The Most Common Conveyancing Delays and How to Avoid Them

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property ownership from seller to buyer. In England and Wales, it takes an average of 12 to 16 weeks from accepted offer to completion. But behind that average lies enormous variation — and most of the extra time comes down to a handful of predictable, preventable delays.

According to the HomeOwners Alliance, slow solicitors and slow property searches are the two most frequently cited causes of conveyancing delays. Propertymark research shows that roughly 30% of agreed sales fall through before exchange of contracts, with protracted conveyancing timelines being one of the leading factors. The longer your sale takes, the greater the chance your buyer walks away.

This guide breaks down the most common conveyancing delays, explains why each one happens, and sets out the practical steps you can take as a seller to prevent them. If you want a broader overview of timelines, see our guide on how long conveyancing takes.

The top conveyancing delays at a glance

Before we examine each delay in detail, here is a summary of the most common conveyancing delays, ranked by how much time they typically add and whether the seller can prevent them.

1. Slow local authority searches

Local authority searches are the single biggest bottleneck in the conveyancing process. The buyer’s solicitor orders a local authority search from the relevant council to check planning permissions, building control records, highways information, and conservation area status. The problem is that turnaround times vary enormously from council to council.

According to the Law Society’s monitoring of local authority search times, some councils return results within a few working days, while others — particularly certain London boroughs and rural councils with limited staffing — can take six to eight weeks. There is no way to predict the speed in advance, and the buyer’s solicitor cannot move forward on key enquiries until these results are back.

How to prevent it

Sellers can order an upfront property search pack before listing their property. These results are typically valid for six months and most buyer’s solicitors will accept them, particularly if they come from a regulated search provider. By having searches ready before your buyer is found, you eliminate the single longest wait in the entire process.

2. Incomplete or vague property information forms

The TA6 Property Information Form is a detailed questionnaire covering boundaries, disputes, planning permissions, building works, flooding, services, rights of way, and more. It is a standardised form produced by the Law Society and used in virtually every residential property transaction in England and Wales.

When sellers leave questions blank, answer vaguely, or misunderstand the legal terminology, the buyer’s solicitor raises additional conveyancing enquiries — written questions requesting clarification. Each round of enquiries and responses typically takes a week or more, and there can be multiple rounds if answers remain unclear. A seller who fills in the TA6 thoroughly and accurately the first time can avoid two to four weeks of unnecessary back-and-forth.

How to prevent it

Complete your TA6 and TA10 (Fittings and Contents) forms before you list your property, not after you accept an offer. Take time to answer every question fully, provide supporting documents where relevant, and ask your solicitor to review your answers before they are sent to the buyer’s side. Pine guides sellers through these forms in plain English so nothing is left ambiguous.

3. Property chain complications

A property chain exists when multiple transactions are linked together— for example, your buyer needs to sell their current home to fund the purchase of yours, and their buyer in turn needs to sell theirs. The longer the chain, the more parties, solicitors, mortgage lenders, and potential problems are involved.

Chains cause delays because every transaction must reach the same point before any of them can exchange. The slowest participant sets the pace for everyone else. According to industry data, a short chain of two to three properties typically adds four to six weeks compared to a chain-free sale. Chains of four or more properties can add eight weeks or longer and carry a significantly higher risk of collapse, which is one of the key reasons house sales fall through.

How to prevent it

While you cannot eliminate chains entirely, you can reduce your exposure. Consider prioritising offers from chain-free buyers (first-time buyers, cash buyers, or those who have already sold). If you are in a chain yourself, making sure your own preparation is impeccable — forms completed, searches ordered, solicitor instructed early — means you will not be the link that holds everyone up.

4. Missing building regulations certificates

If you have had building work done on your property —extensions, loft conversions, structural alterations, replacement windows, electrical rewiring, new boilers, or even some types of bathroom and kitchen refits — the buyer’s solicitor will ask for building regulations completion certificates. These certificates confirm that the work was inspected and approved by your local council’s building control department (or an approved inspector) and meets the required standards.

When certificates are missing, the buyer’s solicitor will raise this as an enquiry. You then face two options: apply for a retrospective regularisation certificate from your local council (which can take several weeks and involves an inspection) or arrange indemnity insurance through your solicitor (typically costing £20 to £100). While indemnity insurance is quicker, not all buyers or lenders will accept it as a satisfactory resolution.

How to prevent it

Before listing, make a list of all building work carried out during your ownership and track down the corresponding certificates. Check your local council’s building control records if you cannot find your copies. If certificates are genuinely missing, speak to your solicitor about the best approach — applying for regularisation or arranging indemnity insurance — before a buyer is involved.

5. Slow or unresponsive solicitor

An overworked or poorly organised solicitor can add weeks to your conveyancing timeline without you even realising it. Common signs include phone calls going unanswered, emails taking more than three working days to receive a response, your case being passed between different people in the firm, and no proactive updates on progress.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requires solicitors to provide a proper standard of service. If your solicitor is consistently slow, you should raise the issue directly, then escalate through the firm’s complaints procedure if necessary. In extreme cases, you have the right to switch solicitors mid-transaction. For more guidance, see our article on what to do if your solicitor is too slow.

How to prevent it

Choose your solicitor carefully before you need them. Ask about their current caseload, average time from instruction to exchange, and whether a single named individual will handle your case. Look for practitioners with the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation. Set a weekly check-in from the start so you can catch problems early rather than discovering weeks of lost time after the fact.

6. Mortgage delays on the buyer’s side

Although mortgage delays are primarily on the buyer’s side and largely outside the seller’s control, they remain one of the most common causes of hold-ups. The buyer’s lender needs to carry out a property valuation, process the mortgage application, and issue a formal mortgage offer. This typically takes two to four weeks but can take longer if the lender requests additional information, the property is non-standard, or the buyer’s financial circumstances are complex.

How to mitigate it

While you cannot control the buyer’s mortgage process, you can reduce the risk by asking your estate agent to confirm that buyers have a mortgage agreement in principle (AIP) before you accept an offer. An AIP means the lender has done an initial credit check and indicated willingness to lend, which significantly reduces the chance of the mortgage application being declined after the sale is agreed.

7. Issues discovered in property searches

Property searches sometimes reveal unexpected issues — such as flood risk, contaminated land, planned developments nearby, unadopted roads, or discrepancies in planning records. When search results flag a concern, the buyer’s solicitor will raise enquiries and may require further investigation, specialist reports, or indemnity insurance before proceeding.

How to prevent it

Order your own search pack before listing so you know about any issues in advance. If searches reveal a problem, you can address it proactively — obtaining specialist reports, arranging insurance, or adjusting your asking price to reflect known issues— rather than dealing with it under the time pressure of an active sale.

8. Title defects and missing deeds

Problems with your property’s title can cause serious delays. Common title issues include old mortgages or charges that were not properly removed from the register, boundary discrepancies between the title plan and the physical property, missing easements for access or services, restrictive covenants that may affect the buyer’s intended use, and properties that are not yet registered with HM Land Registry (possible for homes that have not changed hands since before compulsory registration).

How to prevent it

Download your title register and title plan from the HM Land Registry website (three pounds per document) well before listing. Review them for anything unexpected and raise any concerns with your solicitor early. Resolving title issues while there is no buyer waiting avoids the pressure and delay that come from discovering problems mid-transaction.

9. Leasehold-specific delays

If you are selling a leasehold property (most commonly a flat), expect the conveyancing to take two to four weeks longer than a freehold sale. The main causes of leasehold delay are:

• Management information pack: The buyer’s solicitor needs a management pack from the freeholder or managing agent, which can take two to four weeks and cost £200 to£500 plus VAT.
• Lease review: The buyer’s solicitor must review the full lease (often 30 to 60 pages) and may raise additional enquiries about restrictive covenants or unusual clauses.
• Short lease complications: If the lease has fewer than 80 years remaining, most mortgage lenders will be reluctant to lend, adding further negotiation time.
• TA7 form: Leasehold sales require the additional TA7 Leasehold Information Form covering landlord details, service charges, and building insurance.

How to prevent it

Order the management information pack from your freeholder or managing agent the moment you decide to sell — do not wait until a buyer is found. Complete the TA7 form early alongside your TA6 and TA10. If your lease is short, take advice on a lease extension before marketing, as this can make your property significantly more attractive to mortgage-dependent buyers.

How delays compound each other

One of the most important things to understand about conveyancing delays is that they rarely happen in isolation. A single delay creates a ripple effect. For example, slow searches mean the buyer’s solicitor cannot raise informed enquiries, which delays the seller’s responses, which delays the buyer’s solicitor’s report on title, which delays exchange. If a mortgage offer expires during this extended period (most offers are valid for three to six months), the buyer may need to reapply, adding further weeks.

This compounding effect is why the average conveyancing timeline is so much longer than the theoretical minimum. In a perfect scenario with no delays at all, conveyancing could complete in four to six weeks. The 12 to 16 week average reflects the reality that most transactions encounter at least two or three of the delays described above.

A seller’s checklist for avoiding delays

Here is a practical checklist of actions you can take before and during your sale to minimise the risk of conveyancing delays. For a more comprehensive version, see our full conveyancing checklist for sellers.

1. Instruct a solicitor early — ideally as soon as you decide to sell, before you list with an estate agent.
2. Download your title documents from HM Land Registry and check for any restrictions, old charges, or boundary issues.
3. Complete your TA6 and TA10 forms thoroughly, answering every question with specific, honest detail.
4. Order an upfront search pack so search results are ready the moment a buyer is found.
5. Gather all building certificates for any work carried out on the property, and arrange indemnity insurance for anything that is missing.
6. If leasehold, order the management pack from your freeholder or managing agent immediately.
7. Respond to enquiries the same day they arrive from your solicitor.
8. Set a weekly check-in with your solicitor to monitor progress and catch problems early.
9. Request proof of AIP from your buyer before accepting their offer.

How Pine helps sellers avoid conveyancing delays

Pine is built around a simple idea: do the slow legal preparation before you find a buyer, not after. The platform helps sellers complete their property information forms in plain English, order upfront property searches, and assemble a solicitor-ready legal pack— all before listing.

When a buyer’s offer comes in, your solicitor can send the full contract pack on day one, with searches already done and forms already completed. Instead of the typical 12 to 16 weeks, prepared sellers can realistically complete in six to eight weeks. That is not just faster — it materially reduces the risk that your sale falls through due to buyer frustration, changing circumstances, or a break in the chain.

Sources and further reading

• The Law Society — Conveyancing Quality Scheme, TA6/TA10 form standards, and guidance on local authority search turnaround times (lawsociety.org.uk)
• Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) — Solicitor conduct standards and complaints procedures (sra.org.uk)
• HM Land Registry — Title document services and transaction data (gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry)
• Propertymark — Research on fall-through rates and market data (propertymark.co.uk)
• HomeOwners Alliance — Consumer research on conveyancing delays and solicitor performance (hoa.org.uk)
• Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) — Licensed conveyancer register and regulation (clc.gov.uk)
• Gov.uk — Guidance on building regulations, planning permission, and property transactions (gov.uk)
• RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) — Guidance on property valuations and lease length thresholds (rics.org)

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