Average Conveyancing Costs by Property Price

One of the first questions sellers ask when instructing a solicitor is how much it will cost. The honest answer is: it depends on your property value. Conveyancing fees are not one-size-fits-all, and a seller with a £150,000 flat will pay significantly less than someone selling a £750,000 detached house.

This guide sets out exactly how conveyancing fees are structured, what you should expect to pay at each property price point, and how to make sure you are comparing quotes on a like-for-like basis. For a broader breakdown of every cost involved in selling, see our full conveyancing costs breakdown.

How conveyancing fees are structured

Conveyancing fees for selling a property are made up of two components: the solicitor's own fee (their charge for legal work) and disbursements (third-party costs they pay on your behalf). Understanding the difference is essential when comparing quotes.

Fixed fee vs percentage-based pricing

Most residential conveyancers now charge a fixed fee for the entire transaction. You agree a price upfront and that is what you pay, regardless of how long the sale takes or how many enquiries arise. The SRA Transparency Rules require regulated firms to publish their conveyancing fees clearly, which has made fixed-fee pricing the norm.

A smaller number of firms, particularly those handling high-value or complex sales, use percentage-based pricing — typically 0.1% to 0.5% of the property value. This model is more common for properties above £500,000 and is standard for commercial conveyancing. On a £1,000,000 sale at 0.15%, the legal fee alone would be £1,500 plus VAT.

A few solicitors still charge by the hour, typically £150 to £350 per hour. Hourly billing can work out cheaper for very simple transactions but carries the risk of a much higher bill if complications arise. For most sellers, a fixed fee is the safest and most predictable option.

Why fees increase with property value

The main reason conveyancing fees scale upward is professional indemnity insurance (PII). Every regulated solicitor and licensed conveyancer must hold PII cover, and premiums increase with the value of transactions handled. A mistake on a £1,000,000 sale exposes the firm to far greater liability than one on a £150,000 sale, so fees reflect that risk.

Higher-value properties also tend to involve more complex circumstances — longer chains, more detailed enquiries, and occasionally disputes that require negotiation. Even within a fixed fee model, firms price in this additional expected workload.

Conveyancing cost table by property price

The table below shows typical solicitor fees for selling a freehold property in England and Wales in 2026. These figures represent the solicitor's own fee only — disbursements are covered separately below.

Source: Based on published fee data from SRA-regulated firms and comparison platforms including Compare My Move and the HomeOwners Alliance. Fees vary by location and firm.

For a more detailed look at solicitor fees specifically, including what impacts pricing beyond property value, see our dedicated guide.

What's included in conveyancing fees

A standard conveyancing fee for selling a property should cover all of the core legal work involved in the transaction:

• Drafting and negotiating the contract of sale
• Obtaining official title documents from HM Land Registry
• Answering pre-contract enquiries from the buyer's solicitor
• Liaising with your mortgage lender for redemption figures
• Managing exchange of contracts and completion
• Transferring sale proceeds to your bank account

Items that are typically charged as extras on top of the base fee include:

• Leasehold supplement (£200 to £400 + VAT)
• Help to Buy or shared ownership equity loan repayment (£100 to £300)
• Acting on a sale and simultaneous purchase (separate fee)
• Urgent or expedited completion (£100 to £250)
• Dealing with unregistered land (£100 to £300 extra)

When comparing quotes, always confirm what is included and what is treated as an additional charge. A quote that looks £200 cheaper may not be once supplements are added.

Common disbursements and their costs

Disbursements are third-party costs your solicitor pays on your behalf. They are charged at cost with no markup and are separate from the solicitor's own fee. Crucially, disbursements do not scale with property value — a seller of a £100,000 property pays the same disbursement rates as a seller of a £1,000,000 property.

In total, seller disbursements typically come to £100 to £350. This is the amount added to the “total with disbursements” column in the cost table above.

Leasehold supplements and additional charges

If you are selling a leasehold flat or house, your conveyancing costs will be significantly higher than for an equivalent freehold. There are two main additional charges:

1. Solicitor leasehold supplement: Typically £200 to £400 plus VAT. Your solicitor charges this because leasehold sales involve substantially more work — reviewing the lease, checking service charge accounts, confirming ground rent payments, and dealing with management company enquiries.

2. Leasehold management pack (LPE1): You must purchase this from your freeholder or managing agent. The Law Society suggests a reasonable charge of £200 plus VAT, but in practice many agents charge £200 to £500, with some London managing agents charging £600 or more.

Additional charges you may face on a leasehold sale include:

• Notice of transfer fee: £100 to £250 — charged by the freeholder to update their records
• Deed of covenant fee: £100 to £200 — if the buyer must enter into a direct covenant with the freeholder
• Certificate of compliance fee: £50 to £100

All told, leasehold conveyancing adds £300 to £800 to your total costs. This applies at every property price point, so it is particularly significant for lower-value flats where it represents a larger proportion of the overall legal expense. For a full overview of selling costs, see our guide on how much it costs to sell a house in 2026.

Other charges to watch for

Beyond the core legal fee and standard disbursements, several additional charges can appear on your final bill:

• Bank transfer fee (CHAPS): £35 to £45 per transfer including VAT. If you have a mortgage to redeem, you will pay for two transfers rather than one.
• ID verification: £10 to £30 per person. If you are selling jointly, each owner is checked separately under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
• Mortgage exit / deeds release fee: £50 to £300 — charged by your lender to close the account.
• Additional enquiries surcharge: Some solicitors charge extra if the buyer's solicitor raises an unusually high volume of enquiries. Ask upfront whether your fee covers a reasonable number.
• Post-completion administration: A small number of firms charge £50 to £100 for handling matters after completion, such as confirming mortgage redemption.
• File storage and retrieval: If your solicitor holds original deeds, some charge £20 to £50 to retrieve them.

How to compare conveyancing quotes

Conveyancing quotes are notoriously difficult to compare because firms present their pricing differently. Some quote ex-VAT, others include it. Some bundle disbursements into the headline figure, others list them separately. Here is a reliable method for making a fair comparison:

1. Ask for the total cost including VAT and all disbursements. This is the only number that matters. A quote of “£600 plus VAT plus disbursements” could easily become £1,200 once everything is added.
2. Check what is included in the base fee. Does it cover mortgage redemption work? What about answering enquiries? Is post-completion administration included?
3. Confirm the no sale no fee terms. If offered, ask exactly what you would still pay if the sale fell through. Some firms charge an abortive fee of £100 to £300 even under a no sale no fee arrangement.
4. Verify regulation status. Your conveyancer must be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
5. Get at least three quotes. The Law Society recommends comparing a minimum of three quotes before instructing.

Our guide on how to reduce conveyancing costs covers additional strategies for keeping your legal bill as low as possible.

Online vs high street conveyancers

The growth of online conveyancing firms has created a genuine alternative to traditional high street solicitors. Here is how they compare at different price points:

Online conveyancers achieve lower prices primarily through reduced overheads — no high street premises, fewer administrative staff, and technology-driven workflows. Both online and high street firms must be regulated by the SRA or CLC, so the legal protections are the same.

The key trade-off is service. High street solicitors typically offer face-to-face meetings and lower caseloads per solicitor. Online firms rely on email, phone, and online portals, and their solicitors may be handling a larger volume of cases simultaneously. For straightforward freehold sales, this rarely matters. For complex transactions — leasehold, unregistered land, boundary disputes — a specialist high street firm may be worth the premium.

When cheap conveyancing costs more

It is tempting to choose the cheapest conveyancing quote, but this is one area where saving £200 upfront can cost you thousands down the line. Here is why:

• Slow response times: Budget conveyancers often carry very high caseloads. If your solicitor takes two or three weeks to respond to enquiries, it extends the conveyancing timeline and increases the risk of the buyer pulling out. Around one in three property transactions in England and Wales falls through before completion, according to data from HM Land Registry and industry estimates.
• Abortive costs: If a sale collapses because of delays caused by poor conveyancing, you may face abortive fees of £200 to £500 and then need to instruct a new solicitor for the next buyer — paying the full fee again.
• Missed issues: An overburdened conveyancer may not spot title defects or contract issues that a more thorough solicitor would catch. Problems discovered after exchange or completion can be extremely expensive to resolve.
• Hidden extras: Some low-headline-fee firms recoup the difference with a long list of supplementary charges — extra enquiries, urgent completion surcharges, file storage fees — that are not apparent until the final bill arrives.

The best approach is to choose a conveyancer who offers a competitive total price, good reviews, and realistic caseloads. Our guide on who pays for what in a house sale helps you understand which costs fall to the seller and which to the buyer, so there are no surprises.

Regional price differences

Conveyancing costs are not uniform across England and Wales. Several factors drive regional variation:

• Property values: Areas with higher average property prices naturally attract higher conveyancing fees. London and the South East have the highest legal costs, while the North East and parts of Wales are typically cheapest.
• Local authority search fees: These vary dramatically by council. Some London boroughs charge over £250 for a standard local search, while certain northern councils charge under £120. The GOV.UK local land charges service is gradually digitising this process, which should reduce costs and turnaround times over time.
• Competition: Areas with more conveyancing firms tend to have lower prices. Urban centres generally offer more choice (and therefore competitive pricing) than rural areas.
• Firm overheads: A solicitor in central London has much higher office and staffing costs than one in a market town in Yorkshire. These costs are reflected in fees.

That said, you are not limited to local firms. Remote conveyancing is now standard practice, and many sellers choose an online or out-of-area firm to get a better price. As long as the firm is SRA or CLC regulated, there is no legal requirement to use a solicitor in your area.

Worked examples at three price points

To bring the numbers together, here are total estimated conveyancing costs for three typical property values, assuming a straightforward freehold sale with a high street solicitor:

Example 1: Selling a £200,000 terraced house

Example 2: Selling a £400,000 semi-detached house

Example 3: Selling a £800,000 detached house

These examples exclude estate agent fees, EPC costs, and mortgage early repayment charges. For a complete picture of every selling cost, see our full conveyancing costs breakdown.

Sources and further reading

• SRA Transparency Rules — Price and Service Information (Solicitors Regulation Authority)
• HM Land Registry — Registration Services Fees (GOV.UK, updated 2024)
• Conveyancing Fees: What to Expect (HomeOwners Alliance, 2026)
• Solicitor Fees When Selling a House (Compare My Move, 2026)
• The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Find a Solicitor (Law Society)
• Search for Local Land Charges (GOV.UK)

Frequently asked questions