Property Law
How Long Does Conveyancing Take?
Updated July 2026. A typical UK conveyancing transaction takes 8 to 12 weeks with no chain, or 12 to 16 weeks in a chain. Here is the full stage-by-stage timeline and what actually slows it down.
From offer accepted to completion, budget 8 to 16 weeks. Chain-free freehold purchases sit at the fast end; leasehold flats and long chains sit at the slow end. The legal work itself takes only a few days of actual effort. The calendar is filled by waiting on searches, third-party enquiry responses, mortgage offers, and everyone else in the chain.
The conveyancing timeline, stage by stage
| Stage | Typical duration | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Offer accepted to solicitors instructed | 1 week | You choose a conveyancer, pay the ID and search deposit, and both solicitors confirm they are on record. Buyers who have chosen a firm before offering can compress this to a day or two. |
| Draft contract and searches ordered | 1 to 2 weeks | The seller's solicitor issues the draft contract and title pack. Your solicitor orders local authority, drainage, and environmental searches. Search turnaround is the first big variable: some councils return in days, others take 6 weeks. |
| Searches returned and enquiries raised | 3 to 6 weeks | Your solicitor reviews searches and the title, then raises written enquiries with the seller's solicitor. This back-and-forth is the longest stage and depends entirely on how quickly the other side responds. |
| Mortgage offer and survey | runs in parallel | Your lender's valuation and formal mortgage offer usually land within 2 to 3 weeks of application and run alongside the legal work rather than adding to it, provided you applied promptly. |
| Report on title and signing | 1 week | Once enquiries are satisfied, your solicitor sends you the report on title and the contract to sign, and you transfer your deposit funds to them. |
| Exchange of contracts | 1 day | Solicitors exchange contracts and agree a fixed completion date. From this point the sale is legally binding and neither party can withdraw without penalty. |
| Completion | 1 to 4 weeks after exchange | Funds transfer, keys are released, and the property is yours. Many transactions exchange and complete on the same day, but a gap of one to two weeks is common to let everyone in a chain move in order. |
What slows conveyancing down
| Delay | Weeks added | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A long property chain | 2 to 8+ | Every party must be ready to exchange at once. The slowest link sets the pace for everyone. |
| Slow local authority searches | 2 to 5 | A handful of councils still take 6 weeks or more to return local searches. Your solicitor cannot proceed to exchange without them. |
| Leasehold management pack | 2 to 4 | The freeholder or managing agent supplies the LPE1 pack on their own timetable, with no legal deadline to do so. |
| Mortgage offer delays | 1 to 3 | Down valuations, extra underwriting questions, or a slow lender can hold up the whole file. |
| Unresolved enquiries | 1 to 4 | If the seller's solicitor is slow to answer enquiries, or the answers raise new questions, the back-and-forth extends. |
| Title or boundary problems | 2 to 8 | Missing rights of way, unregistered land, or planning breaches need indemnity insurance or a deed of variation to resolve. |
Instruct your conveyancer the day your offer is accepted, not weeks later. Return your ID and questionnaire forms the same day they arrive. Apply for your mortgage immediately so the offer is not the bottleneck. Ask your solicitor to order searches on day one rather than waiting for the mortgage offer. And chase your estate agent to confirm the whole chain is instructed, since your file can only move as fast as the slowest party.
Does the type of conveyancer change the timeline?
Online conveyancers and high street firms complete in broadly similar timeframes, because both are waiting on the same third parties. Online firms sometimes edge ahead through case-tracking portals and evening availability, but a responsive local solicitor who knows the area can be just as quick. What matters far more than the firm type is how quickly the other side in your transaction responds. See our comparison of online vs high street conveyancing costs for the trade-offs, and the full conveyancing fees breakdown for what each stage costs.