Solicitor fees catch most sellers completely off guard.
You budget for the sale. Then the bill arrives.
Suddenly, hundreds – sometimes thousands – disappear before you’ve moved in.
I’m Saif Derzi. I’ve been buying properties since 2015.
I’ve seen sellers overpay solicitors again and again.
In this guide, I’ll break down exactly what solicitors charge. You’ll learn what’s fair, what’s excessive, and how to avoid nasty surprises.
No jargon. Just straight answers.
- What Do Solicitors Actually Charge to Sell a House?
- What Solicitor Fees Will You Actually Pay?
- A Breakdown of Solicitor Costs When Selling
- What Affects How Much You Pay a Solicitor?
- Hidden Costs to Watch Out For
- How to Keep Your Legal Costs Down When Selling
- How Property Buyers Today Removes the Solicitor Burden
What Do Solicitors Actually Charge to Sell a House?
Solicitor fees to sell a house typically range from £800 to £1,800 as a fixed fee. This covers all the legal work – checking your title deeds, dealing with your buyer’s solicitor, and registering the sale. Watch out for extras like bank transfer fees and Land Registry costs, which can push the final bill higher than the headline price.
You can read more about what the home-selling process involves legally on the Government website.
But there’s more. Disbursements are extra costs the solicitor pays on your behalf:
- Land Registry fees
- Bank transfer charges
- ID checks
These add £200–£400 on top.
I’ve also seen sellers use licensed conveyancers. They do the same job, often cheaper.
Understand the full conveyancing process when selling before choosing anyone. I’ve found that comparing three quotes saves real money.
Always ask for a full breakdown upfront.
What Solicitor Fees Will You Actually Pay?
Over the decade plus of buying and selling hundreds of properties, these are the average costs you should expect to see as of the time of writing.
The table below shows typical market rates – and what you’d pay if you sold with Property Buyers Today instead.
| Property value | Freehold (typical) | Leasehold (typical) | With PBT |
| Up to £100k | £1,080 | £1,250 | £0 |
| £100k – £200k | £1,170 | £1,340 | £0 |
| £200k – £300k | £1,300 | £1,460 | £0 |
| £300k – £400k | £1,380 | £1,530 | £0 |
| £400k – £500k | £1,470 | £1,620 | £0 |
| £500k – £600k | £1,690 | £1,830 | £0 |
| £600k – £700k | £1,770 | £1,930 | £0 |
| £700k – £800k | £1,960 | £2,100 | £0 |
| £800k – £900k | £2,080 | £2,220 | £0 |
| £900k – £1m | £2,160 | £2,310 | £0 |
| £1m+ | £2,490 | £2,580 | £0 |
* Figures based on quotes gathered from conveyancers across the UK in 2026, including VAT. Leasehold figure includes standard leasehold supplement.
Just remember, every solicitor will have their own pricing.
A Breakdown of Solicitor Costs When Selling
Selling a house means paying a solicitor to handle the legal side – but many sellers don’t know what they’re actually paying for. This guide breaks down every charge you’ll likely see, so there are no nasty surprises when the bill arrives.
Legal Fees
This is the biggest part of your bill.
The legal fee is what your solicitor charges just for doing the job. It covers their time, their knowledge, and all the work they put in to move the sale forward. Most solicitors charge a flat fee rather than an hourly rate, which makes it easier to budget.
Fees usually sit between £500 and £1,500 for a standard sale. More complex homes – like those with legal issues or boundary disputes – cost more.
Always ask for a full quote upfront. Some firms advertise a low base fee but add charges as the sale goes on. A fixed-fee quote gives you more certainty and helps you compare firms properly. You can also read more about the full cost to sell a house to see where solicitor fees fit into the bigger picture.
Land Registry Fees
Every home sale has to go through the Land Registry.
When your buyer becomes the new owner, their solicitor must register the change with HM Land Registry, the official government body that records who owns what in England and Wales. This keeps the public record of ownership up to date and legally valid.
The fee depends on the sale price of your home. For most houses, it sits between £20 and £910. Higher-value homes attract a higher fee.
Your solicitor will pay this on your behalf and add it to your final bill. It’s a set government charge – there’s no way to reduce it or shop around for a better deal.
Title Deed Copies and Searches
Before any sale can go through, your solicitor needs to get hold of key documents.
Getting a copy of your title deeds from the Land Registry costs around £3 to £6. These prove you own the home and show any rights or restrictions attached to it. Your solicitor needs these early in the process.
Searches are different. They check things like flood risk, planning history, drainage, and whether the local council has any plans near your home.
Searches cost between £250 and £450 in most areas. Your solicitor orders these on your behalf. They protect both you and the buyer from any unexpected surprises after the sale completes.
Bank Transfer and Anti-Money Laundering Check Fees
Small fees – but worth knowing about.
When the sale completes, your solicitor sends a large amount of money from the buyer to you. They use a special bank transfer called a CHAPS payment. It’s fast and secure, which is why it costs a bit more than a normal bank transfer. Most firms charge between £20 and £40 for this.
Anti-money laundering (AML) checks are a legal must. Your solicitor has to confirm who you are and make sure the money involved in the sale is clean. This means checking your ID and sometimes your financial records.
These checks cost around £6 to £20 per person. They apply to everyone named on the property. It sounds like a small thing, but skipping them isn’t an option – the law requires it.
Leasehold Supplement Fees
Only applies if you own a leasehold home.
Leasehold properties come with extra legal work. Your solicitor must review the lease, contact the freeholder or management company, and request a pack of documents called a ‘management information pack.’ All of this takes time – and time costs money.
Most solicitors add a leasehold supplement of between £100 and £300 on top of their standard legal fee.
The management information pack itself is charged by the freeholder or management company, not your solicitor. It usually costs between £100 and £350 and can take several weeks to arrive. Delays with this pack are one of the most common reasons leasehold sales slow down, so it’s worth requesting it as early as possible.
What Affects How Much You Pay a Solicitor?
Solicitor fees aren’t random – several specific things push the price up or bring it down.
Property Sale Price
Most solicitors charge either a fixed fee or a percentage of the sale price.
Fixed fees give you certainty from the start. Percentage-based fees mean a more expensive home results in a bigger bill, even if the legal work involved is no more complex. Always ask which model a firm uses before you agree to anything.
Leasehold vs Freehold Status
Freehold sales are simpler, so they usually cost less.
Leasehold properties come with extra work – reviewing the lease, contacting the freeholder, and requesting a management information pack all add time to the job. Most solicitors charge a leasehold supplement on top of their standard fee to cover this additional work.
Title Complexity
A straightforward title with a clean ownership history is quick to deal with.
Missing deeds, restrictive covenants, or unregistered land all require more investigation and more time. The more complicated the title, the more your solicitor will charge. Some issues – like gaps in the ownership chain – may also require indemnity insurance, which adds another cost on top.
Whether the Sale Is Part of a Chain
A chain-free sale is simpler to manage.
When your sale is linked to other buyers and sellers all moving at the same time, your solicitor has to coordinate with multiple other firms. More communication, more chasing, and more risk of delays all add to the workload. Understanding what can hold up the exchange of contracts can help you prepare for the pressure points a chain creates.
Urgency and Speed Required
A standard sale timeline gives your solicitor time to work through everything methodically.
If you need things done faster – because of a chain collapsing, a buyer pushing hard, or a deadline you’re working towards – expect to pay more. Some firms offer a fast-track service at a premium. Speed costs, and it’s worth weighing that against the risk of rushing legal work that needs to be done properly.
Hidden Costs to Watch Out For
The quoted solicitor fee is rarely the final bill. VAT adds 20% on top – a £900 quote becomes £1,080. I’ve seen sellers budget carefully, then get a bigger invoice than expected simply because they didn’t check whether VAT was included.
Abortive fees catch people off guard, too. If your sale falls through before completion, most solicitors still charge for the work they’ve done. That can be £300–£600 for a sale that never happened. “No sale, no fee” policies sound reassuring, but read the small print. I’ve seen these policies exclude disbursements already paid, so you can still end up out of pocket even when the headline protection applies.
Title defects add another layer of cost. If your solicitor arranges indemnity insurance to cover a problem with your deeds, the premium is usually passed to you. Policies range from £200 to £500 for standard cases.
Extras that often appear:
- Help to Buy or shared ownership admin fees (£150–£300)
- Gifted deposit paperwork from a buyer’s lender
- Leasehold packs and management company fees
Your solicitor must be upfront about all of this. SRA transparency rules set out exactly what solicitors must tell you about costs upfront – so ask for a full written breakdown before you instruct anyone.
How to Keep Your Legal Costs Down When Selling
Get at least three quotes before you commit to anyone.
Don’t just compare the headline fee – check what’s included, what’s excluded, and whether VAT is already in the price. I’ve found that two quotes looking identical on paper can differ by £400 once disbursements are added.
Online conveyancers are often cheaper than high street firms.
I’ve seen sellers save £300–£500 by going online. The trade-off is less hands-on support – you’ll likely deal by email and phone rather than face to face. For a straightforward sale with no complications, that’s usually fine. For complex titles or difficult chains, local support can be worth paying more for.
Delays cost money, too. Every extra week in a chain is another week of potential problems – and some solicitors charge more if a sale drags on. Slow searches, unresponsive buyers, and late paperwork all push timelines out. Read about estate agent fees alongside your legal costs – the two together give you the real picture of what selling will cost.
I’ve watched sellers fixate on saving £100 on a solicitor, then lose thousands when a chain collapsed. Look at the total cost, not just one line. This guide on comparing conveyancing fees and what to expect in 2026 is a useful benchmark before you start calling around.
Choose on value, not just price.
How Property Buyers Today Removes the Solicitor Burden
When you sell with us, you pay nothing in solicitor fees. Not a reduced amount – nothing. We cover them directly, so the money never comes out of your sale proceeds.
That matters more than it might first appear. Most sellers don’t realise how much solicitor costs eat into what they actually walk away with. Add up the legal fee, disbursements, Land Registry costs, and VAT, and you’re typically looking at £1,500–£2,500 gone before you’ve even moved.
With PBT, that number is zero.
We’re cash buyers, so there’s no mortgage lender, no chain, and no conveyancing delays caused by searches holding things up. We handle the legal side – you just need to decide if our offer works for you.
Speed
Most house sales take months, but we can buy your property in as little as 7 days.
This quick process is perfect if you need to move soon or want to avoid being stuck in a long chain of buyers and sellers. We have the cash on hand so don’t need to wait for mortgages or a chain to collapse.
Guaranteed Sale
Did you know 1 in 3 sales fall through on the open market?
We know how frustrating it is to get 6 months into a process and have a buyer pull out.
When we give you the final price for your house, that’s the amount you’ll get. Guaranteed!
No Costs
You won’t face any costs with us.
We handle all the expenses involved in buying your property, including legal fees and surveys. You get cash in your bank when the sale is complete, and there are no surprise estate agent commissions to worry about.
No Stress Or Hassle
Our team supports you through the whole selling process.
We keep you updated about what’s happening and answer any questions quickly. You’ll always understand what’s going on with your sale and what happens next.
Free Property Valuation
Our property experts will value your house at no cost to you.
They look carefully at your property and check local market prices to give you an accurate figure. This professional service comes with no obligations.
No Viewings Required
Forget about cleaning and tidying for viewings.
We don’t need multiple visits or open houses to make our offer. This means no strangers walking through your home, and no disruption to your daily life.
All Properties Welcome
Whether your house needs work or is in perfect condition, we’ll buy it.
We have experience with all types of properties and conditions. This means you can sell your house to us no matter what state it’s in.
Professional Legal Service
Our expert team manages all the legal requirements for you.
We work with experienced property lawyers who make sure everything runs smoothly, and put your property at the top of their list. This gives you peace of mind that your sale is being handled properly from start to finish.
