New Build Conveyancing Solicitors in England & Wales
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Buying a Home
Purchasing a new build home? Begin the legal process with expert conveyancing.
Why You Need a Specialist New Build Conveyancer
Tens of thousands of new homes are built and sold each year across England and Wales, especially to first time buyers. Buying a new build often means committing before construction has finished and in some cases, before it has even started.
Professional new build conveyancing solicitors will provide expert advice to their clients. Whether you’re a first time buyer or not, it’s important to know that purchasing or selling a newly built property involves specific legal works that need careful consideration.
A specialist new build conveyancer will handle a variety of otherwise potentially obscure legal details on your behalf, and they can keep you informed of any issues that arise while the construction of your property is being finalised.
Unlike other residential transactions, purchasing a new build home often involves buying from a company or a developer rather than the previous homeowner. As such, the purchase can be impacted by a wider variety of potential problems and delays.
Any experienced new build conveyancer will be familiar with all those issues and more, so they should always be able to help you overcome any bumps in the road as you move towards the conclusion of your new build transaction.
What Is New Build Conveyancing?
The Meaning Of 'New Build'
New build conveyancing is the process of transferring legal ownership of a property that has recently been built and not previously lived in. These homes may still be under construction, or being sold off plan, which can complicate the buying process.
Reservation Fees & The Exchange Window
Typically, a buyer will need to agree a deal with a developer and pay a reservation fee to earmark a specific property for a period of 28 days. Those fees vary from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds, generally.
Why Specialist Experience Matters
Specialist knowledge—as provided by your new build conveyancing solicitors—can be particularly valuable in these scenarios, given the scope for extra issues across the duration of the homebuying process.
Not All Solicitors Handle New Builds
It is also the case that not all conveyancing solicitors provide services in relation to new build properties, so it is vital to specify that you need a new build specialist when looking for a firm to instruct.
Common Risks When Buying a New Build Property
Buying a property ‘off plan’ can be appealing because there isn’t an onward chain of transactions to potentially worry about. However, there are other issues that can arise, such as:
- Delays to the construction process
- Snagging work needed post-construction
- Missing or incomplete planning documentation
- Other paperwork problems causing holdups
- Roads not being built on schedule
- Reservation fees being lost
A specialist new build conveyancing solicitor will be able to advise you directly on what steps to take if, for example, your property’s construction is delayed for long enough that it might impact your mortgage offer.
Typically, mortgage offers only remain valid for six months, so extended delays can create uncertainties relevant to your lending arrangements.
Buyers are also able to have an independent pre-completion ‘Snagging Inspection’ carried out to identify any defects within the newly built property. They help to establish whether the building work has been concluded to a suitable standard.
If there are issues left to be resolved at this stage in the process then a new build conveyancing expert can advise on your options.
The New Build Conveyancing Process – Step by Step
1. Instruct A New Build Conveyancing Solicitor
Short timeframes often apply to new build purchases so it’s best to instruct a conveyancer as soon as possible. This can be done before you make an offer as parts of the process can still get underway, such as ID checks and completing initial documentation.
2. Reserve The Property
When you have found a property, you will have to pay a reservation fee to secure it. This is usually non-refundable, but will be deducted from the final price of the property when you come to pay it.
Once reserved, you will likely be given a strict 28-day window to exchange contracts depending on your housing developer.
3. Legal Checks Your New Build Conveyancer Will Carry Out
Developers typically require contracts to be exchanged within 28 days of reserving a property. An experienced new build conveyancing solicitor is key to meeting the deadline. The key legal checks conducted by your conveyancer include:
- Review of Title Deeds
Checking for any restrictive covenants that could prevent you from modifying the property in the future, like an extension or loft conversion. - Conduct Property Searches
Your conveyancer will carry out property searches as part of the legal process.
These may include a local authority search, drainage and water search, and environmental search to confirm that the property and surrounding land do not present any legal or environmental issues. - Planning Permission and Building Regulations
Your conveyancer will verify that the development has the correct planning permission and that the construction complies with building regulations approval. - Road and Sewer Checks
To confirm if all roads and drains/sewers leading to the property have been suitably adopted. - Confirm Property Tenure
Determine whether it is freehold or leasehold. Since the leasehold reform, new build homes are most likely to be freehold, but if it is leasehold, your solicitor will run additional legal checks for any additional charges. - Check Estate Management Charges
Many new housing developments include shared spaces such as roads, green areas or drainage systems that are maintained by a management company.
Your conveyancer will check whether the property is subject to any estate management or service charges and ensure you understand any ongoing costs before you exchange contracts.
4. Arrange A Snagging Survey
A Snagging Survey is carried out by a surveyor for the purpose of identifying issues in the build. These ‘snags’ are typically surface level imperfections such as paint splashes on carpets or marks on walls, but more serious issues can also be uncovered.
Once you receive your snagging list from your independent surveyor, give it to your developer to rectify the issues. Snagging surveys can be completed prior to completion if your developer allows.
If it’s not possible to conduct before completion, it is recommended to arrange one as soon as possible after you move in.
Top Tip: Check the warranty details from your developer as soon as you receive the paperwork.
Many new builds are covered by structural warranty schemes, such as the 10-year warranty provided by the National House Building Council (NHBC), or similar from LABC Warranty, and Premier Guarantee, which protect buyers against structural defects.
5. Exchange Contracts
Next, contracts are exchanged with the developer and a deposit will be paid. This can be as low as 5% of the purchase price but it can vary. Once contracts are exchanged, you become legally obligated to purchase the property.
If you are purchasing with a loan from a mortgage lender, they will have arranged for a valuation to be conducted to determine the value of the property before contracts can be exchanged.
If the property you have agreed to buy is not yet built by the time you exchange contracts, ‘completion on notice’ will be offered by the developer’s solicitor.
Essentially, this means a completion date cannot be confirmed, which is different to purchasing an older property where a fixed completion date is agreed when contracts are exchanged.
Completion on notice means you will usually get a 10 day period to prepare for your moving day once a date has been agreed.
6. Completion
On completion, you will pay the remainder of the final balance due and receive your keys ready to move in.
Top Tip: The Chartered Trading Standards Institute outlines in The Consumer Code For New Homes that buyers can pull out of the transaction if the completion date is delayed by six months or more, while still being entitled to a full refund.
While a delay of this length is not typical and would usually apply to builds that have not yet started, this can give you peace of mind.
New Build Conveyancing FAQs
Buying a new build property can take less time than a standard conveyancing process as developers are often eager to conclude a sale quickly. This is why they often issue a strict 28 day window for contracts to be exchanged.
However, off plan property deals can take longer if there are holdups either with the construction efforts or the associated paperwork.
Timeframes for deals being done vary, but can be improved if buyers are being guided by expert new build conveyancing solicitors.
New build purchases often involve additional legal checks, such as reviewing planning permissions, building regulations, warranties, and developer contracts.
This means an extra new build conveyancing fee is required on top of a standard conveyancing quote. Home Legal Direct includes a New Build supplement in our quotes to allow for the additional works involved.
The instructed conveyancing or solicitor firm can subsequently advise if any or more fees are applicable to a specified transaction once they have received all the necessary paperwork.
Using a solicitor with specific experience in new build conveyancing is strongly recommended.
Due to tight deadlines and additional paperwork, a specialist conveyancer or solicitor can spot potential issues early, explain your obligations clearly, and help keep your purchase on track – particularly when buying off plan.
A ‘Snagging List’ is a report by an independent surveyor for the purpose of identifying any defects in the build of the property.
Common defects tend to be surface level, such as paint splatters on the carpet, but more serious issues can also by uncovered.
Completion on notice is common applies when buying a property that may still be under construction when contracts are exchanged.
The developer will serve a notice once the property is finished. This gives the buyer a short period of time, often around 10 working days, to complete the purchase and receive the keys.
No. Buyers are free to choose their own conveyancing solicitor when purchasing a new build property.
While developers sometimes recommend firms they regularly work with, using an independent conveyancer ensures that your solicitor is acting solely in your interests throughout the transaction.
If you feel you are being pressured, chances are that the developer will receive a commission for any referrals they make to the solicitor firm.
It is extremely likely that you will require searches if you are buying a new build home.
Typically, your mortgage lender will require standard searches like a Local Authority Search, a Drainage and Water Search, and an Environmental Search as conditions of the loan.
Additional property searches may also be required due to the location of the property. These include but are not limited to a Coal Mining Search, a Flood Search, and a Chancel Check.
Reasons to choose Home Legal Direct
- Get great savings, unbeatable value and flexibility by instructing a conveyancer through Home Legal Direct
- If your property transaction falls through, fees paid to Home Legal Direct will be held for use on your new transaction
- Home Legal Direct’s client support team is available to assist throughout the process
- Complete your ID and AML checks quickly and easily online
- Searches and surveys arranged through Home Legal Direct for your convenience
- All major lenders are covered and changing between firms is at no extra cost
Why Choose Us for New Build Conveyancing
Due to the nature of new build transactions, it is essential to have outstanding conveyancing solicitors working on your behalf. We can connect you directly with the best conveyancing or property solicitor firm available for your transaction.
By choosing Home Legal Direct, you get access to tailored new build conveyancing quotes in a matter of seconds. Plus, our own dedicated team are always on hand to answer your questions and provide any support you might need.