Property law, online
Property law guidance for England and Wales, in plain English. Describe your situation, read the guides, or tell us what you need.
Guides
Plain-English property law guidance
Sources
Official forms and sources linked
Tell us what you need, we reply by email
E&W
England & Wales only
The difference
Comparison sites are introducers. They take your details, pass them to a firm on their panel and take a commission. You then deal with a stranger, at a price that moves. We explain the process in plain English first, so you know what to ask.
The usual route
With Property Law Online
Whatever stage you have reached, our guides explain what happens next in England and Wales.
Buying, selling, remortgaging and transferring property, explained step by step.
All 14 conveyancing servicesOfficial copies of registered property information, and what they show.
More on property documentsEvery Land Registry form explained, panel by panel.
The property searches a buyer or lender needs, and what the results mean.
All 6 searches servicesThe family home after a death: the sale, the assent and the register. We do not obtain grants or administer estates.
More on probateThe smaller pieces of work that sit around a property matter.
More on support servicesNot sure which applies to you? Describe your situation instead
How it works
Property transactions go wrong for one reason above all others: nobody can see what is happening. We designed ours the other way round.
Speak to our assistant in plain English, or choose a service directly. We identify the correct legal route, explain it without jargon, and set out your fixed fee before you commit to anything.
Once we open, our team will carry out the title work, drafting, searches, correspondence and registrations. Anything we need from you is requested clearly, once.
We tell you as each stage is done and what we are waiting for. Contact us by email at any time.
Land tax return filed, Land Registry updated, and your completion documents sent to you, so the paperwork is there in ten years, not lost in an inbox.
Where do I start?
You don't need to know whether you need a TR1, a Section 42 notice or a first registration. Tell us what has happened, in your own words.
Three of the things owners most often discover too late.
XIILeasehold
Once a lease falls below 80 years, "marriage value" is added to the premium you must pay to extend it, often adding thousands overnight. Lenders also grow reluctant below roughly 70 years, which can make a flat difficult to sell. If your lease is in the low 80s, acting this year rather than next is usually the cheapest decision you will make.
Discuss my situationXIIIOwnership
A transfer of equity looks simple, but if there is a mortgage the lender must consent, and Stamp Duty Land Tax (or Land Transaction Tax in Wales) can become payable where the person joining takes on a share of the debt. Getting the order of those steps wrong is what causes transfers to stall at the Land Registry for months.
Discuss my situationXIVProbate
Before a property can be sold or transferred, the estate normally needs a grant of probate; the personal representatives sell on the strength of the grant, and the title does not need to be put into their names first. Buyers can be lined up long before that is possible, so understanding the sequence early prevents a sale collapsing later.
Discuss my situationCommon questions
Next step
No obligation, no card details, and everything agreed in writing before any work begins.
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