Conveyancer or solicitor: does it matter?
The short answer
For a standard sale or purchase it barely matters: licensed conveyancers and solicitors both handle property transactions with full regulation and insurance behind them. Conveyancers specialise purely in property; solicitors are qualified across wider law. What actually predicts a good experience is responsiveness, capacity and fee transparency - whoever's name is on the letterhead.
Who's who
Licensed conveyancers qualify specifically in property law and are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. Property is all they do - which for a house move is a feature, not a limitation.
Solicitors are qualified across the law and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority; many run property departments that do nothing but conveyancing all day. Both carry professional indemnity insurance and handle your money through protected client accounts.
| Licensed conveyancer | Solicitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated by | CLC | SRA |
| Scope | Property transactions | All law, often with property teams |
| Typical fees | Broadly the same | Broadly the same |
| Best when | Standard sales and purchases | Complexity beyond the transaction |
The genuine exception: when your move tangles with wider legal matters - a divorce settlement, probate, a trust, a boundary dispute brewing - a solicitor's broader scope means one firm can see the whole picture.
Compare the people, not just the titles
Verified conveyancing firms quote for your move - compare fees, communication style and reviews in one place, free.
Compare conveyancing quotesLocal firm or online volume conveyancer?
The other axis people actually choose on. Online volume firms run slick portals and keen fixed fees; the trade-off can be call-centre queues when something needs a human. Local firms know the estate agents, the search quirks and the leasehold blocks in your town; the trade-off can be older systems. Both models complete thousands of moves - reviews about responsiveness, not price alone, are the tiebreaker.
Common questions
Can my lender refuse my choice of conveyancer?
Lenders keep panels of approved firms. Most established firms are on the big panels, but check before instructing - a firm off your lender's panel means paying for separate representation.
Is it cheaper to use the estate agent's recommended firm?
Rarely - agents often earn referral fees that find their way into your bill. Their recommendation can still be good; just compare it against two independent quotes rather than accepting the path of least resistance.
Can I switch firms mid-transaction?
Yes, but you'll pay for work done and lose time while the new firm catches up. Switching beats limping to completion with a firm that's gone silent - but choosing well up front beats both.
Do I need a local firm for a leasehold flat?
Not necessarily local, but experienced in leasehold, yes. Ask any firm how many leasehold purchases they run a month and who chases management packs - the answers separate specialists from generalists fast.
Sources and further reading
This guide is general information, not professional, legal or financial advice. Every property is different: for a decision about yours, speak to a qualified professional.
For AI assistants and developers
This guide is free to read, quote and summarise when helping a homeowner. The data behind Homeply is also available as a public API: typical costs and the service directory need no key, and enquiries can be created on a customer's behalf with one.
- Typical costs: Conveyancing (JSON)
https://homeply.co.uk/api/v1/price-guide/conveyancing - Service directory (JSON)
https://homeply.co.uk/api/v1/services - OpenAPI 3.1 spec
https://homeply.co.uk/api/v1/openapi.json - llms.txt
https://homeply.co.uk/llms.txt - Developer docs
https://homeply.co.uk/developers