What Your Solicitor Checks and What They May Not

Your conveyancing solicitor performs essential legal checks when you buy a house. However, many buyers assume their solicitor checks the building’s condition, value, boundaries and every possible risk. That is not normally the case.

A solicitor or licensed conveyancer investigates the legal ownership, contract, title, searches and transaction paperwork. A surveyor investigates the property’s physical condition.

Simple answer: Your solicitor checks whether you can legally buy, own, mortgage and use the property as intended. They do not normally visit the property, inspect its structure or confirm that everything inside it works.

This article mainly covers conveyancing in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different legal processes and property documents.


Solicitor Checks vs Property Checks

Your solicitor normally checks Your solicitor may not check
Legal ownership and title Structural condition
Rights, restrictions and covenants Whether the agreed price is reasonable
Contract and seller’s legal forms Whether the roof, boiler or electrics work
Local authority, drainage and environmental searches Hidden defects behind walls or floors
Mortgage lender’s legal requirements The exact physical position of every boundary
Leasehold or estate management documents Every future development in the surrounding area

The exact work depends on the property, your mortgage lender and the service included in your solicitor’s engagement letter.


1. Your Identity and Source of Funds

Before beginning the legal work, your conveyancer will complete identity and anti-money laundering checks.

You may be asked to provide:

  • Proof of identity and address
  • Bank statements
  • Evidence of savings
  • Proof of property sale proceeds
  • Gifted deposit documents
  • Inheritance or investment records
  • Information explaining unusual transfers

These checks do not mean that you are suspected of wrongdoing. Conveyancers are legally required to understand where the purchase money comes from.

Tell your solicitor about a gifted deposit, overseas funds or another person contributing money as early as possible. Late disclosure can delay your mortgage and exchange.


2. The Property Title and Legal Ownership

Your solicitor checks the HM Land Registry title or, for an unregistered property, the available title deeds. The purpose is to confirm that the seller is entitled to sell the property and to establish exactly what legal interest you will receive.

The title investigation may cover:

  • Whether the property is freehold or leasehold
  • The registered owner
  • Mortgages and other registered charges
  • Restrictive covenants
  • Rights of way and shared access
  • Rights for drains, pipes and cables
  • Restrictions requiring third-party consent
  • Estate rentcharges or management obligations
  • Land excluded from or added to the title

Your solicitor should also provide a title plan for you to review.

Your responsibility: Compare the title plan with the property you viewed. Tell your solicitor immediately if the garden, garage, parking space, driveway or access route appears different.

HM Land Registry plans normally show general boundaries. Your conveyancer does not usually measure the land or inspect the fence positions.


3. The Contract and Seller’s Property Forms

The seller’s conveyancer sends a draft contract package. Your solicitor reviews the documents, identifies missing information and raises enquiries.

The package will usually include:

  • The draft sale contract
  • Official title documents
  • The TA6 Property Information Form
  • The TA10 Fittings and Contents Form
  • The TA7 Leasehold Information Form where applicable
  • Planning and Building Regulations documents
  • Guarantees, warranties and certificates

The current TA6 sixth edition is used for relevant new Conveyancing Quality Scheme transactions instructed from 30 March 2026. It covers matters including boundaries, disputes, notices, alterations, insurance, environmental issues, rights, parking and services.

Your solicitor reviews the answers and may raise further questions. However, they do not normally visit the property to confirm that every seller response is physically accurate.

If the estate agent or seller told you something important during a viewing, send it to your solicitor. They cannot investigate a verbal promise they do not know about.


4. Property Searches

Your conveyancer will normally arrange a search package. Mortgage lenders usually require searches, while cash buyers may be offered a choice depending on the transaction.

Local Authority Search

This can reveal matters such as:

  • Planning decisions relating to the property
  • Building Regulations records
  • Conservation area status
  • Listed building status
  • Tree preservation orders
  • Road adoption information
  • Local land charges
  • Some nearby public road or transport proposals

Drainage and Water Search

This normally checks whether the property is connected to public water and sewerage, the location of certain public sewers and whether the property may be affected by drainage-related matters.

Environmental Search

This may report risks involving contaminated land, flooding, ground stability, landfill and radon. Additional location-specific searches may be recommended for mining, coastal erosion, chancel repair or other local risks.

Search limitation: A search reports information held within particular records and datasets. It is not a physical inspection and does not guarantee that a risk will never affect the property.


5. Planning Permission and Building Regulations

Your solicitor reviews available documents for extensions, loft conversions, removed walls, new windows and other alterations.

They may check for:

  • Planning permission
  • Building Regulations approval
  • Completion certificates
  • Listed building consent
  • Party wall documentation
  • FENSA or CERTASS certificates
  • Electrical installation certificates
  • New-home warranties

However, the solicitor does not normally inspect the building work or confirm that it was completed to a good standard. A certificate shows that a process or approval exists; it does not provide the same protection as a survey.

If a surveyor identifies an alteration that is not shown in the legal paperwork, send the survey section to your solicitor so they can investigate.


6. Leasehold and Freehold Estate Charges

For a leasehold property, your conveyancer should review the lease and available management information.

This may include:

  • The remaining lease length
  • Ground rent provisions
  • Service charge accounts and budgets
  • Reserve or sinking funds
  • Planned major works
  • Building insurance
  • Restrictions on pets, alterations or subletting
  • Building safety and cladding documents where relevant
  • Fees payable when you sell or remortgage

A freehold house may also have an estate rentcharge or management charge. Your solicitor should explain the legal payment obligation, enforcement provisions and any restrictions requiring management company consent.

They cannot guarantee what future service charges or estate costs will be. Ask for recent figures and planned expenditure, but allow room in your budget for increases.


7. Your Mortgage Lender’s Requirements

Where the same conveyancer acts for you and your mortgage lender, they must also protect the lender’s legal interests.

They will normally:

  • Review the formal mortgage offer
  • Check the title meets the lender’s requirements
  • Report certain legal or property issues to the lender
  • Confirm any special mortgage conditions
  • Request the mortgage funds for completion
  • Register the lender’s charge after completion

Your conveyancer does not choose the best mortgage for you or confirm whether repayments are affordable. Those matters belong with you, your lender and your mortgage adviser.

If the survey reveals a serious defect, your solicitor may need to tell the lender. The lender could change the mortgage conditions, reduce the loan or require repairs.


8. Exchange, Completion and Registration

Before exchange, your solicitor should provide a report explaining the important legal findings. They will also arrange for you to sign the contract, transfer document and mortgage deed where applicable.

They normally handle:

  • Agreeing the contract and completion date
  • Exchanging contracts
  • Carrying out final Land Registry and bankruptcy searches
  • Requesting mortgage funds
  • Transferring completion money
  • Receiving the legal transfer documents
  • Submitting the SDLT return in England or LTT return in Wales
  • Paying the tax using funds provided by you
  • Registering you as the new owner
  • Registering your mortgage lender’s charge

Registration can continue after you receive the keys. Your legal ownership is protected through the conveyancing and registration process while HM Land Registry completes the application.


What Your Solicitor May Not Check

The building’s physical condition

Your solicitor does not normally inspect the roof, foundations, walls, damp, drainage, insulation, electrics or heating. Arrange an appropriate property survey and specialist inspections where needed.

The property’s market value

Your solicitor does not decide whether the agreed price represents good value. A lender’s valuation protects the lender, while an independent valuation or survey can provide information for you.

Exact physical boundaries

Your conveyancer reviews title documents but does not normally measure the garden or determine the exact legal boundary on site.

Whether appliances and services work

The TA10 form may say which items remain, but your solicitor does not test the boiler, taps, sockets, solar panels, alarms or kitchen appliances.

Every nearby planning proposal

Standard searches have defined limits. Private developments, very recent applications or proposals outside the search area may require your own research or an additional planning search.

Schools, crime, noise and daily living

Conveyancing searches do not tell you whether you will like the neighbourhood. Visit at different times and investigate transport, parking, aircraft noise, mobile signal, broadband and local services.

Complex tax or financial planning

Your conveyancer may deal with the normal property tax return, but overseas ownership, trusts, companies, multiple properties and complex relief claims may require specialist tax advice.


Information You Must Give Your Solicitor

A conveyancer can only investigate concerns they know about. Tell them promptly if:

  • You plan to extend, let or run a business from the property
  • The seller promised to complete repairs
  • The estate agent said a parking space or loft was included
  • Your survey found structural or legal concerns
  • The physical boundaries differ from the title plan
  • You are receiving a gifted deposit
  • Another adult will live at the property but will not be an owner
  • You need to complete by a particular date
  • You are buying with overseas money, through a company or as a trustee

Useful habit: Do not assume your estate agent, surveyor, mortgage broker and solicitor automatically share every document. Send important information to the relevant professional yourself.


Questions to Ask Before Exchange

  1. Is the legal title acceptable and does it include all the land I expect?
  2. Are there restrictions affecting my intended use of the property?
  3. Are any important enquiries still unanswered?
  4. Have all recommended searches been completed?
  5. Are planning and Building Regulations documents satisfactory?
  6. Are there service charges, estate charges or planned major works?
  7. Does my mortgage lender need to approve any identified issue?
  8. Is indemnity insurance being suggested, and what does it actually cover?
  9. Is there anything in the report on title that could affect resale?
  10. What must I check personally before exchange and completion?

Read the report on title and supporting documents carefully. Ask for plain-English explanations rather than signing because the paperwork appears standard.


The Key Point for Buyers

Remember: Your solicitor checks the legal property. Your surveyor checks the physical property. You must check whether the home, area and price meet your own needs.

The safest approach is to connect the information. Send survey findings to your solicitor, compare the title plan with what you viewed and make sure important promises are confirmed in writing before exchange.

ADVAITH HOMES can help you organise your property questions and understand which concerns belong with your conveyancer, surveyor, mortgage adviser or another specialist.


Official Property Information

Further guidance is available from the GOV.UK conveyancing guide, the GOV.UK home-buying guide and the HM Land Registry property information service.