How Much Do Solicitors Charge To Sell a House?
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Content Written By: Kirsty Rowett - Last Updated: 23/10/2025
If you decide to sell your house on the open market, you can’t avoid the solicitor fees it takes to push it through to completion.
Naturally, you’ll want to keep those fees to a minimum if you’ve found a buyer, so we’re here to help you with everything you need to know at this stage of your homeowner journey. Let’s get right into it.
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How much do solicitors cost when selling a house?
One of the frustrating things about paying solicitors to sell your house is that you don’t really see the bulk of the work they do in the background to make it happen, but the reality is there’s a fair bit to it.
In short, your solicitor will liaise with your buyer’s solicitor about the property so they can keep things as smooth and transparent as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect to pay for from a solicitor:
What do solicitors do when selling a house?
- Draft contracts: Sending the initial legal contract to your buyer’s solicitor
- Respond to enquiries: Addressing any queries raised after the documents have been sent
- Investigate issues: Looking into any potential problems, such as damp
- Exchange contracts: Sorting and exchanging the final contracts once the buyer is satisfied
- Handle completion: Dealing with the money for all parties, including estate agents
The amount solicitors will charge for their services will massively depend on your area, your final sale price, your legal fees and disbursements, Land Registry and other fees. For a freehold house in Manchester that’s valued at around £300,000, the typical costs for selling might look something like this:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Solicitor fees for an uncomplicated sale | £800 - £1,200 inc. VAT |
Disbursements, e.g.: - Bank transfer fees - Official documentation, including Land Registry | £100 |
| Total | £900 - £1,300 inc. VAT |
You can expect to pay a little more for a leasehold property because of the added potential for complications, while you can expect to pay a little less if you just go with a conveyancer instead, as they won’t cover the legal side of things.
“Leasehold properties typically add £200–£300 to the base fee, due to the additional legal work involved. This covers reviewing the lease agreement, liaising with freeholders or managing agents, and handling lease-specific documentation that freehold sales don't require.”
Source: CompareMyMove
Why are solicitors cheaper when selling a house vs buying one?
Solicitor fees tend to be on the cheaper side for selling a house because buying involves a few more searches. These include:
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy search | £4-8 |
| Local authority searches | £100-200 |
| ID verification | £2-18 |
| Environmental search | £35 |
| Land Registry charge | £20 |
These services or tasks don’t need to happen when selling, so they can combine to make buying a property more expensive than selling one.
You need to bear in mind that fees will differ from solicitor to solicitor as they all compete for your business, whether you are buying or selling your house. Next, we’ll take a quick look at what you should look out for when picking the right one for you and your home.
How to choose the right solicitor to sell your house
When you sell on the open market, you’ll typically go through an estate agent and they’ll almost always recommend a solicitor for you, but it’s important to compare your options before you proceed with the sale.
Here are some of the things you should ask yourself during your research:
1. How long will they take to complete?
This might take some digging on Trustpilot, Google and social media, but you should try to get a feel for the kind of workload each solicitor has and, therefore, how long it might take them to complete your sale. Previous customers can share such details in Trustpilot reviews and Reddit posts.
Read more: Explore the HousingUK subreddit for real-world examples
2. Can you go to their physical office?
Bear location in mind if it matters to you—sometimes, going to a physical office to talk through and sign documentation can speed things up a little, but there are plenty of online solicitor and conveyancer services that can help you do it all remotely now if you prefer that.
3. How did other sellers rate them?
Reviews will probably be your first port of call for the purchase of any kind of service or product and solicitors should be no different. Delve into the Trustpilot reviews in as much detail as you can by comparing and contrasting one-star reviews with those with three stars or more—you’ll always get a few people complaining, but try to get an idea of the whole service offering for sellers like you by using the search bar on Trustpilot itself.
4. What is their best deal?
Naturally, you’ll want the best offer available, but don’t plump for the cheapest just because you want to save some money. They might be super busy because of their low fees, so your sale could stall or take a few more weeks (or even months) to complete. Think about how much a delay might cost you in the long run and perhaps choose a solicitor that’s somewhere in the middle price-wise, as you would for a bathroom fitting or a garden makeover.
“It’s so important to pick the right solicitor to help you sell on the open market, as we’ve seen so many headaches caused by poor choices over the years.
“Remember, any solicitor recommendations from your estate agent will be based solely on financial gain for them, so be sure to shop around. Ask family and friends about their own personal experiences.”
- Kirsty Rowett, In-House Solicitor at The Property Buying Company
Other costs for selling your property
You’ll also need to think about a few of the other costs that’ll come with selling up, including:
Estate agent: Factor in the set fee or percentage that your chosen estate agent will charge you
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC): Consider the cost of an EPC, a crucial part of selling any property to prove its efficiency—this can be £60-120
Capital Gains Tax (CGT): Think about taxes that will impact your total selling costs, including CGT if you stand to make a profit from the property
The important thing to remember is not to rush into your choice if you have the luxury of time to make it. Decide what matters most to you between cost and convenience and try to use that to guide your decision.
Do you need a solicitor to sell your house?
As a matter of fact, you don’t categorically need a solicitor to sell your house in the UK. There are other ways to sell, including one time-consuming, yet cost-cutting option and one quick and straightforward alternative.
You can opt for the DIY route and do the legwork yourself, but this can be laborious and complicated. It might also risk narrowing your pool of potential buyers because it’s often insisted upon that you use legal aid by the freehold owner or the mortgage provider.
When it comes to transferring ownership, you can use a conveyancer to save a bit of money if your sale is straightforward—they specialise in property, but don’t cover the legal side of things, so you might end up having to get a solicitor anyway if things get a little more complicated.
Your other option is to sell directly to a cash buyer like us to remove all the stress from the sales process. The Property Buying Company will cover all your legal fees and you won’t need to wait for us to get a mortgage approved—we’re ready to buy if you’re ready to sell.
If you want to remove all the fees associated with selling your house, simply enter your postcode here to get your free cash offer.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still have to pay solicitors if the sale falls through?
Solicitors charge for their time, so you will need to pay for whatever work has been carried out to the date on which the sale ground to a halt. You will typically need to sign a contract at the beginning of an agreement to sell with a particular solicitor, so you will be bound to their fees, but you might not have to pay the full amount if, for example, they don’t get to carry out the work to complete the transaction. You might pay a percentage of what was quoted instead or you might benefit from a ‘no sale, no fee’ offer, so it pays to shop around.
When do I need to get a solicitor to sell my house?
If you are selling on the open market, you should try to get a solicitor at around the same time as you choose an estate agent. This will help with the smooth and timely processing of the paperwork to keep your sale on track. If you choose to sell to a cash buyer like The Property Buying Company, however, you won’t need a solicitor at all—the legal fees and processes will all be covered by the company.
What is the best way to sell your house on your own?
If you do decide to go without a solicitor or conveyancer, you can use guidance from Citizens Advice and financial institutions like Chase Bank to help you through it, but it can be a complicated process. You also have the option of selling directly to a cash buyer, such as The Property Buying Company, to remove all the legal stress and delays that can come with a sale.
Edit Log
23/10/2025 - Content rewritten by Kirsty Rowett
23/10/2025 - Content updated in line with Editorial Guidelines (Reviewed by Mathew McCorry)
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