UK conveyancing solicitor fees in 2025/26 typically range from £600 for a sale to £2,000 for a complex purchase — plus disbursements of £300-£1,000 (searches, Land Registry, SDLT submissions) and the buyer's actual Stamp Duty Land Tax liability where applicable. The professional fee variance reflects transaction complexity: freehold vs leasehold, residential vs buy-to-let, mortgage vs cash, chain vs no chain.

This guide gives realistic fee ranges by transaction type, what the disbursements actually cover, and where buyers and sellers can expect to find variance.

Conveyancing solicitor fees by transaction type — 2025/26

Residential sale (freehold)

  • Property value under £250,000: £600-£900 professional fee + VAT
  • £250,000-£500,000: £700-£1,200 professional fee + VAT
  • £500,000-£1,000,000: £900-£1,600 professional fee + VAT
  • £1m-£2m: £1,400-£2,500 professional fee + VAT
  • Over £2m: bespoke quote, typically £1,800-£5,000+ professional fee + VAT

Residential purchase (freehold)

  • Property value under £250,000: £700-£1,000 professional fee + VAT
  • £250,000-£500,000: £800-£1,400 professional fee + VAT
  • £500,000-£1,000,000: £1,000-£1,800 professional fee + VAT
  • £1m-£2m: £1,500-£2,800 professional fee + VAT
  • Over £2m: bespoke quote, typically £2,000-£6,000+ professional fee + VAT

Residential sale (leasehold)

Typically £150-£400 higher than the equivalent freehold sale fee. Additional work includes management pack review, leaseholder enquiries, ground rent / service charge confirmation, and lease length review.

Residential purchase (leasehold)

Typically £200-£600 higher than the equivalent freehold purchase fee. Additional work includes detailed lease review, management pack review, leaseholder consent requirements, and explaining the leasehold position to the buyer.

Buy-to-let purchase

Typically £100-£300 higher than the equivalent owner-occupier purchase. Additional work includes higher-rate SDLT calculation (5% additional dwelling surcharge applies post-31 October 2024), buy-to-let mortgage processing, and any consent requirements on a leasehold property.

Help to Buy / Shared Ownership

Typically £200-£500 higher than the standard fee. Additional work includes interfacing with the housing association / shared ownership provider, drafting / reviewing shared ownership lease, and the bespoke completion logistics.

Commercial conveyancing

Always quoted bespoke based on transaction complexity. Indicative ranges:

  • Small commercial sale or purchase (under £500k): £1,500-£4,000 professional fee
  • Mid-market commercial (£500k-£5m): £3,000-£12,000 professional fee
  • Larger commercial transactions: bespoke, often £10,000-£50,000+ professional fee

Disbursement breakdown on a typical residential purchase

Disbursements are third-party costs the solicitor pays on the client's behalf. For a £350,000 residential freehold purchase in 2025/26:

  • Land Registry official copies: £3-£12 (typically £6 for register + plan)
  • Land Registry search (OS1): £3
  • Bankruptcy search (K15/K16): £2-£6
  • Local Authority search: £75-£200 (varies by council; some London boroughs at the high end)
  • Drainage and water search: £40-£80
  • Environmental search: £40-£100
  • Chancel repair search (where required): £20-£40
  • Anti-money-laundering electronic identity check: £10-£30 per individual
  • Land Registry application fee for transfer: £100 (for £100k-£200k) up to £455 (for £1m+)
  • SDLT submission fee: usually no separate charge; SDLT is the buyer's tax payment, not a disbursement

Total disbursements for a £350,000 residential purchase typically £270-£550 excluding the SDLT payment itself.

SDLT: the buyer's actual tax

SDLT is not a solicitor fee — it's the buyer's stamp duty payment to HMRC, which the solicitor calculates and submits as part of the transaction. The amount depends on the property price and whether the buyer is a first-time buyer, has an additional property, or is a non-UK resident:

  • Standard SDLT rates (England + NI, residential): 0% on the first £125,000, 2% on £125,001-£250,000, 5% on £250,001-£925,000, 10% on £925,001-£1.5m, 12% above £1.5m
  • First-time buyer relief: 0% on first £300,000 if property value under £500,000
  • Additional dwelling surcharge: +5% (raised from 3% on 31 October 2024) on each SDLT band where the buyer is acquiring an additional property
  • Non-UK resident surcharge: +2% on each SDLT band for non-UK resident buyers
  • Wales: Land Transaction Tax (LTT) with different rates and bands
  • Scotland: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) with different rates and bands

On a £350,000 owner-occupier purchase in England, SDLT is currently £5,000. On a £350,000 buy-to-let purchase, SDLT is £22,500 (5% additional dwelling surcharge applied across bands). Material amounts that have nothing to do with the solicitor's professional fee.

What drives variance in conveyancing fees

Firm type

  • National conveyancing factories (My Home Move, Homeward Legal, etc.): cheapest, often £400-£800 for routine sales. High volume, automated systems, minimal partner contact. Best for very straightforward transactions.
  • Local high-street firms: middle of the range, typically £700-£1,500 for routine residential. More personal service, easier to escalate issues, partner is named on file.
  • City firms doing residential conveyancing: top of the range, often £1,500-£3,500 for routine residential plus VAT. Premium service for higher-value transactions where the value of certainty justifies the cost.
  • Specialist residential conveyancers: vary but typically positioned between high-street and City — focus on a single practice area allows efficient delivery.

Region

  • London and South East: top end of the range
  • Other English regions: middle
  • Wales, Northern Ireland: typically lower than English equivalents
  • Scotland: different system (LBTT, Scottish conveyancing process) and different fee structures

Transaction complexity

  • Cash transactions: simpler, slightly lower fees
  • Mortgage transactions: standard fees
  • Help to Buy / Shared Ownership: higher fees
  • Leasehold: meaningfully higher
  • New-build (off-plan or pre-completion): higher due to developer-specific requirements
  • Probate sales: higher due to additional executor work
  • Repossession sales: higher due to lender requirements
  • Buy-to-let purchases: slightly higher

How firms cost-set conveyancing fees

From the firm's side, residential conveyancing is largely a volume business with thin margins. A typical conveyancing fee-earner handles 25-60 matters in progress at any time, billing £700-£1,200 per matter on average. Annual gross fees per fee-earner are typically £150,000-£400,000.

The firm's economics:

  • Fee-earner salary (NQ to mid-level): £35,000-£65,000
  • Allocated overhead (PII, premises, support, technology): typically 40-60% of salary
  • Effective per-matter cost: £400-£700
  • Margin per matter after costs: £100-£400 typical

This is why volume matters in conveyancing — single-matter losses are common, and profitability comes from converting at scale. It's also why conveyancing-heavy firms are most exposed to PII claims and SRA scrutiny: high volume of client money flowing through, tight margins per matter, and lower fee-earner experience on average.

What we'd do if you brought us in (for the firm side)

Our conveyancing-firm engagement focuses on the operational economics:

  • Fee-earner productivity and per-matter economics review
  • SRA Accounts Rules and client money discipline for high-volume practices
  • VAT on disbursements vs recharges — the most common error class in conveyancing firms
  • PII renewal and conveyancing-firm-specific premium management
  • SDLT calculation review (especially around the additional-dwelling surcharge changes in 2024)

For conveyancing-firm partners and managers, see our fee structure guide and financial controls guide. For SDLT-specific complexity see our SDLT calculation guide.

If you're a conveyancing firm partner wanting a financial review against industry benchmarks, book a 30-minute scoping call below.