Conveyancing taking too long? What is normal and what to do

What a normal timescale looks like

There is no fixed legal timetable, and published industry figures vary, but the broad picture is consistent:

• Published consumer guidance typically estimates a straightforward freehold purchase at somewhere between 8 and 16 weeks from offer accepted to completion; some guides say 8 to 12 weeks, others 12 to 16. Treat it as an indicative range, not a promise.
• Leasehold adds time, often several weeks, because information about the lease usually has to come from the freeholder or managing agent, and their speed is largely outside your solicitor's control, though the solicitor can and should chase.
• A chain moves at the speed of its slowest link: linked transactions are usually coordinated to exchange together, so one slow mortgage offer three houses away tends to delay you too.
• Chain-free cash purchases can be quicker, but completing within a few weeks is the exception, not the norm.

A long wait is not proof of good or bad service either way: delay can come from third parties at week four or from the firm's own inaction at week fourteen. At any stage you are entitled to know what is outstanding, who it is waited on, and when it was last chased.

Where the time actually goes

• Searches: local authority search turnaround varies enormously by council, from days to many weeks. Your solicitor may not be able to control the council's speed, but should tell you when searches were ordered and the council's current turnaround.
• Mortgage offer: the lender's valuation and underwriting run on their own clock, and a buyer should not normally exchange without the offer in place.
• Enquiries: the buyer's solicitor raises questions on the title and the seller's replies; several rounds are normal, but rounds that sit unanswered for weeks may indicate avoidable delay.
• Leasehold information: freeholders and managing agents often charge for the leasehold information (commonly requested on the Law Society's LPE1 form) and can take weeks to provide it.
• The chain: ask both your solicitor and your estate agent for chain updates; each may hold a different part of the picture, and agents often hear about the other transactions first.

The questions that get a straight answer

"Any update?" invites "we are progressing the matter". Specific questions get specific answers, and show you understand the process:

• "What exactly is outstanding on our side, and what are we waiting for from others?"
• "When were searches ordered, and what turnaround is the council quoting?"
• "Have enquiries been raised or answered, and when was the other side last chased?"
• "Is there anything you need from me right now?"
• "Given all that, what is a realistic target for exchange?"

If a real deadline is at risk (a mortgage offer expiring, a notice period running out), say so explicitly and ask for a response by a named date. If emails go unanswered, the solicitor not responding guide covers the escalation steps.

When slowness becomes a complaint

Time spent genuinely waiting for a council or a lender is usually unavoidable, though failing to order searches promptly, chase, or explain what is happening can still be poor service. Unanswered emails, enquiries left sitting for weeks, files passed between fee earners without progress, or a refusal to explain are the clearer cases. Delay and poor communication are service issues, and the route is the standard one:

• Make clear to the firm that you are complaining, preferably in writing, using its complaints procedure. The firm has up to eight weeks to give a final response.
• If that does not resolve it, or eight weeks pass, an eligible complaint about a regulated firm can go to the Legal Ombudsman, free for consumers. Where it upholds a complaint it can direct remedies such as a fee reduction or compensation, depending on the evidence. Time limits apply: normally one year from the problem (or from when you should reasonably have known about it) and six months from the firm's final response. The complaints guide walks through the route and the detail of those limits.
• Switching firms mid-transaction is possible but usually adds time and cost, and if the bill is unpaid the old firm may have a lien over some of the papers, with exceptions; weigh that against how badly things have broken down before deciding.

Quick answers

Before your next move

Timescales and communication habits are worth checking before you instruct. A firm's website tells you something about how it works: the conveyancing quotes guide covers what a quote must include (key stages and typical timescales are part of the required price information), and you can check any firm's website free to see whether it publishes the price information the SRA expects.

This guide is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice about any specific transaction or firm. Website findings are automated, come from public pages only, and are not a legal opinion.