July 14, 2026
10 Min Read
You have had an offer accepted, and the first thing almost everyone asks is the same: how long is this actually going to take? The honest answer is that most UK conveyancing takes somewhere between eight and twelve weeks from instructing a solicitor to getting the keys. But that headline number hides a lot. Some purchases complete in six weeks. Some drag past four months. The difference is rarely the solicitor being slow. It is usually one specific link in the process, and knowing which links tend to stick is the difference between waiting in the dark and knowing exactly what to chase.
This guide walks the timeline stage by stage, tells you roughly how long each part takes, and shows you where the real delays live. Wherever a range is given, treat it as typical rather than guaranteed. Your own timeline depends on your chain, your lender, the council covering the property, and how quickly both sides return paperwork.
How long does conveyancing take in the UK?
Conveyancing in the UK typically takes 8 to 12 weeks from the point a solicitor is instructed to completion. A straightforward purchase with no chain and a ready mortgage can complete in 6 to 8 weeks. A longer chain, a leasehold flat, or a slow local authority search can push the process to 14 weeks or more.
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from a seller to a buyer. It starts when your offer is accepted and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is instructed, and it ends on completion day when the money changes hands and the property is legally yours. Between those two points sits a sequence of stages, and each one has its own typical duration. The total is not one long task; it is a series of smaller ones, some of which run at the same time.
The single biggest factor is whether there is a chain. A chain is a line of linked transactions where each purchase depends on another completing on the same day. The longer the chain, the more people have to be ready at once, and the process can only move at the speed of its slowest link. Remove the chain, and you remove the largest source of delay in the whole process.
The conveyancing timeline, stage by stage
Here is how the weeks tend to break down on a typical purchase. The stages overlap in practice, which is why the total is shorter than adding every stage together would suggest.
Stage 1: Instructing a solicitor (days 1 to 5)
Once your offer is accepted, you instruct a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. They open the file, send you a client-care letter and their terms, and ask you to verify your identity and confirm how you are funding the purchase. This stage is quick if you respond promptly. It stalls when a buyer takes a week to return ID or decide which firm to use. The clock does not really start until the solicitor is formally instructed, so choosing your firm the moment your offer is accepted, rather than a fortnight later, is the easiest week you will ever save.
Stage 2: Draft contract and searches ordered (weeks 1 to 3)
The seller's solicitor sends a draft contract and a pack of property information. Your solicitor reviews it and orders the searches. The three main searches ask official bodies what they know about the property: the local authority search checks planning and enforcement matters, the water and drainage search confirms the property is connected to public services, and the environmental search flags flooding, contaminated land, and mining risk. Searches usually take one to three weeks to come back, but a local authority search can take much longer in a slow council. This is one of the most common reasons a purchase feels stuck while nothing appears to be happening. The silence often means the council is sitting on the local search, not that anyone has forgotten you.
Stage 3: Mortgage offer (weeks 2 to 5)
While searches are running, your mortgage application proceeds in parallel. The lender arranges a valuation of the property and, once satisfied, issues a formal mortgage offer. This usually lands somewhere between two and five weeks after application, depending on the lender and whether they raise any questions. A mortgage offer is often one of the last pieces the solicitor needs before exchange, so a delayed offer holds up everything downstream. Arranging your mortgage early, ideally with an agreement in principle already in hand before you offer, keeps this stage from becoming the bottleneck.
Stage 4: Enquiries (weeks 3 to 7)
Once searches are back and the contract is reviewed, your solicitor raises enquiries with the seller's solicitor. These are questions about anything unclear or concerning: a missing building regulations certificate for an extension, a boundary query, a right of way, a service charge dispute on a leasehold flat. Enquiries are frequently where a transaction slows to a crawl, because each question has to be sent, answered, and sometimes chased. A well-run firm keeps enquiries tight and relevant. A poorly run one either sits on them or sends dozens of irrelevant ones that clog the process for everyone.
Stage 5: Exchange of contracts (weeks 6 to 10)
When searches are clear, the mortgage offer is in, enquiries are resolved, and everyone in the chain is ready, contracts are exchanged. At the point of exchange, the transaction becomes legally binding: neither side can walk away without serious financial consequences, and a completion date is fixed. Exchange is the moment the purchase stops being fragile. Up to this point either party can pull out; after it, the deal is locked. Reaching exchange is the real milestone, and it is the stage most affected by the chain, because everyone has to be ready to exchange at the same time.
Stage 6: Completion (days after exchange)
Completion is the day the money is transferred, the seller moves out, and you get the keys. It is usually set for a week or two after exchange, though it can be same-day if everyone agrees. On completion day your solicitor sends the purchase money to the seller's solicitor, the transaction is registered, and the property is legally yours. After completion, your solicitor handles the final admin: paying any Stamp Duty Land Tax due and registering you as the new owner with the Land Registry.
What causes conveyancing delays?
Most delays trace back to one of a handful of causes. Knowing which one is holding you up tells you exactly what to chase.
A slow local authority search is the classic culprit. Some councils return searches in days; others take weeks. There is little you can do except order the search early and wait, but at least you know the delay is external, not your solicitor sitting on the file.
Unanswered enquiries are the next most common cause. A question goes from your solicitor to the seller's solicitor and simply sits there. This is where a firm that actively chases earns its fee, and a passive one costs you weeks.
A missing document can stall everything. If the seller cannot produce a building regulations certificate for a loft conversion or an indemnity policy for an old alteration, the enquiry cannot be closed until it is resolved. Sometimes this is fixed quickly with an indemnity policy; sometimes it takes real time.
The chain is the delay nobody controls alone. If one buyer three links away is waiting on their own mortgage, everyone above them waits too. A long chain is the single biggest reason a purchase that should take ten weeks takes sixteen.
Leasehold adds time. Buying a flat means the freeholder or managing agent has to provide a management pack, confirm the service charge position, and answer leasehold-specific enquiries. Management companies are often slow, and this alone can add several weeks to a leasehold purchase compared with a freehold house.
How to keep your conveyancing moving
You cannot control the council, the other side's solicitor, or the chain. But a large share of avoidable delay is within your own hands, and clearing your side keeps the pressure where it belongs.
Instruct a solicitor the moment your offer is accepted, not a fortnight later. Return your identity documents, your property information forms, and any questionnaires the day they arrive rather than letting them sit. Arrange your mortgage early, ideally with an agreement in principle already in place before you make an offer, so the lender's part is not the thing everyone is waiting on. Reply to your solicitor quickly whenever they ask for something, because every day you take is a day added to the total.
Above all, choose a firm on whether it communicates, not just on price. The cheapest quote from a firm that never answers the phone will cost you far more in stress, and sometimes a collapsed chain, than the few hundred pounds you saved. A conveyancer who flags a problem the moment it appears, rather than at the end, is worth paying for. Ask at the outset how they will keep you updated and who your point of contact is.
It also helps to have your wider move joined up. A mortgage adviser who has your application ready, a solicitor who moves quickly, and a clear picture of the costs ahead all pull in the same direction. When those parts talk to each other, the gaps where delay creeps in get smaller. You can read more about how the pieces fit together on our conveyancing service page, and about arranging finance in step on our mortgage advice page, or about planning the wider costs of a move with our financial planning team.
(Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change in future.)
Frequently asked questions
How long does conveyancing take with no chain?
With no chain, conveyancing in the UK typically takes 6 to 10 weeks from the point a solicitor is instructed to completion. Removing the chain removes the biggest single source of delay, because no other purchase or sale has to complete on the same day. A cash buyer with no chain and no mortgage to arrange can sometimes complete faster still.
How long do conveyancing searches take?
Conveyancing searches usually take 1 to 3 weeks to come back, though a local authority search can take longer in slower councils. The searches are ordered early in the process and often run in the background while your mortgage application and the contract review continue, so they do not always add to the overall timeline unless the council is particularly slow.
How long does conveyancing take after the mortgage offer?
After the mortgage offer is issued, conveyancing usually takes a further 3 to 6 weeks to reach completion, assuming searches are back and enquiries are resolved. The mortgage offer is often one of the last pieces the solicitor needs before exchange, which is why arranging finance early matters so much to the overall speed.
Why is my conveyancing taking so long?
The most common causes of conveyancing delay are a slow local authority search, unanswered enquiries between solicitors, a missing document such as a building certificate, a lender issue, or a chain where one party is not ready. Delay usually sits with one specific link rather than the whole process, so ask your solicitor directly which stage you are waiting on.
Can conveyancing be done faster?
Conveyancing can be sped up by instructing a solicitor the moment an offer is accepted, returning your forms and ID promptly, arranging your mortgage early, and choosing a firm that answers the phone. You cannot control the council or the other side, but clearing your own delays keeps the process moving and stops you being the reason it stalls.
Bringing it together
Most conveyancing takes eight to twelve weeks, but the number that matters is not the average; it is which stage you are at and what is holding it up. A purchase feels slow when you cannot see the moving parts. Once you know the searches are with the council, the mortgage offer is a fortnight out, or the delay sits three links up the chain, the waiting becomes a known quantity rather than a black box. Instruct early, return everything promptly, arrange your finance ahead of time, and choose a firm that keeps you in the loop. Do that, and you have removed every delay that was ever yours to remove.
