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Country guide

Buying a home in the United Kingdom

In England and Wales nothing binds until exchange, so either side can walk away after months and thousands spent.

An offer that is not binding, a conveyancing process measured in months, and a leasehold system that can turn a flat into a liability. Scotland works differently and binds far earlier.

Below: the steps in order, then every document you need to get hold of before you are committed - who has it, what it costs, and the things it turns up, with what each one costs and how long it holds you up if you find it late.

Checked August 2026. Thresholds, grants and taxes change with budgets - the sources at the end are the ones to trust over this page.

The essentials

Deposit
5% minimum in practice, 10-15% for better rates
Paid on exchange
Usually 10% of the price
Government charge
Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and NI; Land Transaction Tax in Wales; LBTT in Scotland
First-time buyer relief exists in each, with thresholds that change at budgets
Who does the legal work
Conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer
Binding at
Exchange of contracts (England, Wales, NI); conclusion of missives (Scotland)
Completion
Typically 8 to 16 weeks after an offer is accepted

The steps, in order

  1. 1Get a mortgage in principleA soft indication from a lender, valid for a few months. Estate agents will ask to see one before taking your offer seriously.
  2. 2Offer through the estate agentIn England and Wales the offer is not binding on anyone. In Scotland you offer formally through a solicitor and it is much closer to binding.
  3. 3Instruct a conveyancer immediatelyThe clock on searches starts when they do. A slow start is the most common cause of a chain collapsing.
  4. 4Searches and enquiriesLocal authority, drainage and water, environmental, and anything the property suggests - mining, chancel, flood. Your solicitor raises enquiries on the seller's answers.
  5. 5SurveyThe lender's valuation is not a survey. A RICS Level 2 survey suits most modern homes; Level 3 for anything old, altered or obviously troubled.
  6. 6Exchange, then completeOn exchange you are committed and your deposit is at risk. Completion is usually one to four weeks later, and that is when you get the keys.

Nothing is binding until exchange

Between offer and exchange, either side can walk away for any reason. A seller accepting a higher offer from someone else is gazumping and is entirely lawful in England and Wales. You can spend months and well over a thousand pounds on searches, surveys and legal fees and still end with nothing.

Leasehold is the thing to understand

Most flats and some houses are leasehold: you own a lease for a term, not the land. Reforms have improved lease extensions and ground rents, but the details matter enormously and vary with when the lease was granted.

Chains

Most transactions sit in a chain of dependent sales. Everyone exchanges on the same day, so one party's problem is everyone's. Ask how long the chain is before you offer.

Scotland is a different system

The seller provides a Home Report including a survey before marketing. Offers go in through a solicitor, often at a closing date with sealed bids over a stated minimum. Once missives are concluded you are bound - much earlier than in England.

The documents to get, and what they catch

5 documents to get hold of before you are committed, and 10 of the things they turn up - each with what it costs and what it does to your timetable if it is found late. Costs are indicative and move with the market.

  1. 1

    Property information forms (TA6, TA7, TA10)

    Do not skip

    The seller's written answers on disputes, alterations, guarantees and what is included.

    Where:
    The seller, through their solicitor
    When:
    After the offer, early in conveyancing
    Cost:
    Free

    Alterations declared with no building regulations completion certificate

    Cost: £2,000-£15,000 to regularise, or indemnity insurance that covers the lender rather than youDelay: Four to twelve weeks for retrospective approval

    What a close read catches: Answers are cross-referenced against the searches and the survey, so a declared alteration with no paperwork behind it stands out.

    A boundary or right-of-way dispute disclosed in passing

    Cost: £5,000-£30,000 if it reaches court, and it must be declared when you sell

    What a close read catches: A disclosed dispute is reported as a live liability rather than a historical note.

  2. 2

    Local authority, drainage and environmental searches

    Do not skip

    Planning history, road adoption, drainage, contamination, flood and radon.

    Where:
    Your conveyancer
    When:
    As soon as the conveyancer is instructed
    Cost:
    £250-£500 for the set

    The road serving the property is unadopted, so the owners pay to maintain it

    Cost: £3,000-£20,000 per property for resurfacing, whenever it is needed

    What a close read catches: The search result is read against what the buyer assumed the council maintains.

    A public sewer runs under the extension with no build-over agreement

    Cost: £3,000-£10,000 to regularise, or removal if the water company insistsDelay: Six to twelve weeks with the water authority

    What a close read catches: The drainage map is compared with the floor plan rather than filed.

  3. 3

    Lease, and the management pack

    Do not skip

    You are buying a term of years with obligations attached, not the building.

    Where:
    The freeholder or managing agent, for a leasehold flat
    When:
    During conveyancing
    Cost:
    £200-£800 for the pack

    Under 80 years left on the lease, so extending attracts marriage value

    Cost: £10,000-£60,000 to extend, and many lenders decline short leases outrightDelay: Six to twelve months for a statutory extension

    What a close read catches: The remaining term is calculated from the lease itself and reported against the 80-year threshold.

    A section 20 notice for major works already served

    Cost: £8,000-£40,000 per flatDelay: Billed on the works' schedule, not yours

    What a close read catches: Service charge accounts and notices are read together, so works already consulted on are reported as committed spending.

    Ground rent that doubles every ten years, making the flat difficult to mortgage or sell

    Cost: Hundreds of thousands over the term, and a sale price discount now

    What a close read catches: Escalation clauses are projected forward rather than quoted as a current figure.

  4. 4

    RICS survey, Level 2 or Level 3

    Do not skip

    The lender's valuation is not a survey and protects the lender only.

    Where:
    A surveyor you instruct
    When:
    Before exchange
    Cost:
    £400-£900 Level 2; £800-£2,000 Level 3

    Japanese knotweed within seven metres of the building

    Cost: £3,000-£15,000 for a treatment plan with an insurance-backed guaranteeDelay: Lenders often refuse until a guarantee is in place - four to eight weeks

    What a close read catches: Findings that affect mortgageability are separated from ordinary defects, because they can end the purchase.

    Damp, timber decay or a roof at the end of its life, described but never costed

    Cost: £5,000-£40,000

    What a close read catches: Every recommendation for a specialist report is listed as an unpriced item to quote before exchange.

  5. 5

    EPC and, for flats, fire safety information

    Optional, often skipped

    Running costs, and whether the building has outstanding remediation.

    Where:
    The seller; the building owner for fire safety
    When:
    Before exchange
    Cost:
    Free with the listing

    Cladding or fire safety works outstanding on a taller building

    Cost: Potentially tens of thousands per flat, and unsellable until resolvedDelay: Years in some cases

    What a close read catches: The building's fire safety position is treated as a purchase-stopping item rather than a detail.

TrueBuy’s document review covers Australian property today. The reading itself is not country-specific - it works through every page, quotes what it finds, and prices what can be priced - and the checklist above is what that reading looks for in the United Kingdom. If you are buying there and want to be told when we cover it, the support chat is the place to say so.

What to watch for

The things that cost British buyers money, in the order they tend to be discovered too late.

  • A short lease, escalating ground rent, or a service charge with major works looming
  • Cladding and fire safety obligations on flats in taller buildings
  • Japanese knotweed, which can affect mortgageability
  • A long chain with no proceedable buyer at the bottom
  • Relying on the lender's valuation instead of a real survey

Where these figures come from

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Information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state, province and territory, and change. Confirm with a qualified professional in the United Kingdom before acting. TrueBuy’s document review and price estimates currently cover Australian property only.