Purchase of a freehold property 
We understand that it is important to know how much you might be expected to pay in legal fees when buying residential property.
Generally, we charge on our hourly rates, which are between £195-£635 plus VAT at 20% depending on the seniority and experience of the individuals working on your matter. We adopt a partner-led approach so your matter will always have some involvement of a senior member of the residential property team.
No property or property transaction is exactly the same and our fees will reflect the particular requirements of your purchase.
Freehold purchase- Costs
All our fee estimates are bespoke because every situation is different. However, by way of illustration, our fees for dealing with a cash purchase of a freehold house in London at a price of £2m with no title or planning issues is likely to be in the range of £4,500 to £5,250.00 plus VAT (at a rate of 20%) and disbursements.
Disbursements are payments which we make to third parties such as HM Land Registry fees. These disbursements charges are typically ones that we will need to pay on your behalf during the process.
All the prices in the table below are estimated and are exclusive of VAT (VAT at a rate of 20% will be added where applicable to each bill). In some cases additional searches may be required.
| Disbursement | £ |
|---|---|
| Local authority search | 400.00 |
| Drainage and water search | 80.00 |
| Chancel repair search | 25.00 |
| Avista search | 160.00 |
| Search provider case charge for online searches | 30.00 |
| Office copies of the title registers and plans | 14.00 |
| Land Registry copy documents fee (per document) | 7.00 |
| Land registration fee range | 20 – 1105.00 |
| Land Registry pre-completion priority search | 7.00 |
| Bankruptcy search | 6.00 (per person) |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) administration fee | 10.00 |
| Estimated total price | 759.00 – 1844.00 |
In addition to the above, SDLT or Land Transaction Tax will be payable. You must pay SDLT if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England. In Wales, Land Transaction Tax may be payable. For more information about SDLT see this link or Land Transaction Tax see this link.
If additional costs arise during our work, we will let you in good time with an explanation of what as been charged and provide a revised fee estimate.
Timescales
Using the above illustration, typically, we would expect to be in a position to exchange contracts in around 2-8 weeks from being engaged, depending on a range of factors including: how quickly we are able to complete our client due diligence procedures, the turnaround time for search results and the responsiveness of the seller’s conveyancer. In some circumstances, it may be possible to exchange contracts within a matter of hours of receiving the draft contract and supporting papers (but this is not particularly common).
Assumptions
The above fee estimate assumes the following:
- That the property is registered with the Land Registry.
- That our investigations do not reveal any legal issues which must be resolved prior to exchange of contracts.
- That there are no other unusual problems or complications.
- We receive clear and timely instructions from you.
- That the property is not subject to a mortgage.
If any of these key assumptions are incorrect or change over time, we would provide a revised scope of work, timetable and fee estimate.
Complicated transaction – an example
If we were dealing with a mortgage funded purchase of a freehold house in London at a price of £2m where there has been a breach of restrictive covenant, unauthorised works have been carried out and there are structural issues with the property, we would expect our fees to be in the region of £7,000 to £15,000 plus VAT at 20% and disbursements.
In addition to the disbursements above, you might expect to pay indemnity insurance fees – £300-£1,500 inclusive of VAT at 20% (but this would depend on a variety of factors including the nature of the risk being covered and level of indemnity required).
Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a freehold residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, broadly speaking, our work will involve the following:
Before Exchange of contracts
- Approving the contract and if necessary negotiating any required changes with the sellers’ legal advisers. Full review of the legal title to the property, to ensure that the seller is legally entitled to sell the property; and to ensure that there are no onerous covenants or rights which will affect your use and enjoyment of the property; and to ensure that all necessary rights are in place to allow your use of the property for all normal residential purposes.
- Carrying out a search with the Local Authority and analysis of the results to ensure amongst other things, that all necessary Planning Permission and Building Regulations approvals are in place; whether the property abuts a publicly maintainable highway; the results of any Tree Preservation Orders, details of any nearby road schemes, details of any proposed compulsory purchase, and whether there are any orders in place that would create further liabilities.
- Carrying out further searches in relation to drainage and water supply, environmental history, chancel repair liability and other locally relevant matters. Analysing the search reports to ensure that there are no onerous liabilities attached to the property.
- Corresponding with the sellers’ solicitor to raise additional enquiries to address the results of our research and searches so that any issues that are revealed are clarified and/or dealt with.
- Reviewing and commenting as appropriate on your survey. Please note, however, that we are not qualified to comment on any technical concerns relating to the building, its structure or value.
- Providing you with a written summary of our findings from reviewing the legal title and the search reports. Providing you with the contract for your signature, along with a prepared Stamp Duty Land or Land Transaction Tax return for filing.
Exchange of contracts
- Exchanging contracts and carrying out the final pre-completion searches with the Land Registry to ensure that there have been no further amendments to the legal title, and to ensure that you have priority to register your ownership of the property.
Before completion
- Preparing the completion statement to show all payments made and received and confirming the balance required in order to complete your purchase.
- Raising requisitions on title and checking the replies, including undertakings to redeem the sellers’ existing charges.
- Drafting and agreeing the relevant transfer document.
Completion
- Completing the purchase; submitting a return to account for any Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax to be paid; ensuring that any indemnity policies are in place from the date of completion including the indemnity policy to cover potential chancel repair obligations.
After completion
- Registering the transaction with the Land Registry and ensuring that your ownership, and any other pertinent matters are correctly recorded.
- Forwarding to you a copy of the updated Registers of Title.
Exclusions
As part of a conveyancing transaction, typically, the following would not be included in the scope of our work:
- Taxation advice.
- Advice or preparation of a Declaration of Trust or similar instrument to govern the details of your co-ownership of the property with anyone else.
If applicable, we will price these and any other requirements separately for you. If necessary, we will, in consultation with you obtain such additional advice as is required from appropriately qualified third parties.
For more information about the conveyancing process, please click here
Who will carry out the work
Your work will mainly be handled by any of the solicitors, trainee solicitors or paralegals in the Residential Property Team, all under partner supervision. Parminder Sidhu (Partner) leads our Residential Property team. Parminder has significant experience dealing with all aspects of residential conveyancing, and is supported by a wider team of legal professionals. The profiles of the members of the Residential Property Team and their level of experience can be viewed on our website. Contact us to find out more.
The table below lists our hourly rates, which exclude 20% VAT.
Our rates are subject to review annually on 1 April each year. If the rate applicable to a particular matter is varied through that review you/ our client will be notified in writing at the time.
Last reviewed: April 2025
