Home Buying

Buying a home in the UK is a two-part commitment: a large one-off outlay to get the keys, then ongoing costs that continue for as long as you own the property. The one-off side includes a deposit of at least 5% of the purchase price, legal fees, surveyor costs, a possible mortgage arrangement fee, Land Registry fees and a property tax. In England and Northern Ireland that tax is Stamp Duty Land Tax, and a buyer of an averagely priced UK home at £292,000 who is not a first-time buyer pays £4,600 of it¹. The ongoing side includes the mortgage payments themselves, rates or Council Tax, repairs, utilities and, for flats, service charges².

The process runs through a recognisable sequence: offer, mortgage, conveyancing, exchange of contracts, completion, then the tax return and registration. How long it takes varies by source and by sale: official guidance for Northern Ireland says around two to three months², the UK House Price Index for April 2026 reports that a purchase typically takes 6 to 8 weeks to reach completion⁴, and the UK government's own buying guide puts the average at about 5 months⁵. The difference is usually the chain: a purchase with no linked sales moves faster than one waiting on several.

The tax you pay depends on where in the UK you buy. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty, Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT)⁶. First-time buyers get relief in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, but not in Wales⁷. This guide sets out each of these in turn, with the costs, the deadlines and where to go when something goes wrong.

The costs of buying a home, upfront and ongoing

The costs of buying split into two kinds, and budgeting for both is what separates a purchase that runs smoothly from one that stalls. The one-off costs include the deposit, Stamp Duty or its equivalents, legal fees and survey costs; the ongoing costs include mortgage payments, rates or Council Tax, utilities, repairs and, for leasehold flats, service charges². Northern Ireland's official guidance makes the same distinction: buying a home involves immediate costs such as legal fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax, followed by new and ongoing costs such as paying the mortgage, rates, repairs and service charges³.

Independent cost calculators put numbers on this. In 2026, the average cost of buying a house is £8,108, based on an averagely priced property¹. That figure covers the buying side only. The same analysis puts the buying costs total, excluding general moving costs, at £7,519¹. When selling is added, the picture grows: the average cost of moving in 2026 is £13,018, based on buying and selling an averagely priced UK house at £292,000, of which conveyancing accounts for £1,050 and mortgage fees £1,000⁹.

Not every cost applies to every buyer. As part of the process of buying a house or flat you may also need to pay a solicitor, an independent surveyor, a mortgage arrangement fee, a Land Registry fee and Stamp Duty¹². Buyers in shared equity schemes pay for their share of the home's price in the usual way, along with other costs like legal costs, registration fees and any stamp duty¹³. The practical approach is to total the certain costs first (deposit, legal fees, tax, registration) and hold a margin for the ones that depend on the property, such as a more detailed survey on an older building. The full breakdown is in our guide to the costs of buying a house.

Your deposit: at least 5% of the property's value

The deposit is the largest single upfront cost for most buyers, and the rule of thumb is simple: you will usually need to pay a deposit of at least five per cent of the house price to the seller². Independent guidance for the whole UK says the same: you will usually need to save a deposit of at least 5% of the price of the property you want to buy⁶, and mainstream mortgage lenders generally require at least 5% of the property's value⁸.

On a £300,000 property, a 5% deposit is £15,000, a 10% deposit is £30,000 and a 15% deposit is £45,000⁹. The size of the deposit you can assemble therefore sets the price band you can shop in, as much as your income does. Scheme buyers face similar requirements: under Scotland's First Homes Fund you may also need a deposit, usually around 5% of the purchase price¹⁴.

Deposits can come from more than your own savings. If you have been given the deposit as a gift, you will need a letter from whoever gave you the money⁸, and lenders will run source-of-funds checks as part of the application. Our guides to how much deposit you need, gifted deposits and family help buying a home cover the evidence lenders want and the alternatives, such as a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage.

How much you put down sets your loan-to-value

The deposit does not just reduce the amount you borrow: it sets your loan-to-value ratio, or LTV, which is the size of your mortgage in relation to the value of the property you are buying or remortgaging¹⁵. To work it out yourself, divide your mortgage amount by the value of the property, then multiply it by 100¹⁵. A £200,000 property bought with a £50,000 deposit leaves a £150,000 mortgage, which is a 75% LTV¹⁵.

LTV matters because it shapes what is available to you. You will usually need at least a 5% deposit to get a mortgage, which means a maximum of a 95% LTV loan¹⁵. At the other end of the market, buy-to-let mortgages work on tighter terms: you will usually need at least a 20% deposit, which means a maximum loan-to-value of 80%¹⁵.

In practice, the bigger the deposit slice, the smaller the loan, and the smaller the loan relative to the property's value, the less the lender is exposed if prices fall. That is why deposit size is one of the few things a buyer controls that changes the terms on offer. A buyer with a small deposit and a high LTV is also more exposed to negative equity, where the loan ends up larger than the property's value. The related guides on mortgages and applying for a mortgage set out the rest of the application process.

Stamp Duty in England and Northern Ireland: bands and rates

Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England and Northern Ireland only¹⁶. It is charged on a "slice" basis: the rates are graduated, so more expensive properties face progressively higher rates, and each rate applies only to the portion of the price within its band rather than to the whole amount¹⁶. That structure is why a small rise in price can produce a small rise in tax, rather than a cliff.

For someone moving house in England and Northern Ireland, no Stamp Duty is payable on the first £125,000 of the price⁹. At the top of the scale, a 12% rate applies to the portion of the price over £1.5 million⁹. To see the slice basis working on a typical purchase: if you buy a house in England or Northern Ireland at the average UK house price of £292,000, the Stamp Duty cost is £4,600¹.

The bands between those two points are graduated, with each band's rate applying only to the part of the price over the relevant threshold and up to the next¹⁶. Because the rates sit in legislation and change at Budgets, the current full table is kept in our dedicated guide to Stamp Duty Land Tax, and the worked example for a typical first purchase is in how much Stamp Duty on a £300,000 house.

A return is required in more situations than many buyers expect. You need to send a Stamp Duty Land Tax return if you take over a property and pay money or take on a debt, for example a mortgage, for the property¹⁷. There is also a floor below which the tax disappears: if the total price paid for the property is up to £40,000, no stamp duty is payable at all¹⁸.

First-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty up to £300,000

First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland get a relief that exempts the first £300,000 of the price, provided the total purchase price does not exceed £500,000¹⁰. In practical terms, first-time buyers do not pay any Stamp Duty on the first £300,000¹, so a first-time buyer purchasing a house at the average UK price of £292,000 pays zero¹.

The relief has a hard edge at £500,000: above that price it does not apply at all, so a buyer paying £501,000 gets no exemption on any part of the price. The definition of who counts as a first-time buyer matters too, and buying with someone who has owned before can lose the relief for both of you: married couples are treated as a single unit for stamp duty purposes¹⁹. The detail is in who counts as a first-time buyer and first-time buyer relief above £500,000.

Scotland runs its own version. From 2026-27 the residential nil rate band for first-time buyers rises from £145,000 to £175,000¹¹, under Schedule 4A of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013²⁰. The relief has been widely used: almost 105,000 first-time buyers had benefited from it from its introduction to the end of November 2025, saving up to £600 of tax each¹¹.

Wales is the exception. Wales does not have a first-time buyer relief for Land Transaction Tax, unlike Scotland's LBTT⁷. First-time buyer relief applied for the predecessor tax, but not to Land Transaction Tax²¹. Welsh buyers instead have product-based support: the Help to Buy Wales scheme is open to both first-time buyers and existing homeowners²², who take out a first charge repayment mortgage with a qualifying lender alongside the equity loan²³. See first-time buyer schemes for the full picture across the four nations.

Scotland and Wales charge their own property taxes

Scotland and Wales set their own property taxes, and the names and numbers differ from England's. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, a tax applied to residential and commercial land and buildings transactions where a chargeable interest is acquired²⁴. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, which replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax on residential and non-residential property and land interests from 1 April 2018²⁵. The power to set these rates sits with the devolved legislatures: Schedule 2 of the Finance Act 2026 makes provision for Scottish and Welsh property rates to be set by the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru²⁶.

LBTT works on the same slice principle as Stamp Duty: the percentage rate for each band is applied only to the part of the price over the relevant threshold and up to the next, and if you buy a property for less than the threshold, there is no LBTT to pay²⁴. The buyer is liable to pay the LBTT due on a chargeable transaction, and joint buyers have joint and several liability²⁷. The residential rates and bands for 2026-27 are being maintained at their current level¹¹:

The Scottish bands reach their top rate at £750,000, well below the £1.5 million at which the 12% rate begins in England and Northern Ireland, so the same list price can produce very different bills on different sides of the border. When LBTT was designed, a buyer purchasing an average-priced home in Scotland, £162,000 at the time, would either pay less tax or be exempt¹⁰. The tax also has edges worth knowing: interests in moveable property such as kitchen white goods or furniture fall outside its scope²⁷, reliefs do not apply automatically and must be claimed²⁷, and notification is not required where the consideration falls below a threshold of £40,000²⁷.

In Wales, taxpayers must notify the Welsh Revenue Authority of all land transactions with a value above £40,000, and when filing an LTT return the organisation paying has 30 days after the effective date to submit and pay²⁵. The three taxes are collected by different bodies: Stamp Duty revenues for England and Northern Ireland come from HMRC, LBTT revenues from Revenue Scotland and LTT revenues from the Welsh Government²⁸. Affordability context differs too: in Wales and Scotland, the top-income 40% (four deciles) could afford an average home in the financial year ending 2024²⁹. The nation-specific guides cover the processes: buying a home in Scotland, buying a home in Wales and buying a home in Northern Ireland.

Second homes and buy-to-let: the extra surcharges

Buying a property that is not your main home, whether to let out, use as a holiday home or hold as a second residence, triggers extra property tax on top of the standard rates. In England and Northern Ireland there is a 5% Stamp Duty surcharge on buy-to-let, holiday or second homes¹⁸, and the equivalent higher rates for additional dwellings are five percentage points above the standard residential rates¹⁰. The surcharge applies from the first band: on additional properties, 5% is charged on the portion up to £125,000, 7% on £125,001 to £250,000, 10% on £250,001 to £925,000 and 15% on £925,001 to £1.5 million¹⁸.

Scotland's equivalent is the Additional Dwelling Supplement, charged if you buy an additional residential property in Scotland³⁰. The ADS remains at 8 per cent, and it applies to purchases of all relevant residential properties for £40,000 and above¹¹. Wales also charges higher rates on additional properties, though the surcharge levels differ from England's, and the rules around replacing a main residence still apply¹⁹. Overseas-based buyers are treated differently in different nations: they must pay a surcharge of 2% on top of normal rates in England and Northern Ireland, but overseas-based buyers of residential properties in Wales and Scotland do not pay a surcharge¹⁸.

The rules contain important exceptions. A chargeable transaction is not a higher rates transaction where there is only one purchaser and one vendor who are spouses or civil partners living together, under the paragraph 9A exception³¹. And where you are replacing your main residence, the relevant test looks at whether you disposed of your previous dwelling in a transaction whose effective date was during the period of three years ending with the effective date of the transaction concerned³¹. In Wales, a taxpayer paying the higher rates has up to three years to sell their previous main residence and claim a refund²¹. The detail is in Stamp Duty higher rates on second homes, when the higher rates do not apply and reclaiming the higher rates after the three-year window.

Conveyancing: what your solicitor does and what it costs

Conveyancing is the legal work that transfers ownership of the property to you: checking the seller's title, carrying out local searches, raising enquiries, drafting and checking the contract and handling the money on completion day. It is also one of the more variable costs. If you are buying a house, conveyancing legal fees cost between £300 and £1,500 and are usually linked to the value of the property⁹. Average conveyancing fees when buying range from around £500 to £1,150, plus disbursements¹.

Disbursements are the third-party costs your solicitor pays on your behalf, and they are billed on top of the legal fee. They include various local searches so your conveyancing solicitor can flag up any issues you need to be aware of, which cost from £250 to £450 when buying a house⁹. In total, these disbursements, usually fees for third-party services like local searches, could add up to £700 or even more⁹. If the property is leasehold, add around £300 to the costs⁹. For comparison, selling is cheaper: expect to pay between £600 and £800 in legal fees when selling a house⁹.

Some purchases carry their own legal cost structure. Under the Right to Buy scheme, costs for a solicitor or licensed conveyancer can vary, typically £500 to £700³². Choosing who does the work is covered in solicitor or conveyancer: which do you need, and the process itself in conveyancing: the legal work when you buy a home. Because your deposit passes through your conveyancer, it is also worth reading conveyancing fraud: protecting your deposit.

From offer to completion: the steps and how long they take

Once an offer is accepted, the purchase moves through a fixed sequence of steps. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged, and if the seller accepts your offer, they are responsible for drawing up a legal contract to transfer ownership⁵. The exchange of contracts happens when the buyer's and seller's legal representatives swap signed contracts, and the buyer pays the deposit⁶. Completion often takes place around two weeks after exchange, but this is flexible and you can agree a convenient date with the seller⁶.

How long the whole journey takes depends on who is measuring and what is in the chain. Buying a home usually takes around two to three months, according to official step-by-step guidance². The UK House Price Index for April 2026 reports that a house purchase can typically take 6 to 8 weeks to reach completion⁴. The UK government's buying guide gives a longer average of about 5 months⁵. Conveyancing itself is often quoted at around 6 weeks where there are no issues, but it could take a few months, particularly in a chain.

Scotland runs a different sequence, with offers and closing dates working differently, and the point at which the deal becomes binding arriving earlier: see when an offer on a Scottish home is legally binding and what a closing date for offers means. Northern Ireland has its own scheme for social housing tenants: under the House Sales Scheme you must make your decision about going ahead to buy your home within six weeks of receiving the offer³³. The step-by-step detail for England is in how to buy a house, and the timing questions in how long buying takes after an offer is accepted and how long between exchange and completion.

Exchange of contracts makes the purchase binding

The exchange of the contracts to buy the property is the point where the sale is legally binding². Before that moment, either side can walk away, which is why the weeks between offer and exchange are when sales fall through and why buyers ask what happens to money already spent: see do I get my deposit back if the sale falls through. After exchange, walking away has serious financial consequences, because the buyer has paid the deposit and signed a contract.

At exchange, the buyer's and seller's legal representatives swap signed contracts and the buyer pays the deposit⁶. From that point the completion date in the contract is fixed, and both sides are bound to it. This is also the moment to have your buildings insurance in place, covered in when do I need buildings insurance when buying a home, and to be sure of the terms of the deal, since the contract governs everything that follows.

The period between exchange and completion is short but busy: final funds are transferred, the mortgage money is drawn down and the tax return is prepared. Completion often takes place around two weeks after exchange, but this is flexible and you can agree a convenient date with the seller⁶. The full mechanics are in exchange of contracts and completion.

Paying the tax on time and what happens if you're late

Each of the three property taxes has its own deadline, and missing it costs money. In England and Northern Ireland, you must send your Stamp Duty Land Tax return within 14 days of the effective date of the transaction, even if you do not owe any tax¹⁷. HMRC charges a late filing penalty and interest if your SDLT return is not filed on time³⁴. If you are not represented, you must use the SDLT1 paper return and send it to HMRC by post³⁴.

Scotland and Wales both allow 30 days. An LBTT return must be made by the buyer within 30 days of the effective date of the transaction²⁷, and you may be charged penalties and interest if you do not submit or pay your tax return on time³⁵. If LBTT tax is paid late, interest is chargeable and you may also become liable to a penalty, depending on how late the tax is paid³⁶. In Wales, when filing an LTT return, the organisation paying has 30 days after the effective date to submit and pay²⁵. There is a safety net for errors: an LBTT return may be amended, for example to correct an error, in the period of 12 months following the deadline for making the return²⁷.

The pattern of penalties will be familiar to anyone who has filed a Self Assessment return: you get a penalty if you need to send a tax return and you miss the deadline for submitting it or paying your bill³⁷. For late payment of a final Self Assessment tax bill there is a penalty of 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months, plus interest on the amount owed³⁸. Property buyers in Northern Ireland have a separate ongoing obligation: if you delay contacting LPS (Land and Property Services) about rates, you will receive a backdated rate bill¹². And if a property comes to you through a death rather than a purchase, the timing is different again: you will normally have to start paying Inheritance Tax before probate is granted³⁹. The deadlines are summarised in when is the deadline to pay Stamp Duty, when must I submit my LBTT return and the deadline to file and pay Land Transaction Tax.

Who provides mortgages and help in the UK

Mortgages are provided by banks and building societies, and the market includes specialist lenders alongside the high-street names. Building societies are a significant part of that market: Family Building Society, for example, is a trading name of National Counties Building Society, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority⁴⁰. Lenders of this kind have been active in the "Bank of Mum and Dad" space, publishing guidance on the legal and financial considerations when families help with deposits⁴⁰. A full list of lenders is in our lenders directory, and the mortgage market as a whole is covered in mortgages: a complete guide.

Government-backed help comes in different forms in each nation. In Scotland, the Open Market Shared Equity scheme lets buyers purchase a share of a home on the open market: you pay for your share of the home's price in the usual way, along with other costs like legal costs, registration fees and any stamp duty¹³. The First Homes Fund supports purchases with a deposit usually around 5% of the purchase price¹⁴. In Wales, Help to Buy Wales offers a shared equity loan on new build homes to first-time buyers and existing homeowners²², taken with a first charge repayment mortgage from a qualifying lender²³. In Northern Ireland, low-cost home ownership schemes sit alongside the House Sales Scheme for social tenants³, and equity sharing arrangements apply where a buyer part-owns with a co-owner, with flats and maisonettes carrying an annual service charge for the buyer or leaseholder⁴¹. Council tenants in England may have the Right to Buy, with legal costs typically £500 to £700³². The schemes are compared in first-time buyer schemes, shared ownership in England, shared equity schemes in Scotland and shared ownership, Homebuy and Rent to Own in Wales.

Where to get help when things go wrong

Each tax authority handles its own queries and disputes. For Stamp Duty in England and Northern Ireland, HMRC's guidance covers when a return is needed and how to send it, including the paper SDLT1 route for unrepresented buyers¹⁷. For LBTT, Revenue Scotland administers returns, payment and penalties³⁵, and its guidance on reliefs notes that reliefs do not apply automatically and must be claimed²⁷. For LTT, the Welsh Revenue Authority receives returns for all land transactions above £40,000²⁵. If your conveyancer fails to pay the tax on your purchase, see what to do if your conveyancer fails to pay property tax.

Problems earlier in the purchase have their own routes. A sale that falls through before exchange raises the question of whether you get your deposit back, and estate agent conduct can be challenged through complaining about your estate agent. New build buyers have specific remedies in new home warranties, snagging a new build home and complaining about a new build home. Right to Buy purchasers facing delays from their landlord can serve an operative notice of delay, Form RTB8, after which the rent paid while the delay goes on is taken off the price to be paid for the home³². General routes for redress are set out in complaining when buying a home goes wrong and in our guide to consumer protection in UK financial services.