Property transactions rarely proceed as smoothly as buyers and sellers hope. Whilst you might anticipate completing within 8-12 weeks, the reality is that conveyancing delays affect the majority of property transactions in the UK. Understanding why these delays occur and how to manage them effectively can mean the difference between a transaction that eventually completes and one that collapses entirely, costing you thousands in wasted fees and potentially losing your dream home.
Working with an expert property conveyancer helps, but even the most efficient conveyancing service cannot eliminate every delay. Here’s how to navigate the most common obstacles and keep your transaction moving forward.
Understanding Common Causes of Delay
Before you can effectively manage delays, you need to understand their root causes. Many buyers and sellers blame their conveyancing service when delays often originate elsewhere in the chain. Local authority searches, which your conveyancer orders early in the process, can take anywhere from 48 hours to several weeks depending on the council’s workload. Some councils are notoriously slow, and there’s little your expert property conveyancer can do to expedite them beyond persistent chasing.
Mortgage lender delays frequently hold up transactions. Your mortgage offer might take weeks to arrive, or lenders may request additional documentation or revaluations that add time to the process.
Property chains amplify these issues—when one buyer in a chain of five transactions experiences mortgage delays, everyone waits.
Missing documentation causes substantial delays. Sellers who cannot locate building regulation certificates for extensions, guarantees for replacement windows, or share certificates for leasehold management companies create problems that take weeks to resolve. Sometimes buyers discover these issues only when their conveyancer raises enquiries, meaning delays surface well into the transaction when everyone assumed smooth progress.
Title defects discovered during the legal examination can range from minor administrative issues to serious problems requiring extensive work. Boundary disputes, missing consents, or errors in property descriptions all need resolution before completion. Your expert property conveyancer will identify these issues, but fixing them involves parties outside your transaction who may not share your urgency.
Proactive Steps to Minimise Delays
The best approach to handling delays is preventing them wherever possible. Choose your conveyancing service carefully at the outset. Whilst cost matters, the cheapest provider often proves the most expensive when poor communication and slow responses extend your transaction by months. An expert property conveyancer with strong local knowledge, efficient processes, and proactive communication typically delivers faster completions despite potentially higher fees.
Get your finances arranged early. Obtain your mortgage agreement in principle before making offers, and respond immediately when your lender requests additional documents. Have your deposit funds readily accessible in an account from which they can be transferred quickly. Money held in fixed-term bonds or requiring multiple signatories takes time to access when you need it urgently.
If you’re selling, gather documentation before your property goes on the market. Locate your title deeds if you hold them, building regulation certificates, guarantees, leasehold documents, and any planning permissions. When your conveyancer requests these, you can provide them immediately rather than spending weeks searching or obtaining replacements.
For chain transactions, encourage everyone involved to use efficient legal representation. Chains often move at the pace of the slowest conveyancer. If possible, exchange phone numbers with other buyers and sellers in your chain to maintain communication. Whilst your solicitor handles legal matters, sometimes a friendly conversation between parties can maintain goodwill and momentum when frustrations build.
Effective Communication with Your Conveyancer
Many delays worsen because of poor communication. Your expert property conveyancer manages numerous transactions simultaneously, and squeaky wheels do get attention. Regular, polite contact keeps your transaction at the forefront of their mind without becoming a nuisance.
Establish clear communication expectations at the outset. Ask how frequently you’ll receive updates and through which channels—phone, email, or client portals. Some conveyancing services provide online tracking where you can monitor progress without constantly calling. Understand that whilst daily updates might seem ideal, your conveyancer’s time is better spent progressing your transaction than providing updates when nothing has changed.
When delays occur, ask specific questions. Rather than “Why is this taking so long?”, ask “What specifically are we waiting for, who’s responsible for providing it, and what can I do to help?” This approach yields actionable information. Perhaps the delay stems from awaiting your mortgage offer, in which case you can chase your lender. Or maybe it’s local authority searches, in which case you’ll know chasing your conveyancer won’t help.
If you’re genuinely concerned about your conveyancer’s performance, speak with the supervising partner or manager. Reputable firms want satisfied clients and will address legitimate concerns. However, distinguish between reasonable delays caused by external factors and genuine service failures. Your expert property conveyancer should explain delays clearly and demonstrate they’re actively working to resolve issues.
Managing Chain-Related Delays
Property chains create interdependence where everyone moves together or nobody moves at all. When delays occur in chains, communication between all parties becomes crucial. Your conveyancer should maintain contact with other solicitors in the chain, but you can help by staying informed about progress throughout.
If one party in your chain experiences delays, explore whether the rest of the chain can exchange contracts conditionally or proceed in stages. Sometimes creative solutions exist, though they require cooperation from all parties and their lenders. For instance, if a buyer at the bottom of the chain faces mortgage delays, those higher up might consider temporary bridging finance to maintain momentum.
Be prepared to show flexibility on completion dates. Rigid insistence on your preferred date can cause entire chains to collapse when one party cannot accommodate it. If someone in your chain needs an extra two weeks, consider whether accommodating them is preferable to losing the transaction entirely and starting again.
However, also recognise when it’s time to walk away. If delays extend indefinitely without resolution, or if it becomes clear a party isn’t genuinely committed to completing, protecting yourself by withdrawing might be necessary. This is particularly true if you’ve incurred significant costs in temporary accommodation or storage, or if you’re at risk of losing a subsequent purchase because your sale won’t complete.
Dealing with Search Delays
Local authority searches are notorious bottlenecks. Whilst you cannot directly expedite these, you have options for managing the delay. Some councils offer premium search services for additional fees, reducing turnaround from weeks to days. If you’re in a competitive situation or facing time pressure, this expense might prove worthwhile.
Personal search companies provide faster alternatives to local authority searches by physically visiting council offices to extract information. These searches return within days rather than weeks, though not all lenders accept them. Your expert property conveyancer can advise whether this option suits your circumstances.
Search indemnity insurance offers another solution. Rather than waiting for searches, you proceed with indemnity cover that protects you if issues emerge. This works well for low-risk properties but isn’t suitable for all situations. Your lender must approve this approach, and it doesn’t provide the actual information searches would reveal—it simply insures you against problems.
Addressing Documentation Issues
When sellers cannot provide required documentation, several solutions exist depending on what’s missing. For lost building regulation certificates, your conveyancer can apply to the local authority for confirmation that work received approval, though this process takes several weeks and isn’t always successful if records aren’t retained.
Indemnity insurance covers various missing documents and potential defects. If a seller cannot prove planning permission for a conservatory added 20 years ago, indemnity insurance protects you if the council later takes enforcement action. These policies are relatively inexpensive—typically £50-200—but must be purchased before exchange and cannot cover known enforcement issues.
Some missing documentation is non-negotiable. Leasehold properties require share certificates and deed packs. Houses with septic tanks need discharge consent. When sellers cannot provide essential documents, you must decide whether to wait while they’re obtained, accept increased risk with appropriate price reduction, or withdraw from the transaction.
Managing Your Own Expectations and Stress
Conveyancing delays are frustrating, but managing your emotional response helps you make better decisions. Avoid making major commitments based on assumed completion dates. Don’t give notice on rental properties, book removals, or arrange simultaneous purchases until you’ve exchanged contracts. Prior to exchange, either party can withdraw without penalty, making any assumed completion date essentially meaningless.
Build buffer time into your plans. If you need to complete by a specific date for work or school reasons, start your transaction with enough time that normal delays won’t create crises. Treating the average 12-week conveyancing timeline as optimistic rather than guaranteed helps you avoid panic when reality takes longer.
Stay focused on the end goal. When delays frustrate you, remember why you’re buying or selling. Keeping perspective helps you respond to setbacks constructively rather than emotionally. Properties rarely come on the market twice—if you withdraw in frustration over delays, you’ll likely never get another chance at that particular home.
Knowing When to Escalate or Walk Away
Despite your best efforts, some delays signal deeper problems. If your conveyancing service consistently fails to respond to communications, misses deadlines they’ve set, or cannot explain what’s happening in your transaction, escalate within their firm or consider switching conveyancers. Whilst changing solicitors mid-transaction creates its own delays, continuing with inadequate representation proves more costly long-term.
Similarly, if delays stem from other parties acting in bad faith—sellers who keep changing requirements, buyers who cannot actually secure financing, or chain members who aren’t genuinely committed—protecting yourself by withdrawing might be necessary. Your expert property conveyancer can help you assess whether delays reflect normal complications or indicate you should cut your losses.
The conveyancing process tests everyone’s patience, but understanding why delays occur and how to manage them effectively transforms frustration into productive action. With realistic expectations, proactive communication, and support from a quality conveyancing service, most transactions eventually complete successfully despite the inevitable bumps along the way.
