Do you actually need a conveyancer to remortgage?

Remortgaging to a new lender is a legal transaction, not just a financial one. The old lender's charge must be removed from your title, the new lender's charge added, and a conveyancer must handle both. The good news is remortgage conveyancing is the cheap, quick end of legal work, and lenders often pay for it. The catch is understanding what the free version includes and excludes.

This article provides general information rather than advice. Here is what the legal work involves in 2026, what it costs, and how to decide on free legals.

When you need a conveyancer, and when you don't

Stay with your current lender on a new deal or product transfer and no legal work is needed. That means no conveyancer, no searches, and it can be completed in days. Switch to a different lender and a conveyancer is unavoidable because the title and registered charges change.

What the legal work actually involves

A remortgage is conveyancing without the buying and selling.

Expect six steps:

1. Identity and anti-money laundering checks on every borrower, plus verification of property ownership.
2. Title investigation - the conveyancer reads your registered title for anything that would trouble the new lender, such as restrictions or unusual covenants.
3. A redemption statement from your current lender confirming the exact amount to pay off the old loan on completion day, along with a review of the new mortgage offer's conditions.
4. Searches, or more commonly on a remortgage, search indemnity insurance, which most lenders accept instead of fresh local searches and costs much less.
5. Pre-completion checks include a priority search freezing the register, bankruptcy searches, and a certificate of title to the lender requesting the funds.
6. Completion and registration - the new advance repays the old loan, and the conveyancer registers the new charge at HM Land Registry.

What it costs in 2026

Straightforward remortgage conveyancing typically costs £300 to £800, compared to four figures for a purchase.

For example, a £400 legal fee, £60 for search indemnity insurance, £25 for bankruptcy and priority searches, £15 for online ID checks, and the HM Land Registry fee to register the new charge, which is £30 for a £150,000 remortgage submitted electronically. Total: £530.

Leasehold adds more because freeholders commonly charge £150 to £300 for notices and management information and expect an extra week or two of processing. Adding or removing a name is a transfer of equity, a separate task that typically adds several hundred pounds and lies outside most fee-free deals.

Keep the legal bill in perspective against other switching costs because it is rarely the largest. Early repayment charges on your existing deal commonly run between 1% and 5% of the balance if you leave early. Exit or deeds release fees add £50 to £300, and the new deal may carry an arrangement fee of four figures, though valuations are often free. Conveyancing seldom decides whether a remortgage makes sense.

Free legals or cashback - who really pays?

Most large lenders will offer either free legals, where the lender appoints and pays a panel firm to do the remortgage work, or cashback towards costs, typically a few hundred pounds, where you appoint your own conveyancer. Free legals genuinely cover the standard work, but the firm acts for the lender, runs on volume, and anything non-standard - a transfer of equity, a leasehold wrinkle, a title defect - tends to lie outside scope or join the back of a queue. If your remortgage is vanilla and your timeline is relaxed, free legals are hard to argue with. If you have any complexity or any deadline, taking the cashback and choosing your own solicitor usually buys a faster, more accountable service. Our guide to the difference between a property solicitor and a conveyancer explains who you would actually be instructing.

How long it takes

From mortgage offer to completion, four to eight weeks is realistic for a lender switch, and the whole process from application can stretch to three months at busy times. Conveyancing is rarely the bottleneck on a clean freehold case; delays usually come from slow redemption statements, leasehold third parties, or queued panel firms. Starting legal work as soon as you apply, rather than when the offer arrives, saves weeks. Aim to complete just as your current deal ends to avoid early repayment charges on one side and the standard variable rate on the other.

The bottom line

A remortgage to a new lender needs a conveyancer, costs roughly £300 to £800 privately, around £530 all-in in our example, and takes four to eight weeks from offer. Free legals suit simple cases; cashback plus your own solicitor suits anything with complexity or a deadline. If you want to pick your own firm and keep the lender's cashback, compare conveyancing quotes and start the legal work on day one.