How long can a solicitor hold your money? The rules and your options
The sale has completed, or the claim has settled, and the money is sitting with the solicitor. Most of the time there is an ordinary explanation, and sometimes there is not. This guide covers what the SRA Accounts Rules actually require, the typical payout timings, the interest question, and the steps to take when the money does not arrive.
The rule: promptly, once there is no proper reason to hold it
Money a firm holds for you sits in its client account, separate from the firm's own money, under the SRA Accounts Rules 2019. Two rules do most of the work here:
- Rule 2.5: client money must be returned promptly to the client as soon as there is no longer any proper reason to hold it. The rules deliberately do not set a number of days; what counts as prompt depends on the matter, but "we have not got round to it" is not a proper reason.
- Rule 4.3: before the firm takes any of that money for its own fees, it must first give you a bill or other written notification of the costs. You are entitled to see what is being deducted before it is deducted.
- Rule 5.1: money can only leave the client account for the purpose it is held for, on your instructions, or in limited prescribed circumstances.
Proper reasons to hold money do exist: a step in the transaction has not finished, funds have not cleared, there is a genuine dispute about who the money belongs to, or an agreed retention (common in leasehold sales for a final service charge account). A proper reason should be explainable in a sentence; ask for that sentence.
Typical timings after a house sale
On a sale, the buyer's money normally arrives with your solicitor on the day of completion. The solicitor then repays any mortgage on the property, pays the estate agent if instructed to, deducts the fees and disbursements set out in the completion statement, and sends you the balance. Many firms send the balance the same day; others within a few working days. The transfer itself is often near-instant once sent, though some bank payments take longer, and transfers sent late in the day may land the next working day.
Before completion, or with the payment, you should receive a completion statement showing the sale price, the mortgage redemption, each deduction and the balance due to you. If you have not seen one, ask for it: under the Accounts Rules the firm should have notified you in writing of its costs before taking them.
Typical timings after a settlement
In a personal injury or other civil claim settled under a Part 36 offer, the Civil Procedure Rules require the settlement sum to be paid within 14 days of acceptance unless a different period is agreed (CPR 36.14(6)); if it is not paid, judgment can be entered for the unpaid amount. Settlements agreed outside Part 36 usually specify their own payment date.
Once the money reaches your solicitor's client account, the same rules apply as anywhere else: written notification of any deductions (such as a success fee you agreed), then prompt payment of the balance. Ask for a breakdown showing the gross settlement, each deduction and your net figure; you are entitled to it before the deductions are made.
Interest on money held for you
Under rule 7.1 of the Accounts Rules, firms must account to you for a fair sum of interest on client money they hold for you. The rules do not fix a rate. A different arrangement, including a threshold below which interest is not paid, is only valid if agreed with you in writing after the firm has given you enough information to consent to it (rule 7.2); a firm cannot simply impose one. If a large sum has sat with a firm for weeks or months, it is reasonable to ask what interest is being accounted for and to see the firm's interest policy.
When the money does not come: the escalation steps
- Ask the specific question, in writing: "What is the reason for continuing to hold my funds, and when will they be sent?" Ask for the completion statement or a client account breakdown at the same time. If emails go unanswered, the solicitor not responding guide covers the chasing and escalation steps.
- Complain to the firm: if the answer does not stack up, make clear you are complaining, using the firm's complaints procedure. The firm has up to eight weeks to give a final response. Delay in paying out money it holds for you is a service issue the firm should take seriously.
- Legal Ombudsman: if the final response does not resolve it, or eight weeks pass, an eligible complaint about a regulated firm can go to the Legal Ombudsman, free for consumers. 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.
- SRA: if you suspect the money has been misused rather than merely delayed, that is a conduct matter: report it to the SRA. Where money was stolen or not accounted for, the SRA Compensation Fund may be able to help, but it is a discretionary fund of last resort with its own eligibility rules: broadly, direct financial loss caused by the dishonesty or failure to account of a defaulting regulated practice. Ordinary slowness in paying out is not a Compensation Fund matter; it is a complaint.
- If the firm has been shut down: money in an intervened firm's accounts passes to the SRA's control. The firm closed down guide explains what an intervention means for your money and files.
One caution while you wait: if an email arrives saying the money will be sent once you confirm "new" bank details, or that the firm's own details have changed, treat it as a fraud signal and read the bank details changed guide before acting.
Quick answers
How long can a solicitor hold my money?
There is no fixed number of days, but the SRA Accounts Rules require client money to be returned promptly as soon as there is no longer any proper reason to hold it (rule 2.5). A proper reason might be an unpaid bill covered by a written notification (which justifies keeping back the notified amount, not the whole balance), an unresolved dispute over the funds, or a step in the matter still to complete. Holding money with no such reason is a breach of the rules.
How long does it take to get money after a house sale completes?
In a typical sale the solicitor receives the purchase money on the day of completion, repays any mortgage, deducts the agreed fees and disbursements set out in the completion statement, and sends the balance to you, commonly the same day or within a few working days. The bank transfer itself is often near-instant, though some payments take longer. If a week passes with no money and no explanation, ask what the proper reason for the delay is.
What if my solicitor will not release my money?
Ask in writing what the reason is for holding the funds and for a completion or account statement showing what came in and what was deducted. If the answer does not stack up, complain using the firm's complaints procedure; if the final response does not resolve it, or eight weeks pass, an eligible complaint can go to the Legal Ombudsman free of charge. If you suspect the money has been misused rather than merely delayed, report it to the SRA.
Before your next move
If the amount deducted is the real dispute, the guide to challenging a solicitor's bill covers the free Ombudsman route and the court route with its strict deadlines. And before instructing a firm at all, you can check any firm's website free to see whether it publishes the price information and complaints information the SRA expects.
This guide is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice about any specific matter or firm. Website findings are automated, come from public pages only, and are not a legal opinion.