Residential purchase checklist for conveyancers: instruction to Land Registry registration

A residential purchase passes through the same office steps every time, and the ones that cost money when missed are rarely the legal ones: a retainer with no cancellation notice, a Land Registry fee quoted from the wrong column, a requisition warning sent to someone who has left. This list follows one purchase in England or Wales from the instruction to the registered title. It covers the firm's own file, money and registration steps and leaves the legal work on the title to the fee earner. It is written for a conveyancer, a paralegal or the person who opens and closes files. Use one list for each purchase.

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Residential purchase checklist for conveyancers

Tick each step as it is done. The ticks are kept in this browser only, so you can come back to the list; nothing is sent anywhere.

Instruction and opening the file

Check the firm's residential conveyancing price page is live before taking the instruction Send the client care letter, with the costs, who does the work and how to complain Retainer agreed by email, phone or online: include the cancellation notice and the model form Verify the client's identity and complete the client and matter risk assessment on the file Politically exposed person or high-risk third country: get senior management approval and record it Run the conflict check on the client, the other party and the property, and record the result Send the source of funds questions with the client care letter, not when the money is due Tell the client how long a purchase takes and which day their update will arrive Quote the Land Registry fee from the right column: whole title, or new lease, part or first registration

From the contract pack to exchange

Give the file a stage and a holder, and chase the other side on two fixed days a week Send the client an update on the fixed day, including when nothing has changed Order official copies of the register, the title plan and each document the register refers to Check the register for a restriction that needs a consent or certificate, and ask for it now Read the source of funds evidence and write the file note before any money is accepted Gifted deposit: get a signed letter from the donor and check the donor's own source of funds

Exchange to completion

Check the names in the transfer and the mortgage deed match each other and the register Check every signature on the transfer and the mortgage deed was separately witnessed Make the official search with priority, and note the day its 30 working days end Show the registration fee and the copies and searches as separate lines on the completion statement When the money arrives, compare the payer and the amount with the source of funds note

After completion: the tax return and registration

Send the land tax return and pay the tax: within 14 days in England, 30 days in Wales Keep the land transaction return certificate to lodge with the application Lodge the transfer and the mortgage together, through the portal Work out the fee on the price including any VAT, and check the scale before you pay Give an email address on the application that someone will still be reading in three months

Requisitions and closing the file

Log any requisition the day it arrives, with its day 40 date and its cancellation date Need more time: ask in writing with the reason, the proof of chasing and a date for the full reply Send the final bill and return any balance left in client account on the same day Keep the due diligence documents and records for five years from the end of the matter

Copy what is left Print the list Clear the ticks

A working list, not a certificate and not advice: the rule behind each step, with its source, is set out below. Regulated work: a supervising solicitor reviews every draft before it reaches a client, and the firm stays accountable for it (SRA Code 3.5; SRA warning notice on AI, 17 August 2026). The AI assistant drafts, checks and files; it does not advise.

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Instruction and opening the file

Check the firm's residential conveyancing price page is live before taking the instruction. Residential conveyancing is on the SRA's list of services that need published price information: the total cost or a range, the basis of charging, disbursements, VAT, what is included, key stages and timescales, and who does the work. Source: SRA Transparency Rules, edition in force from 11 April 2025. The working is in SRA transparency rules.

Send the client care letter, with the costs, who does the work and how to complain. The letter gives the best possible information about the overall cost and how it is calculated, what is and is not included, who does the work and who supervises, and the complaints procedure with the Legal Ombudsman's details and time limits. Source: SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.3 to 8.7. The working is in Client care letter and file-opening checklist.

Retainer agreed by email, phone or online: include the cancellation notice and the model form. An individual who agrees the retainer at a distance has 14 days to cancel. Without the notice the period runs for up to a year and a day, and work started inside the 14 days without the client's express written request may not be chargeable. Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 29 to 36. The working is in Client care letter and file-opening checklist.

Verify the client's identity and complete the client and matter risk assessment on the file. In a desk-based review the SRA chooses 10 to 12 files and looks on each for identity verified and recorded and a completed client and matter risk assessment. Of 833 firms rated after its proactive work, 270 (32%) were not compliant. Source: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 28; DG Legal on SRA desk-based reviews, 9 September 2026. The working is in SRA AML desk-based review.

Politically exposed person or high-risk third country: get senior management approval and record it. Enhanced due diligence then applies: senior management approval, source of wealth and source of funds established, and enhanced ongoing monitoring, all recorded on the file. Source: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulations 33 and 35. The working is in Client care letter and file-opening checklist.

Run the conflict check on the client, the other party and the property, and record the result. The conflict check is the seventh of the checks our file-opening guide lists for a purchase before chargeable work starts, and it is run and recorded against all three: the client, the other party and the property. Source: our file-opening checklist for a new matter. The working is in Client care letter and file-opening checklist.

Send the source of funds questions with the client care letter, not when the money is due. The SRA lists checks done on the day funds are expected as poor practice. Of the 5,026 files it read that needed a source of funds check, 648 (11%) had none. Source: SRA thematic review of source of funds and wealth compliance, 5 November 2025. The working is in Source of funds checks for solicitors.

Tell the client how long a purchase takes and which day their update will arrive. The average purchase now takes about 17 weeks, roughly double what clients expect. The client care letter is the place to say so, and to say what the update rhythm will be. Source: Legal Ombudsman figures via the Law Gazette, 2 April 2026. The working is in Conveyancers spend 43% of the day chasing.

Quote the Land Registry fee from the right column: whole title, or new lease, part or first registration. For a price of £200,001 to £500,000 the fee is £150 for a transfer of the whole of a registered title lodged through the portal, and £330 for a new lease, a transfer of part, a first registration or anything sent by post. The wrong column leaves the firm £180 short. Source: GOV.UK, HM Land Registry: Registration Services fees, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Land Registry fees in 2026.

From the contract pack to exchange

Give the file a stage and a holder, and chase the other side on two fixed days a week. A survey of 100 conveyancers found 43% of the working day going on chasing other parties or being chased by clients. Chasing every waiting file in one block, with each chase logged on the file in one line, replaces dozens of interruptions. Source: Landmark Information Group survey, October 2024, via Legal Futures. The working is in Conveyancers spend 43% of the day chasing.

Send the client an update on the fixed day, including when nothing has changed. The Legal Ombudsman took 647 residential conveyancing complaints in the third quarter of 2025/26, 36% of everything it handled, and its advice to firms was short, predictable updates even when there is nothing new. Source: Legal Ombudsman figures and advice via the Law Gazette, 2 April 2026. The working is in Conveyancing client update email template.

Order official copies of the register, the title plan and each document the register refers to. Each official copy costs £7 through the portal and £11 by post, charged for each item: the register, the title plan and any document such as a lease or transfer. The fees changed on 9 December 2024. Source: GOV.UK, HM Land Registry: Information Services fees, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Land Registry fees in 2026.

Check the register for a restriction that needs a consent or certificate, and ask for it now. A restriction whose consent or certificate was not lodged is one of the requisitions HM Land Registry says it sees most. Management company restrictions on flats and estates are the usual case. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 50, updated 16 March 2026. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Read the source of funds evidence and write the file note before any money is accepted. On 18% of the files the SRA read, the evidence had not been adequately scrutinised. The SRA says a statement proving the money exists is not enough; the note records each source, what the evidence shows and whether it matches the client's account. Source: SRA thematic review, 5 November 2025; SRA anti-money laundering questions and answers. The working is in Source of funds checks for solicitors.

Gifted deposit: get a signed letter from the donor and check the donor's own source of funds. For a gift from a third party the SRA lists a signed letter or deed of gift from the donor, and the donor's own source of funds, checked as the client's would be. Source: SRA anti-money laundering questions and answers, updated 28 January 2026. The working is in Source of funds checks for solicitors.

Exchange to completion

Check the names in the transfer and the mortgage deed match each other and the register. Names that differ between the transfer and the charge lodged with it, and names in the deeds that do not match the register with no evidence of the change, are two of the requisitions HM Land Registry sees most. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 50, updated 16 March 2026. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Check every signature on the transfer and the mortgage deed was separately witnessed. A signature that was not separately witnessed is on HM Land Registry's list of the requisitions it sees most on ordinary residential files, and a requisition starts a 60 working day clock on the application. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 50, updated 16 March 2026. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Make the official search with priority, and note the day its 30 working days end. Priority under an official search ends at midnight on the 30th working day after the search application was received. An application takes its priority from the time it is entered on the day list, so one lodged late ranks behind anything entered in the meantime. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 12, updated 28 July 2025. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Show the registration fee and the copies and searches as separate lines on the completion statement. For a £285,000 registered freehold lodged through the portal the Land Registry lines are £7 for the register, £7 for the title plan, £7 for the priority search and £150 to register: £171, and each referred document adds £7. Source: GOV.UK, HM Land Registry fees pages, read 1 October 2026; our arithmetic. The working is in Land Registry fees in 2026.

When the money arrives, compare the payer and the amount with the source of funds note. On 8% of the files the SRA read, the money on the ledger did not match the evidence. If the funding changes before completion, the note records what changed, the explanation and whether the risk rating changed. Source: SRA thematic review of source of funds and wealth compliance, 5 November 2025. The working is in Source of funds checks for solicitors.

After completion: the tax return and registration

Send the land tax return and pay the tax: within 14 days in England, 30 days in Wales. GOV.UK says the Stamp Duty Land Tax return must be sent and the tax paid within 14 days of completion, with penalties and interest after that. For land in Wales, GOV.WALES says the Land Transaction Tax return and payment are due within 30 days of the day after completion. Source: GOV.UK, Stamp Duty Land Tax: how and when to pay; GOV.WALES, Land Transaction Tax: overview; both read 1 October 2026.

Keep the land transaction return certificate to lodge with the application. An application with no land transaction return certificate, and no explanation of why none is needed, is one of the requisitions HM Land Registry sees most. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 50, updated 16 March 2026. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Lodge the transfer and the mortgage together, through the portal. A mortgage lodged with the transfer costs nothing extra. Sent in after the transfer has been registered it is a new application with its own Scale 2 fee: £30 through the portal in GOV.UK's example of a £150,000 mortgage. Source: GOV.UK, HM Land Registry: Registration Services fees, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Land Registry fees in 2026.

Work out the fee on the price including any VAT, and check the scale before you pay. The Scale 1 fee is set by the price including any VAT on it, and where part of the land is unregistered two fees are due. A missing or underpaid fee is on HM Land Registry's own list of avoidable requisitions. Source: GOV.UK, HM Land Registry: Registration Services fees, read 1 October 2026. The working is in Land Registry fees in 2026.

Give an email address on the application that someone will still be reading in three months. HM Land Registry writes to the email address given when the application was submitted. When a fee earner leaves, the day 40 warning of cancellation goes to an inbox nobody reads unless a new address is given on every pending application. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 50, updated 16 March 2026. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Requisitions and closing the file

Log any requisition the day it arrives, with its day 40 date and its cancellation date. HM Land Registry allows 60 working days to reply in full to most requisitions and sends a warning of cancellation after 40. For a requisition dated 5 October 2026 those points fall on 30 December 2026 and 30 November 2026. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 50; Land Registration Rules 2003, rule 16. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Need more time: ask in writing with the reason, the proof of chasing and a date for the full reply. An extension request must state the reason for the delay, show the matter is being actively pursued where a third party is the cause, and give a timescale. The normal extension is 20 working days; the person dealing with it being away is normally refused. Source: HM Land Registry practice guide 50, updated 16 March 2026. The working is in How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes.

Send the final bill and return any balance left in client account on the same day. Client money must go back to the client promptly once there is no reason to hold it. Sending the bill and the balance together is our suggestion, not an SRA rule; an untraceable balance over £500 cannot leave client account without the SRA's written authority. Source: SRA Accounts Rules 2.5 and 5.1(c). The working is in Residual client balances under the SRA Accounts Rules.

Keep the due diligence documents and records for five years from the end of the matter. Regulation 40 requires the due diligence documents and supporting records to be kept for five years from the end of the matter or relationship, and regulation 28(16) requires the firm to be able to show the SRA that what it did suited the risk. Source: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulations 28(16) and 40. The working is in Source of funds checks for solicitors.

How to use the list

Keep the finished list on the matter, dated, when the file is closed. If a step did not apply, such as the enhanced checks on a client who is not a politically exposed person, tick it and move on: the point is that somebody decided. If HM Land Registry raises a requisition or the SRA samples the file, the list shows what was checked and when. Clear the ticks before the next purchase; they are stored in this browser only.

A ticked list is a record that the steps were done, not proof that each was done properly. The list covers the points our guides and the official pages named above set out; it is not every duty a firm has. A supervising solicitor reviews and signs anything a tool drafts, and this page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft sets up AI assistants for solicitors: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not tick off any of these steps for you, and you can do every one without them.