Failed Purchase — Do You Still Pay Conveyancing Fees?

The Bad News First

Yes, in most cases you will owe your conveyancer something if a purchase falls through before exchange of contracts. The exact amount depends on how much work has been done, what your engagement letter says, and whether the work included expensive disbursements that cannot be recovered.

This is an important and often overlooked dimension of property purchase costs. Our [conveyancing calculator](/conveyancing-calculator) shows total costs for a successful transaction — but understanding the abortive cost scenario helps you appreciate the full financial risk of making an offer.

What You Owe Depends on What Has Been Done

Conveyancers typically charge based on work completed at the point the instruction is aborted. The further along the process, the more you will owe. The key stages:

**Very early abort (within a few days of instruction):** If you instruct a conveyancer and then withdraw before they have done any meaningful work, many firms will charge nothing or a nominal administration fee (£50–£150). Check your engagement letter — some firms specify this explicitly.

**After identity checks and initial review (1–3 weeks in):** Your conveyancer has completed AML checks, reviewed the contract pack, and possibly raised some initial enquiries. A reasonable charge at this stage is £200–£500 in legal fees.

**After searches are ordered:** This is where costs increase significantly. Searches are a disbursement — your conveyancer has paid third parties for local authority searches, environmental reports, and drainage searches. If these have been returned, the costs (typically £200–£400 in total) are not recoverable. You will be billed for them.

**After significant legal work (enquiries, mortgage requirements, SDLT calculations):** If your conveyancer has invested substantial time — raised and received responses to enquiries, dealt with your mortgage lender's requirements, and is close to exchange — you may owe the majority of the legal fee, even though exchange has not occurred. This could be £600–£1,200 depending on the firm and the work done.

What Your Engagement Letter Should Say

The Law Society recommends that solicitors and conveyancers set out their charging policy for abortive transactions in their initial engagement letter. Look for:

• Whether they charge a fixed abortive fee (e.g., £300 regardless of stage)
• Whether they charge for time actually spent (hourly or percentage of full fee)
• Whether disbursements paid are always charged, regardless of outcome
• Whether there is a "no move, no fee" offer

"No Move, No Fee" Conveyancing

Some conveyancers — particularly online firms — offer "no move, no fee" or "no completion, no fee" policies. Under this model, you pay nothing in legal fees if the transaction does not complete. Disbursements paid (searches) are still typically charged.

This sounds attractive, but beware:

• The fee for a successful transaction may be slightly higher to compensate for the risk the firm carries
• "No fee" sometimes means no legal fee but still full disbursement recovery
• The quality of service from a no-fee firm when a transaction hits problems needs careful assessment — there is limited financial incentive to spend time resolving issues on a case that may not complete

The Financial Risk of Being Gazumped

Gazumping — where a seller accepts a higher offer from another buyer after already accepting yours — is legal in England and Wales before exchange of contracts. If you are gazumped, all the money you have spent on conveyancing and surveys is lost. There is no compensation mechanism.

A typical failed purchase due to gazumping or vendor withdrawal might cost you:

• Conveyancing legal fees: £300–£800
• Searches: £200–£400
• Mortgage arrangement fee (if paid upfront): £0–£1,999
• Survey/HomeBuyer Report: £400–£900
• **Total: £900–£4,100**

This is a genuine financial risk every buyer takes. It explains why some buyers refuse to commission a survey until they are more confident the transaction will proceed, and why others invest in home buyer protection insurance — which typically costs £50–£100 and refunds survey and conveyancing costs if the purchase falls through for defined reasons.

Protecting Yourself

Ask your conveyancer, when you first instruct them: what happens if the purchase falls through at each stage? Get a clear written answer. If they cannot or will not answer this question clearly, reconsider your choice.

Use our [conveyancing calculator](/conveyancing-calculator) to understand the full cost of a successful transaction — and have a realistic mental model of what a failed one might cost you.