mortgage lender if you are borrowing money.

Before exchange, your conveyancer should explain any significant issues they have identified so that you can decide whether you are comfortable proceeding.

What are conveyancing searches?

Searches are checks carried out against the property and surrounding area.

They help uncover information that may not be obvious from viewing the home.

Typical searches can include:

Local authority search

This can reveal information such as planning matters, building regulations, road schemes and certain restrictions affecting the property.

Drainage and water search

This looks at matters such as whether the property is connected to mains water and sewerage and where certain public drains may be located.

Environmental search

This can identify issues such as flood risk, contaminated land or other environmental factors.

Other searches may be needed depending on where the property is located.

For example, properties in some areas may require mining or other specialist searches.

What are conveyancing enquiries?

Enquiries are questions raised by the buyer's solicitor after reviewing the property documents, title and searches.

They are a normal part of the process.

An enquiry might ask:

• Was planning permission obtained for the extension?
• Is there a building regulation completion certificate?
• Who maintains the shared driveway?
• Has the seller ever had a boundary dispute?
• Is there a guarantee for the new roof?
• Are there any planned major works in a leasehold block?
• Why does the title plan appear different from the physical boundary?

Some enquiries are simple.

Others can take much longer, particularly when information has to come from a council, freeholder, management company or another third party.

Why does conveyancing take so long?

This is one of the most common frustrations when moving home.

The difficulty is that conveyancing is not one single task.

It is a sequence of tasks involving several different people and organisations.

A transaction may depend on:

• the seller
• the buyer
• two sets of solicitors
• an estate agent
• mortgage lenders
• surveyors
• local authorities
• management companies
• freeholders
• HM Land Registry
• other buyers and sellers in the chain

If one important piece of information is missing, the whole transaction can stop moving.

That is why preparing information early can make such a difference.

What is exchange of contracts?

Exchange is one of the most important stages of conveyancing.

Before exchange, the transaction is generally not legally binding in England and Wales.

Either side can usually withdraw.

At exchange, the buyer's and seller's solicitors formally exchange contracts.

From that point, both parties are legally committed to the transaction.

A completion date is normally agreed before exchange.

The buyer may also need to provide an exchange deposit.

What is completion?

Completion is the day ownership actually changes.

The buyer's solicitor transfers the purchase money to the seller's solicitor.

Once the money has been received, the transaction completes and the buyer can normally collect the keys.

For the seller, the conveyancer will usually:

• repay any outstanding mortgage
• pay agreed fees
• account for any remaining sale proceeds

For the buyer, the conveyancer will then deal with post-completion work such as Stamp Duty Land Tax where applicable and registration of ownership.

What does HM Land Registry have to do with conveyancing?

HM Land Registry records ownership of land and property in England and Wales.

After a purchase completes, the buyer's conveyancer normally applies to HM Land Registry to register:

• the new owner
• the price paid
• any new mortgage
• other relevant changes to the title

This registration can happen after you have already moved into the property.

So getting the keys does not necessarily mean every administrative part of the conveyancing process has finished.

What is a property title?

The title is the legal record of ownership.

For registered property, HM Land Registry records information including:

• the registered owner
• the property description
• rights benefiting the property
• restrictions
• covenants
• mortgages or charges

A title plan will also normally show the general extent of the registered land.

One of the conveyancer's most important jobs is reviewing this information and identifying anything that could affect the transaction.

What is a conveyancing chain?

A property chain exists when several purchases and sales depend on one another.

For example:

You are selling your home to Buyer A.

You are using the money to buy another property from Seller B.

Seller B is buying from Seller C.

Now there are three linked transactions.

Even if your own conveyancing is completely finished, you may still be unable to exchange until everyone else is ready.

This is why chains can create delays that seem unrelated to your own property.

What documents do sellers need for conveyancing?

The exact documents depend on the property, but sellers may be asked for items such as:

• title information
• property information forms
• fixtures and fittings forms
• planning permissions
• building regulations approvals
• completion certificates
• FENSA certificates
• boiler documentation
• electrical certificates
• guarantees
• warranties
• solar panel documentation
• lease information
• service charge details
• management packs

One of the simplest ways to speed up conveyancing is to find these documents before they are requested.

What is the property information form?

The seller normally completes a property information form providing details about the home.

It can cover matters such as:

• boundaries
• disputes
• notices
• alterations
• planning
• guarantees
• insurance
• utilities
• parking
• environmental issues

The information becomes part of the legal transaction, so it should be completed carefully and accurately.

What is the fixtures and fittings form?

This sets out what the seller intends to leave at the property.

It can cover things such as:

• appliances
• curtains
• blinds
• light fittings
• garden items
• sheds
• fitted furniture

It avoids the buyer and seller discovering on completion day that they had very different assumptions about what was included.

How long does conveyancing take?

There is no fixed timescale.

A simple chain-free transaction can move relatively quickly.

A complicated leasehold transaction involving a mortgage, management company and long chain may take considerably longer.

Delays commonly arise from:

• slow searches
• mortgage offers
• missing documentation
• unanswered enquiries
• leasehold management packs
• title problems
• planning issues
• chain delays
• difficulties agreeing completion dates

The important thing is to distinguish between time that genuinely cannot be avoided and delays caused because information was not prepared early enough.

Can conveyancing be sped up?

Sometimes considerably.

Sellers can help by:

• instructing a conveyancer early
• completing forms immediately
• finding property documents before accepting an offer
• checking the title in advance
• locating planning and building regulation paperwork
• responding quickly to enquiries
• identifying leasehold information early

Buyers can help by:

• arranging their mortgage promptly
• instructing their conveyancer immediately
• paying for searches quickly
• arranging a survey early
• responding promptly to requests for documents
• making decisions quickly when issues arise

You cannot control the entire chain.

But you can remove many of the reasons your own transaction might be delayed.

Do I need a solicitor for conveyancing?

You do not always legally have to use a solicitor.

In some situations it is possible to handle your own conveyancing.

However, mortgage lenders will usually require an approved professional to act, and even cash transactions can involve legal risks that are easy to overlook.

You can also use a licensed conveyancer rather than a solicitor.

For most buyers and sellers, using a qualified professional is the practical option.

How much does conveyancing cost?

Costs vary depending on:

• purchase or sale price
• freehold or leasehold
• whether there is a mortgage
• complexity of the title
• searches
• additional legal work
• third-party fees

When comparing quotes, look at the total expected cost, not simply the headline legal fee.

Some quotes may exclude additional charges that appear later.

What is the difference between a solicitor and a conveyancer?

A solicitor is a lawyer who may work across several different areas of law.

A licensed conveyancer specialises in property law and conveyancing.

Both can handle normal residential property transactions when appropriately regulated.

What matters most is that the person dealing with your transaction has the right experience for the type of property you are buying or selling.

What can go wrong during conveyancing?

Conveyancing sometimes uncovers problems that nobody knew existed.

Examples include:

• missing planning permission
• absent building regulation certificates
• title restrictions
• boundary issues
• missing rights of access
• old mortgages remaining on the title
• short leases
• high service charges
• planned major works
• defective lease terms
• undocumented extensions
• private drainage
• unusual covenants

Discovering these issues does not always mean the sale will fail.

Often there is a solution.

But finding them early gives everyone more time to deal with them.

Conveyancing should not start when you find a buyer

This is where sellers can make the biggest difference.

Traditionally, much of the legal preparation starts after an offer has been accepted.

That means the buyer is already waiting while the seller starts finding documents, completing forms and discovering problems.

A better approach is to prepare earlier.

Before marketing your home, you can start gathering:

• title information
• planning records
• building regulation documents
• guarantees
• certificates
• leasehold information
• details of alterations

Then, when a buyer appears, your conveyancer has much more of what they need.

Think of conveyancing as proving the story of your property

A buyer sees the house.

The conveyancing process checks the legal story behind it.

Is the seller really the owner?

Does the garden belong to the property?

Can you legally use the driveway?

Was the extension properly approved?

Are there restrictions on what you can do with the house?

Is anyone else entitled to use part of the land?

That is why conveyancing matters.

It is not just paperwork between accepting an offer and collecting the keys.

It is the process of making sure the property can legally change hands and that the buyer understands what they are acquiring.

Get your property ready before conveyancing becomes urgent

The best time to discover missing property information is not after your buyer's solicitor asks for it.

Tepilo helps sellers understand what information exists about their home, gather important documents and identify potential gaps before the legal transaction gets underway.

That means fewer surprises, better preparation and a better chance of keeping your sale moving.

Get your home conveyancing-ready with Tepilo.