Conveyancing and other fees when buying in England (2026): what each one costs

What fees do you pay when buying a house in England?

Three fees sit next to stamp duty on almost every purchase:

Fee	Who sets it	Paid to
Conveyancing (legal work)	The market: each firm sets its price	The solicitor or licensed conveyancer
Searches	Councils, water companies and search providers	Through the conveyancer
HM Land Registry fee	Fixed by law, by price	HM Land Registry, through the conveyancer

The calculator shows all three next to the tax. Conveyancing and searches are market prices, so they come with a typical figure and a range; the Land Registry fee is exact:

England, £300,000: main home, tax-resident, no other home

Line	Kind	Amount	Estimate range	Share of price
Stamp Duty Land Tax	Tax	£5,000		1.67%
Conveyancing solicitor (market rate)	Fee, estimate	£1,000	£500 to £1,500	0.33%
Local searches	Fee, estimate	£350	£250 to £450	0.12%
HM Land Registry fee (Scale 1)	Fee	£150		0.05%
Taxes		£5,000		1.67%
Fees, typical		£1,500	£900 to £2,100	0.50%
Total on top of the price		£6,500	£5,900 to £7,100	2.17%

How much do conveyancing solicitors charge in 2026?

There is no official fee. Two recent market measures (secondary sources):

• reallymoving’s Conveyancing Costs Index, based on over 82,000 quotes, put the average purchase at £1,509 in April to June 2026, including VAT, expenses and disbursements (reported by Today’s Conveyancer, 19 August 2026).
• Which? (29 May 2026) gives legal fees of between £500 and £1,500 depending on the type of property, before searches and other costs.

The calculator’s conveyancing line follows the Which? range, with a typical figure of £1,000 for the legal work alone. The reallymoving average is higher because it also counts searches and other disbursements.

Leasehold flats usually cost more than freehold houses, because the conveyancer also deals with the lease and the freeholder or managing agent.

Firms must show their prices. Under the SRA Transparency Rules, a firm that offers residential conveyancing (freehold or leasehold purchases and sales, and mortgages) must publish the total cost or a range, what it includes, the likely disbursements, and whether VAT is added (rules 1.1 and 1.5).

What are searches and what do they cost?

Searches are the enquiries the conveyancer makes before exchange of contracts: the local authority search (planning, roads, local charges), the drainage and water search, and usually an environmental search. Lenders normally require them. Councils set their own local search fees, so the cost varies by area. The calculator’s searches line is an estimate: £350 as a typical figure, with the range shown in the table above.

How much is the Land Registry fee?

After completion, the conveyancer registers the buyer as the new owner at HM Land Registry. The fee is fixed by the Land Registration Fee Order 2024 and depends on the price (“Scale 1”). HM Land Registry’s fee page, updated 28 April 2025, says these fees have applied since 9 December 2024. Most resale purchases are a transfer of a whole title applied for online, which is the fee the calculator uses. Two cases pay a higher column of the same scale: an application sent by post, and a transfer of part of a title, which is the usual case for a new-build plot bought from a developer.

Price	Online, whole title (in the calculator)	By post, or online for part of a title
Up to £80,000	£20	£45
£80,001 to £100,000	£40	£95
£100,001 to £200,000	£100	£230
£200,001 to £500,000	£150	£330
£500,001 to £1,000,000	£295	£655
Over £1,000,000	£500	£1,105

The fee is charged on the price including any VAT.

Does the conveyancer pay the stamp duty?

Usually. GOV.UK says a solicitor, agent or conveyancer normally files the Stamp Duty Land Tax return and pays the tax on the buyer’s behalf on completion, and adds it to their bill. The deadline is 14 days after completion. The tax itself depends on the price and the buyer; see stamp duty in England.

What other costs are not in these figures?

The calculator covers taxes and the three fees above. Other common costs depend on the property and the buyer, and are left out:

• a survey or home report, chosen by the buyer;
• a mortgage lender’s arrangement and valuation fees;
• removals;
• for leasehold flats, the managing agent’s fees for the documents the conveyancer needs.

What this guide does not cover

• Scotland and Wales, where the legal process and the registers are different.
• Northern Ireland, which has its own land registry and fees.
• The seller’s costs, such as estate agent fees.

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