How to Speed Up Conveyancing as a Seller

Conveyancing in England and Wales takes 12 to 16 weeks on average from accepted offer to completion. But much of that time is avoidable delay — weeks spent waiting for paperwork that could have been prepared in advance, searches that could have been ordered earlier, and responses that could have been sent faster.

If you are selling a property and want to reach completion as quickly as possible, this guide sets out every practical step you can take to speed things up. These are not shortcuts or legal workarounds. They are straightforward preparation steps that remove unnecessary waiting time from the process. For the full breakdown of what happens at each stage, see our guide on how long conveyancing takes.

Why does conveyancing take so long?

Before looking at solutions, it helps to understand where the time actually goes. Conveyancing is not one long task — it is a series of steps that depend on different people (you, your solicitor, the buyer, their solicitor, the local authority, the Land Registry, and potentially mortgage lenders). The delays creep in at every handover point.

The biggest time drains for sellers are:

• Completing the TA6 and TA10 forms after accepting an offer — most sellers do not start this paperwork until their solicitor sends it over, which can be days or weeks after the offer. The forms themselves take time to fill in properly, and incomplete answers trigger further delays.
• Waiting for local authority search results — these are ordered by the buyer's solicitor and can take 2 to 8 weeks depending on the council. According to the Law Society's monitoring of local authority search turnaround times, some councils consistently take 6 weeks or more.
• Rounds of additional enquiries — when the buyer's solicitor reviews your contract pack and search results, they raise written questions (known as conveyancing enquiries). Each round of questions and answers passes through two sets of solicitors, and a single unclear answer can add a week.
• Missing certificates and documents — building regulations completion certificates, planning permissions, and warranties that you cannot find when your solicitor asks for them. Tracking these down mid-transaction wastes time that could have been spent progressing toward exchange.
• Slow solicitor communication — research by the HomeOwners Alliance found that slow solicitors are one of the most frequently cited causes of conveyancing delays. An overloaded conveyancer handling too many cases is one of the biggest risk factors for a slow sale.

The good news is that most of these delays are within the seller's control. The table below shows where typical time is lost and what you can do about each one.

Step 1: Prepare your TA6 and TA10 forms before listing

The TA6 Property Information Form is a detailed questionnaire about your property covering boundaries, disputes, planning, building work, services, environmental matters, and more. The TA10 Fittings and Contents Form lists what is and is not included in the sale. Both are standardised forms published by the Law Society and used in virtually every residential sale in England and Wales.

Most sellers only start filling these in after accepting an offer — which immediately adds 2 to 3 weeks of dead time. The TA6 has 14 sections and requires careful thought and supporting documents. Rushing it leads to vague or incomplete answers, which the buyer's solicitor will query, triggering further delays.

What to do: Complete both forms as soon as you decide to sell. Go through every question methodically, provide specific answers rather than vague ones, and attach supporting documents wherever possible. If a question asks about building work, do not just write "extension built" — write "Single-storey rear extension built in 2018 by [builder name]; building regulations completion certificate obtained from [council name], reference [number]." This level of detail dramatically reduces follow-up enquiries.

Step 2: Order property searches upfront

In a standard transaction, the buyer's solicitor orders property searches after the offer is accepted. The local authority search alone can take 2 to 8 weeks, and nothing meaningful can progress until the results are back. This is the single biggest bottleneck in most conveyancing transactions.

What many sellers do not realise is that sellers can order these searches themselves before a buyer is even found. The standard search pack includes:

• Local authority search — planning history, building control records, highways, conservation areas, and smoke control zones
• Drainage and water search — confirms connections to mains water and sewerage and whether any public drains cross the property
• Environmental search — contaminated land, flood risk, ground stability, and proximity to landfill sites
• Chancel repair liability search — checks whether the property may be liable to contribute to Church of England chancel repairs

Seller-ordered searches are typically valid for 6 months and can be passed directly to the buyer's solicitor as part of the contract pack. Most buyer's solicitors will accept searches from a regulated search provider. If you order them before listing, the search results are ready on day one of the transaction, saving potentially 2 to 8 weeks.

Step 3: Instruct a solicitor early

Do not wait until you have accepted an offer to find a solicitor. Instructing a solicitor as soon as you decide to sell gives them time to:

• Run identity checks (required under anti-money laundering regulations)
• Obtain your title register and title plan from HM Land Registry
• Review the title for any issues — old charges, restrictions, missing easements, or boundary discrepancies
• Prepare the draft contract so it is ready to send the moment an offer is accepted

Most solicitors do not charge anything extra for early instruction. Their fee covers the full transaction regardless of when you engage them. Some offer "no sale, no fee" arrangements, meaning you only pay if the sale completes. For more on timing, see our guide on when to start conveyancing.

Step 4: Get your title documents checked

Your title register and title plan are the official record of your property ownership held by HM Land Registry. You can download both from the Gov.uk property information service for three pounds each.

Ask your solicitor to review these documents early. Common issues that can cause delays if discovered mid-transaction include:

• Old mortgage charges that should have been removed after repayment but were not
• Restrictive covenants that may affect what the buyer intends to do with the property
• Missing easements — for example, if services cross a neighbour's land but no formal right of access is recorded
• Boundary discrepancies between the title plan and the physical boundaries of the property
• Unregistered land — rare, but possible for properties that have not changed hands since the area became subject to compulsory registration

Identifying and resolving these issues before a buyer is involved prevents them from becoming transaction-stopping surprises later.

Step 5: Gather building regulations certificates and planning permissions

If any building work has been carried out on your property — extensions, loft conversions, structural alterations, replacement windows, electrical rewiring, or new boilers — the buyer's solicitor will ask for evidence that the work was properly approved. This means:

• Building regulations completion certificates — issued by your local authority's building control department (or an approved inspector) confirming that the work complied with building regulations. This is separate from planning permission.
• Planning permission documentation — if the work required planning permission rather than falling within permitted development rights. You can check planning history on your local council's planning portal.
• FENSA or equivalent certificates — for replacement windows and doors, a certificate from FENSA (or another competent person scheme) confirms the work met building regulations without requiring a separate building control inspection.

If certificates are missing, you have two options. First, you can apply for a regularisation certificate from your local authority, which involves a retrospective inspection and typically costs between 200 and 800 pounds depending on the council and the scale of the work. Second, your solicitor can arrange indemnity insurance, which typically costs 20 to 100 pounds and protects the buyer against enforcement action by the local authority. According to Gov.uk, building regulations enforcement action can only be taken within two years of the work being completed for works that did not require a building notice, but lenders still usually require either a certificate or indemnity insurance regardless of the age of the work.

The key is to deal with this before listing. Tracking down certificates or arranging indemnity insurance after an offer has been accepted adds 2 to 6 weeks that could have been avoided.

Step 6: Choose a fast, responsive solicitor

Not all solicitors work at the same pace. An overloaded firm handling hundreds of cases at once will inevitably be slower than a well-staffed practice with manageable caseloads. Choosing the right solicitor is one of the most important decisions you make as a seller.

Before instructing a solicitor, ask these questions:

The Law Society's Find a Solicitor tool and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers' register are good starting points for finding regulated practitioners. Look for firms that hold the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation — this is the industry benchmark for residential conveyancing, and most mortgage lenders require it. For a full breakdown of costs, see our conveyancing costs guide.

Step 7: Respond to enquiries same-day

Once your solicitor sends the contract pack to the buyer's solicitor, the buyer's side will review the documents and search results and then raise enquiries — written questions about anything they need clarification on. Your solicitor will forward these to you.

Enquiries are where many sales stall. The typical cycle is: buyer's solicitor sends questions to your solicitor, your solicitor forwards them to you, you reply, your solicitor passes the answers back, and the buyer's solicitor reviews them and may raise follow-ups. Each exchange can take a week if anyone in the chain is slow.

What to do: Treat enquiries as your top priority. When your solicitor forwards them, aim to reply the same day. Be specific and provide supporting evidence wherever possible. If the buyer's solicitor asks about building work, attach the completion certificate rather than just describing the work. If they ask about a boundary, include an annotated photograph. The more thorough your first response, the less likely you are to face follow-up rounds.

Step 8: Chase effectively without being counterproductive

There is a right way and a wrong way to chase your solicitor. Too little chasing and you risk being forgotten in a pile of cases. Too much chasing and you waste your solicitor's time with calls they spend answering instead of progressing your file.

The most effective approach is to set a weekly check-in — a short email each week asking three specific questions:

1. What is the current status of my sale?
2. Who are we waiting on, and what are we waiting for?
3. Is there anything I can do to help move things forward?

Email is preferable to phone calls because it creates a written record and does not require your solicitor to stop what they are doing to take a call. If something is genuinely urgent — for example, an exchange date is approaching and you have not heard back — a phone call is appropriate.

If your solicitor consistently fails to respond within 48 hours, that is a legitimate concern. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requires solicitors to provide a proper standard of service, and persistent unresponsiveness may warrant a formal complaint through the firm's internal complaints procedure and, if unresolved, to the Legal Ombudsman.

Timeline comparison: prepared vs unprepared seller

The difference between a prepared and unprepared seller is dramatic. Here is a realistic side-by-side comparison for a standard freehold sale with a mortgage buyer and no chain:

The prepared seller reaches completion up to 10 weeks sooner. That is not a marginal improvement — it is the difference between a sale that feels interminable and one that moves briskly from offer to keys.

The impact on fall-through risk

Speed is not just about convenience — it directly affects whether your sale actually completes. According to Propertymark, roughly 30% of agreed property sales in England and Wales fall through before exchange of contracts. The longer the gap between the accepted offer and exchange, the more time there is for things to go wrong:

• The buyer finds another property they prefer
• The buyer's mortgage offer expires (most mortgage offers are valid for 3 to 6 months)
• Market conditions change and the buyer tries to renegotiate
• A link in the chain collapses, bringing your sale down with it
• The buyer's survey or the search results reveal something that triggers a renegotiation or withdrawal

Every week you shave off the conveyancing timeline reduces the probability of each of these risks materialising. A sale that exchanges in 6 weeks is far less vulnerable than one that drags on for 16 weeks. For more on this topic, see our guide on why house sales fall through.

A complete preparation checklist for sellers

Here is a summary of everything you should do before listing your property. For a more detailed version, see our full conveyancing checklist for sellers.

1. Instruct a solicitor — choose a CQS-accredited firm, complete identity checks, and have them obtain your title documents.
2. Download your title register and title plan from HM Land Registry and review them with your solicitor for any issues.
3. Complete the TA6 form thoroughly, providing specific answers and attaching supporting documents for every section.
4. Complete the TA10 form listing exactly what fittings and contents are included and excluded from the sale.
5. Gather building regulations certificates for all building work done to the property. If certificates are missing, apply for regularisation or arrange indemnity insurance.
6. Collect planning permission documentation or confirmation of permitted development for any extensions or alterations.
7. Find warranties and guarantees for damp-proofing, roofing, windows, electrical work, or any other insured work.
8. Check your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is valid — it is a legal requirement to have a current EPC when marketing a property for sale under the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012.
9. Order upfront property searches — local authority, drainage, environmental, and chancel repair searches.
10. If leasehold, request the management pack from your freeholder or managing agent immediately.

How Pine helps sellers prepare upfront

Pine is built around a simple idea: do the slow legal preparation before your buyer arrives, not after. Pine guides you through completing the TA6 and TA10 forms in plain English, helps you order property searches at near-trade prices, and assembles everything into a solicitor-ready legal pack. When your buyer's offer comes in, your solicitor can send the contract pack on day one — with forms completed, searches done, and certificates attached. Instead of 12 to 16 weeks of reactive conveyancing, you are looking at 6 to 8 weeks of straightforward progression toward exchange.

Speeding up the enquiry process

The enquiry stage is the single biggest bottleneck in most conveyancing transactions. Once the buyer's solicitor receives the draft contract pack, they review everything and raise written questions — known as enquiries — about anything that is unclear, missing, or concerning. The speed at which these enquiries are resolved determines whether your sale progresses smoothly or grinds to a halt.

Each round of enquiries typically adds 1 to 2 weeks to the overall timeline, because every question and answer must pass through two sets of solicitors, each of whom has their own caseload and response times. The key is to minimise the number of rounds by being thorough and proactive from the outset.

Here are specific steps you can take to speed up the enquiry process:

• Complete your TA6 and TA10 forms within the first week of instruction. The sooner your solicitor has your completed forms, the sooner they can assemble and send the draft contract pack. Every day of delay at this stage pushes the entire enquiry timeline back.
• Proactively provide certificates, planning documents, and guarantees alongside your forms. Do not wait for the buyer's solicitor to ask for these. If you attach building regulations certificates, FENSA certificates, planning approvals, and warranty documents with your initial paperwork, you pre-emptively answer many of the enquiries that would otherwise be raised.
• Respond to additional enquiries within 48 hours. When your solicitor forwards enquiries from the buyer's side, treat them as urgent. Do not sit on them for a week — every day of delay on your side adds at least a day to the overall timeline, and often more once solicitor processing time is factored in.
• Ask your solicitor to send the draft contract pack within 5 working days of instruction. Some solicitors take weeks to assemble and send the contract pack. Setting a clear expectation upfront — and following up if the deadline passes — ensures the buyer's solicitor can begin their review as soon as possible.
• If your solicitor is slow to forward enquiries, ask them to share the buyer's solicitor's questions directly with you. In some cases, your solicitor may receive enquiries and take several days before passing them on. Asking them to forward questions to you immediately — or even to copy you in on the correspondence — removes an unnecessary layer of delay.

Why returning forms quickly saves weeks on your sale

The forms you complete at the start of the conveyancing process — principally the TA6 Property Information Form and the TA10 Fittings and Contents Form — are the foundation of the entire transaction. Until your solicitor has your completed forms, they cannot prepare the draft contract pack. Until the draft contract pack is sent, the buyer's solicitor cannot begin their review. And until that review is complete, enquiries cannot be raised or answered.

The knock-on effect is significant: forms delayed means the draft contract pack is delayed, which means enquiries are delayed, which means searches may expire before exchange, which increases the risk of renegotiation or the buyer pulling out altogether. Every week of delay at the forms stage can add two or more weeks to the total timeline once the cascading effects are accounted for.

The average seller takes 2 to 3 weeks to return their completed forms. Sellers who return forms within 1 week of instruction can shave 2 to 4 weeks off the total conveyancing timeline. That is a substantial difference — and it is entirely within your control.

Here is how to make it happen:

• Set aside a dedicated 2 to 3 hour block to complete all forms in one sitting. Spreading the work across multiple sessions over several weeks is the main reason forms take so long. Treating it as a single task with a clear start and end time is far more effective.
• Do not wait for perfection. "Not known" is a valid answer where you are genuinely uncertain. The TA6 form specifically allows for this. An honestly answered form returned quickly is far better than a form held back for weeks while you try to verify every detail.
• If you are stuck on a question, call your solicitor rather than leaving it blank. A quick phone call can resolve ambiguity in minutes, whereas leaving a question blank almost guarantees a follow-up enquiry that will add a week or more to the timeline.

For more detailed guidance on completing your forms efficiently, see our guide on property information form tips.

The enquiry bottleneck: where your sale really gets stuck

Even when forms are returned promptly and searches are ordered upfront, the enquiry stage is where most sales lose the most time. Understanding the typical pattern helps explain why — and what you can do about it.

The usual sequence looks like this:

1. The buyer's solicitor receives the draft contract pack and reviews it alongside the search results. They raise their first round of enquiries, typically 1 to 2 weeks after receiving the pack.
2. Your solicitor forwards the enquiries to you. You take 1 to 2 weeks to respond (the average — ideally much less).
3. Your solicitor sends your answers back to the buyer's solicitor, who reviews them and raises further enquiries where answers are incomplete or raise new questions. This is round 2.
4. You take another 1 to 2 weeks to respond to round 2.
5. On complex transactions — properties with extensive building work, leasehold complications, or boundary issues — this cycle can repeat 3 to 4 times before the buyer's solicitor is satisfied.

Each round adds time not just because of the seller's response time, but because both solicitors have other cases competing for their attention. Your enquiry responses do not get reviewed the moment they arrive — they go into a queue. A round that could theoretically take 2 days often takes 1 to 2 weeks in practice.

The solution is threefold. First, answer enquiries as comprehensively as possible the first time around, providing detailed explanations and attaching supporting documents so that the buyer's solicitor has less reason to come back with follow-ups. Second, provide supporting documents proactively with your initial paperwork rather than waiting to be asked for them. Third, use your estate agent to chase both solicitors if progress stalls — a good estate agent has a direct interest in the sale completing and can apply pressure from a neutral position that neither solicitor will ignore.

Sources and further reading

• HM Land Registry — Title document services and property information portal (gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry)
• The Law Society — Conveyancing Quality Scheme, TA6/TA10 form standards, Conveyancing Protocol, and Find a Solicitor tool (lawsociety.org.uk)
• Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) — Standards of service and complaints procedures (sra.org.uk)
• Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) — Licensed conveyancer register and regulatory standards (clc.gov.uk)
• Gov.uk — Planning permission guidance, building regulations enforcement, and property search information (gov.uk)
• Propertymark — Research on fall-through rates and conveyancing delay data (propertymark.co.uk)
• HomeOwners Alliance — Consumer research on conveyancing experience and solicitor responsiveness (hoa.org.uk)
• RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) — Guidance on property valuations and professional standards (rics.org)

Related guides

• Conveyancing for Remortgage: What Sellers Need to Know
• Does Conveyancing Slow Down Over Christmas?
• How Long Does Stamp Duty Take to Process?
• What Is a Long Stop Date in Conveyancing?
• Can I Do My Own Conveyancing?
• Fixed Fee vs Hourly Rate Conveyancing
• Conveyancing Factory Firms: Pros and Cons
• What Is a Retainer in Conveyancing?
• What Is a Client Care Letter in Conveyancing?
• How to Read Your Conveyancing Bill
• When Do You Need Two Solicitors?
• Conveyancing Jargon Buster: Every Term Explained

Frequently asked questions