Conveyancing problems and how they're solved

Buying or selling a home in England or Wales involves several parties: buyers, sellers, conveyancers, estate agents, lenders, local authorities and sometimes managing agents. When one of them is waiting on another, the whole transaction can stall. The good news is that most problems are familiar to conveyancers and have well-worn solutions.

This page outlines the most common issues and what usually happens next. It is general information, not legal advice, and your own conveyancer will advise on your circumstances.

Delays

Delay is the most common complaint in conveyancing. Typical causes include slow local authority searches, waiting for a leasehold management pack, enquiries that raise further enquiries, and a mortgage offer that hasn't been issued yet. Often the hold-up is somewhere else in the chain rather than with your own conveyancer.

What you can do:

• Return forms, ID and payments for searches as soon as you're asked.
• Ask your conveyancer what they are waiting for, and from whom.
• Ask your estate agent to check progress further up and down the chain.

Our guide on why conveyancing can take so long goes through the usual bottlenecks in more detail.

Failed or broken chains

A chain breaks when someone pulls out, a sale falls through or a buyer's mortgage is declined. Before exchange of contracts, either side can usually withdraw without penalty, which is why this stage feels fragile.

Options often include finding a replacement buyer, moving into rented accommodation so you can proceed chain-free, or agreeing a revised timetable. After exchange, the position is very different, because both parties are legally bound. A party who fails to complete after exchange can face serious financial consequences, including losing the deposit.

To reduce the risk of a broken chain, keep in regular contact with your estate agent, get your mortgage agreed in principle early and have your own paperwork ready so you are never the hold-up.

Missing documents

Missing paperwork is common, particularly for older alterations. Examples include building regulations completion certificates, planning permission, FENSA or similar window certificates, electrical certificates, guarantees and, for leasehold flats, deeds of variation or consents.

Depending on the issue, solutions may include:

• Obtaining copies from the local authority or the original installer.
• Applying for retrospective approval (a regularisation certificate), where appropriate.
• Indemnity insurance, if the lender and buyer agree it is suitable. This usually must be arranged before anyone contacts the council about the issue.

Read more about selling with missing building regulations certificates.

Unresponsive solicitors or conveyancers

Silence is stressful, especially near an agreed moving date. Sometimes it reflects a heavy workload or a staff absence; sometimes the other side's conveyancer is waiting on their own client.

Start by asking your own conveyancer for a written update. If your firm is the one not responding, use its complaints procedure; every regulated firm must have one. If that does not resolve things, you can usually go to the Legal Ombudsman, and our complaints page explains the route. If the other party's conveyancer has gone quiet, your conveyancer will usually chase them directly and through the agents. Our guide to a buyer's solicitor who stops responding covers the practical steps.

Mortgage lender issues

Lenders have their own requirements, and a property can satisfy a buyer but not a lender. Common triggers include a down-valuation, short lease length, cladding concerns, non-standard construction, a search result such as mining risk, or restrictive covenants the lender wants insured.

Your conveyancer acts for the lender as well as for you in most residential purchases, so they must report certain issues to it. Outcomes range from extra conditions to a reduced loan or, occasionally, the lender withdrawing. Our article on a lender rejecting a property after searches explains what may happen next.

Unusual search results

Some properties carry less common risks, such as chancel repair liability, historic mining or radon. These rarely stop a purchase, but they need explaining. Our page on unusual property searches and what they mean covers each in turn.

How we can help

If you'd like a conveyancer who explains problems in plain English, request a free, no-obligation fixed-fee quote.