What Does A Conveyancer Do?

A conveyancer manages the legal transfer of property ownership between seller and buyer. As a legal professional, they handle property documents, searches, titles, and lender requirements, while identifying legal risks and ensuring the property can be legally bought or sold.

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The conveyancing process involves the legal transfer of property ownership from the seller to the buyer, and it’s the conveyancer’s job to make sure it happens in a legally accurate and compliant manner.

It’s not just about processing the paperwork. A conveyancing lawyer protects the interests of the buyer or seller against legal, financial, and property-related risks. Conveyancers use their professional expertise to manage legal checks, mortgage lender requirements, searches, contracts, and other tasks involved in a transfer of ownership.

In England and Wales, conveyancers help identify risks that could delay, disrupt, or collapse a property transaction. They review contracts, draft legal documents, investigate property issues, handle searches, and register ownership with the HM Land Registry.

Among the issues a conveyancer could identify are title defects, short leases, restrictive covenants, building safety concerns, missing planning permissions, and fraud risks. They will guide the buyer or seller in resolving these issues before exchange of contracts.

Here’s a deeper look at what you can expect from a conveyancer and what the process will look like.

Instructing a Conveyancer

Working with a conveyancer starts at instruction. When the buyer makes an offer, and the seller accepts, both parties will instruct separate conveyancers to manage the property transaction. The earlier the instruction, the more likely you are to minimise delays in the conveyancing timeline.

During the instruction stage, conveyancers will begin the identity verification and various checks (e.g., anti-money laundering, proof of funds, source-of-funds, etc.) required under UK regulations. They will also discuss the conveyancing process with you, ensuring you’re ready for the costs associated with each step.

After this, conveyancers will prepare the terms of business, which the buyer or seller must agree to.

• If you are buying, details about the property you want to purchase need to be supplied to the estate agent, your mortgage lender and the seller’s solicitor.
• If you are selling the property, you need to know your buyer’s conveyancer, the property you are selling, and the price you are selling it for.

At Muve, our digital-first conveyancing service across England and Wales will help fast-track onboarding, document collection and ID verification. This allows us to identify risks early so we can avoid early-stage delays.

Our conveyancers will go through the different stages of conveyancing and the costs you’ll need to pay. This would be a good time to clarify and discuss any additional legal checks that could increase the original cost.

Tip from Muve: If you’re a buyer, check whether the conveyancer you plan to work with is approved by your mortgage lender. Using a firm that’s not part of the lender panel could lead to additional costs or delays.

What’s needed?

Conveyancers will collect legal documents and property information to begin investigating ownership rights, legal risks, and lender requirements. These have to be finalised before contracts are exchanged. Missing paperwork will entail more work and is usually a common cause of delay.

After the conveyancers have verified their clients’ identities, the buyer’s conveyancer will contact the seller’s conveyancer to request and review the draft contract. This is usually sent with the necessary forms and documents that the seller must complete.

• TA6 Property Information Form
• TA10 Fixtures and Contents Form
• Management information pack (for leasehold properties)

The TA6 Property Information Form provides a complete breakdown of important issues, including property boundaries, planning permission, ongoing neighbour disputes, building work, and utility suppliers.

The TA10 Fixtures and Contents Form provides a complete outline of the fixtures and fittings included in the property for sale. This includes items and furnishings such as carpets, fridges, cookers, light fittings, wardrobes, curtains and curtain rails.

If any items are included that you do not want, or if it doesn’t include items that both parties have agreed will be left, you can contest this via your conveyancer.

The seller’s conveyancer will also get official copies of the title register and title plan from the HM Land Registry. This will confirm ownership and identify any restrictions affecting the property.

In case the property has had extensions, solar panel installations, loft conversions, or structural changes, additional documents may be needed. This would include planning permissions, building regulation approvals, and even indemnity policies.

As of 2026, instructions issued after 30 March 2026 for conveyancing firms accredited under the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) must use TA6 (6th Edition) and TA7 (5th Edition) forms.

Searching high and low

Property searches are an important task for conveyancers. It helps identify risks that may affect the property’s value, insurance coverage, mortgage approval, or future resale potential. These searches can even uncover issues that buyers may have missed during viewings.

Your conveyancer will carry out all necessary searches on a property, including:

• Local authority searches
• Water and drainage searches
• Environmental searches
• Mining searches (where relevant)

Among the issues that may be revealed about the property are:

• Flood risk
• Contaminated land
• Restrictive covenants
• Planning enforcement
• Unadopted roads
• Nearby infrastructure projects

At Muve, the average for conveyancing searches is two to six weeks, but it can take longer depending on the local authority and transaction complexity. We found that our digital approach to conveyancing helps speed up certain results.

Checking relevant finances

Financial compliance has become one of the most scrutinised parts of conveyancing. Which is why conveyancers ensure that mortgage lender conditions, source-of-fund checks, and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) obligations are addressed before completion. 

Your conveyancer will review the mortgage offer and ensure that all the lender’s requirements for releasing funds are met.

If the buyer is not using a mortgage, the conveyancer will verify the origin of the funds used to purchase the property to detect possible money laundering. Gifted deposits, large transfers, overseas funds, and even cryptocurrency-sourced funds require supporting evidence and additional checks.

A buyer’s conveyancer will also advise on the SDLT amount based on the information they have about the property transaction. This will help the buyer prepare for the cost and meet the HMRC payment requirement within 14 days of completion in England.

The seller’s conveyancer, on the other hand, will obtain details of any outstanding mortgage payments from the seller’s mortgage lender.

Contractual necessities

Conveyancers review contracts and investigate property documents to investigate legal risks and raise enquiries to clarify issues that may affect ownership, resale, lender approval, or future disputes. This is important to ensure legal accuracy and compliance as the property is transferred from one owner to another.

The seller’s conveyancer will prepare a draft contract and send it to your conveyancer, along with the title documents and copies of the property information form and the fittings and contents form.

The buyer’s conveyancer will go through each one. If any queries arise, your conveyancer raises them with the seller’s conveyancer, who may need to contact the seller or third parties to obtain answers.

At Muve, the common enquiries we encountered are:

• Restrictive covenants
• Short lease terms
• Service charges
• Boundary disputes
• Missing planning permission
• Building safety concerns
• Solar panel agreements
• Rights of way

Once all enquiries are dealt with, your conveyancer will prepare a property report containing all the information you need about the house, and you will be asked to sign after review.

Deposits and completion

As the transaction moves close to exchange of contracts, the conveyancer will coordinate deposits, mortgage funds, and completion dates while satisfying all legal requirements.

Once all enquiries and searches are complete and no issues have been found or resolved, your conveyancer will request the deposit and mortgage funds from the lender.

Together, both conveyancers will then propose completion dates to their clients.

If there is a chain, completion dates will be discussed and agreed upon with everyone in the existing chain. Sometimes, coordinating property chains causes delays in England and Wales. The multiple transactions must complete simultaneously to meet the target date.

The all-important exchange of contracts

The exchange of contracts is the point at which the transaction becomes legally binding. After exchange, both parties are committed to completing the sale on the agreed date, or else they’ll face financial penalties.

Once both parties have agreed on a completion date, contracts are signed and exchanged. The buyer’s conveyancer will prepare the transfer deed and send it to the seller’s conveyancer for signature in readiness for completion.

The buyer’s conveyancer will then coordinate with the mortgage lender for funds.

Completion

Completion day is when funds are transferred, ownership officially changes hands, and the buyer can collect the property’s keys.

The whole thing is triggered by the electronic transfer of funds between the buyer’s and seller’s conveyancers. After this is done, the transaction is considered complete.

The seller has to move out of the property, and the buyer, who now holds the key, will move into their new home.

If there’s an outstanding mortgage on the property, the seller’s conveyancer will make the payment on behalf of their client using funds from the buyer.

Paying SDLT and registering with the Land Registry

After completion, the conveyancers will handle SDLT submissions within 14 days of the completion date. They will also register the buyer as the new legal owner with HM Land Registry. The registration could be processed within a day, but complex ones could take 3 months to a year (e.g., a new build or the original title has to be divided among different owners). To confirm the actual processing time, refer to the HM Land Registry’s official page.

Once you’ve been registered as the new owner, you’ll be provided a copy of the registered title. If you used a lender, they will also be provided a copy.

What Problems Can A Conveyancer Protect You From?

Conveyancers protect buyers and sellers from legal, financial, and property-related risks. They will conduct legal checks to prevent buyers from inheriting liabilities that might affect mortgage approval, future resale, or insurance coverage.

Among the issues conveyancers will identify are:

• Boundary disputes
• Short leases (less than 80 years)
• Restrictive covenants
• Building safety concerns
• Title defects
• Missing planning permission
• Property fraud
• Solar panel lease issues
• Mortgage lender restrictions

Once the conveyancers have identified issues, the buyer and seller can work together to resolve them or negotiate the price. If the buyer decides to let the transaction go, at least the seller will know what to fix so the next buyer won’t fall through.

What Should You Ask Your Conveyancer?

Before instructing a conveyancer, make sure you ask about legal risks, common delays, leasehold concerns (if applicable), lender requirements, and anything that could affect the property transaction.

Among the common questions Muve conveyancers receive include:

• What documents should be prepared early?
• Are there title defects or restrictions?
• Is the property a leasehold or freehold?
• Will the mortgage lender raise issues?
• Are there building safety concerns?
• What searches are important for the property’s location?
• Are there risks that could delay completion?
• Are you on my lender’s approved panel?
• Do you have a “No Move, No Fee” policy?
• How often will I be updated?

Can Conveyancers Avoid Conveyancing Delays?

Conveyancing delays are common in England and Wales. It’s part of a conveyancer’s job to identify the issues that cause these delays, so they can be resolved without affecting the conveyancing timeline.

While conveyancers can help reduce delays, it’s also important to make sure you’re choosing the right one. Find a conveyancer who specialises in fast conveyancing through digital tools, transparent processes, and proactive communication.

At Muve, our conveyancers use a digital-first approach to proactively identify common issues, including missing documents, mortgage issues, slow searches, property chains, and unresolved legal enquiries. Clients will also enjoy regular updates and access to a 24/7 Client Tracking Portal. This will help them track the case progress so they can prepare for the next step and minimise delays by submitting forms and requirements on time.

We understand that modern conveyancing involves more than paperwork. Our team will help you manage compliance checks, lender requirements, legal risks, and transaction timelines.

If you want to enquire about what we can do for you, get in touch with us.

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FAQs: Conveyancer

What does a conveyancer do?

A conveyancer manages the legal transfer of property ownership from the seller to the buyer. They review contracts, handle searches, identify legal risks, satisfy lender requirements, exchange contracts, oversee transfer of funds, and register ownership with HM Land Registry.

What legal checks does a conveyancer carry out?

Conveyancers investigate legal issues that can affect ownership, mortgage approval, resale, or future disputes. Among the issues that legal checks can reveal are:

• Title defects
• Building safety issues
• Missing planning permissions
• Restrictive covenants
• Unfair leasehold terms
• Source-of-fund issues

 

 

Why does conveyancing take so long?

A conveyancing timeline can take longer because of local authority search delays, property chains, mortgage lender requirements, missing documents, unresolved legal enquiries, and leasehold management packs. The more complex a property transaction is, the longer the conveyancing will take to complete.

Do I need a conveyancer if I’m buying with cash?

Yes. Even cash buyers would need legal checks, searches, contract reviews, ownership verification, and Land Registry registration. Conveyancers can help protect your interests, especially if there are hidden legal or financial risks that might affect the property later on.