No Sale No Fee Conveyancing

No sale no fee conveyancing is a pricing arrangement where your solicitor or licensed conveyancer waives their legal fees if your property transaction falls through before completion. You only pay the solicitor's professional fee when the sale or purchase successfully completes.

This arrangement is sometimes called "no move no fee" or "no completion no fee" conveyancing. Under a conditional fee agreement, the conveyancer agrees to absorb the cost of work already done if the deal collapses for any reason outside your control, such as a broken chain, failed mortgage application, or the other party withdrawing.

Around 30% of property transactions in England and Wales fall through before reaching exchange of contracts. For sellers and buyers who have already experienced a collapsed sale, or first-time buyers anxious about losing money on a failed purchase, no sale no fee conveyancing offers financial protection against that risk.

The arrangement differs from standard fixed-fee conveyancing in one key way. With a standard fixed fee, you pay the agreed conveyancing fees regardless of whether the transaction completes. With no sale no fee, you pay nothing to the solicitor if the deal falls apart, though you will still be liable for third-party costs like property searches and Land Registry fees.

Most no sale no fee conveyancing solicitors require an upfront deposit, typically between £160 and £300, which is deducted from your final bill at completion. This deposit covers initial administrative costs and acts as a commitment from you. If the transaction fails, the deposit is usually refunded, though individual firm policies vary.

The most common source of confusion with no sale no fee conveyancing is understanding exactly which costs are waived if your transaction collapses and which you still have to pay.

The "no fee" element applies to the solicitor's or conveyancer's own professional charges for the legal work they carry out. This includes reviewing the contract, raising enquiries with the seller's solicitor, liaising with your mortgage lender, and managing the transfer of ownership.

However, third-party disbursements are almost never covered by the guarantee. These are costs your solicitor pays to external organisations on your behalf during the conveyancing process. If your transaction falls through, you will typically still owe these amounts because the services have already been provided by those third parties.

Before you instruct a no sale no fee conveyancing solicitor, ask for a complete breakdown of which costs are covered and which are excluded from the guarantee. Some firms absorb the cost of basic searches if the transaction fails, while others pass every third-party cost back to you. The difference can amount to several hundred pounds.

The table below breaks down the costs that are typically waived under a no sale no fee arrangement and those that remain your responsibility. Check these against the specific terms of any quote you receive, as firm policies differ.

The financial case for no sale no fee conveyancing depends entirely on whether your transaction completes. When it does, you typically pay more than you would under a standard fixed-fee arrangement. When it fails, you save the full solicitor's fee.

The worked example below is based on a typical £250,000 freehold property purchase. Under fixed-fee conveyancing, you might pay a legal fee of £850 plus VAT (£1,020). Under no sale no fee, the legal fee is typically higher, around £1,000 plus VAT (£1,200), reflecting the risk premium the solicitor absorbs.

If the sale completes, the no sale no fee buyer pays roughly £180 more than the fixed-fee buyer. If the sale collapses, the fixed-fee buyer loses the full £1,020 legal fee plus disbursements of around £300 to £500, while the no sale no fee buyer loses only the disbursements and may receive a deposit refund.

For a buyer who completes on their first attempt, fixed-fee conveyancing is cheaper. For a buyer whose first transaction falls through before succeeding on a second attempt, no sale no fee can save £700 to £1,000 overall. Use a conveyancing calculator to estimate your total costs under each pricing model.

The table below compares both scenarios side by side for a £250,000 purchase.

No sale no fee conveyancing offers clear advantages for buyers and sellers worried about losing money on a failed transaction, but the arrangement comes with trade-offs you should weigh before committing.

Advantages

• Financial protection: if your sale or purchase falls through, you avoid paying the solicitor's legal fee, which typically ranges from £800 to £1,500 plus VAT depending on the property value and complexity.
• Reduced pressure: you are less likely to feel pushed into completing a transaction you have doubts about simply because you have already invested in legal costs.
• Aligned incentives: your solicitor has a financial motivation to move the transaction through to completion efficiently, since they only get paid when the deal completes.
• Peace of mind in uncertain markets: when property chains are long or the market is volatile, knowing your legal fee is protected can reduce stress during what is already a high-pressure process.

Disadvantages

• Higher headline fee: the legal fee under a no sale no fee arrangement is almost always 10% to 25% higher than a standard fixed fee to account for the solicitor's risk.
• Disbursements still payable: third-party costs such as property searches, Land Registry fees, and bank transfer fees remain your responsibility even if the transaction collapses.
• Second-transaction liability: some firms apply the guarantee only to the first transaction. If it fails and you instruct the same solicitor for a second property, you may face partial fee liability or lose your deposit.
• Less common with specialist work: if your transaction involves leasehold property or complex title issues, fewer firms may offer the no sale no fee option.

Not every no sale no fee conveyancing solicitor offers the same level of protection. The terms of the guarantee vary significantly between firms, and the small print can contain exclusions that reduce the value of the arrangement. Use this checklist when comparing no sale no fee conveyancing solicitors.

• Deposit amount and refund terms: confirm the upfront deposit figure and whether it is fully refunded if the transaction fails, or retained by the firm as an administration charge.
• Disbursement exclusions: ask for a complete list of third-party costs excluded from the guarantee. Check whether local authority searches, environmental searches, and bank transfer fees are covered or passed on to you.
• Second-transaction liability: find out what happens if your first transaction collapses and you instruct the firm for a new property. Will you pay a fresh deposit, or is the original deposit carried forward with no additional cost?
• Success fees or uplifts: some firms build a success premium into the completion fee. Ask whether the quoted fee increases if the transaction is more complex than initially estimated.
• Chain transaction rules: if you are buying and selling simultaneously, check whether the guarantee covers both transactions or only one. This detail is frequently buried in the terms and conditions.
• Regulatory status: verify that the firm is registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. You can search the SRA or CLC registers online to confirm this.
• Communication and case tracking: ask whether you will have a named case handler and access to an online portal for tracking progress. Understanding the conveyancing process will help you hold your solicitor accountable throughout.
• Cancellation terms: check whether you can switch solicitor mid-transaction without forfeiting your deposit or incurring a cancellation fee. Some firms charge a withdrawal fee if you leave before completion.

Property chains add complexity to any conveyancing arrangement, and no sale no fee is no exception. When you are buying and selling simultaneously, the guarantee may not cover both transactions equally.

Most no sale no fee conveyancing solicitors treat your sale and purchase as separate instructions. If your purchase collapses because the chain breaks further up, the guarantee protects you from the legal fee on that purchase. But if your sale was also being handled by the same firm, and it falls through as a direct consequence of the chain collapse, you need to confirm whether the guarantee extends to both transactions.

Some firms offer a bundled no move no fee package for linked sale and purchase transactions. Others apply the guarantee only to the transaction that failed first, leaving you liable for the legal fee on the second. The difference could cost you £800 to £1,200 if you are not careful.

The risk is particularly relevant when you are in a long chain. Chains of four or more properties are significantly more likely to collapse than shorter chains or chain-free transactions. If you are in this position, the protection offered by no sale no fee conveyancing becomes more valuable, but only if the terms genuinely cover both sides of your move.

Ask your solicitor to confirm in writing how the guarantee applies to linked transactions before you instruct them. Understanding the risks of gazumping and gazundering can also help you assess how much protection you need when selling alongside a purchase.

No sale no fee conveyancing is most commonly offered by online conveyancing firms and solicitor panels managed by comparison websites or estate agent referral networks. High-street solicitors occasionally offer the arrangement, but it is less common because smaller firms are less able to absorb the cost of failed transactions across their caseload.

Online conveyancers handle higher volumes of cases, which allows them to spread the risk of collapsed transactions more effectively. The trade-off is that you may have less face-to-face contact with your solicitor, though most online firms offer phone, email, and portal-based communication.

When comparing no sale no fee conveyancing solicitors, look beyond the headline guarantee. A firm offering no completion no fee with a £300 non-refundable deposit and full disbursement liability provides less protection than one charging a £200 refundable deposit with some search costs included in the guarantee.

The choice between a licensed conveyancer and a solicitor does not directly affect whether no sale no fee is available. Both can offer conditional fee arrangements, provided their professional indemnity insurance covers the risk. What matters more is the specific terms of the guarantee and the firm's track record with completed transactions.

If you are looking for cheap conveyancing, remember that the lowest headline quote is not always the best value once you factor in the risk of a failed transaction and the cost of starting over with a new solicitor.