How Long Do Conveyancing Enquiries Take?

Why there is no reliable average

“Enquiries” is a broad label for questions your conveyancer raises after reviewing the title, contract papers, searches, mortgage requirements and other information. Enquiries can relate to the title, searches, mortgage offer, property and transaction, and can be raised at different points in the process.

One purchase might have a handful of straightforward questions the seller can answer immediately. Another might need evidence about an extension, a missing consent, a lease clause or information held by a managing agent. Counting days without knowing the substance of the enquiries can therefore be misleading.

What conveyancing enquiries are for

Your conveyancer is trying to understand the legal position before you become bound to buy. They may need to confirm ownership, rights affecting the property, planning or building-regulation evidence, leasehold obligations, search results, lender conditions or inconsistencies in the seller’s paperwork.

Some enquiries protect you as buyer. Others are necessary because a mortgage lender has requirements that your conveyancer must satisfy as part of acting for the lender too.

What makes enquiries take longer?

The seller needs to find documents

Guarantees, certificates, planning approvals or paperwork for alterations may not be immediately available.

A third party has to answer

Leasehold and estate-management questions may depend on a freeholder, managing agent, management company or other organisation.

The first reply is incomplete

An answer may create a follow-up question or fail to provide the evidence your conveyancer needs.

A lender must be consulted

Some title or property issues need to be reported to the mortgage lender before the transaction can proceed.

New information arrives later

Searches, surveys or updated paperwork can expose a new point after the first set of enquiries was raised.

The property is legally more complex

Leasehold, shared ownership, unusual titles, recent building work and other circumstances can create extra questions.

What good progress looks like

You do not necessarily need every minor question to disappear at once. You do need clarity about which material points remain open and who is expected to answer them.

Weak update	More useful update
“We are waiting for enquiries.”	“Six replies have been received; two material points remain with the seller’s solicitor.”
“The seller’s side is slow.”	“We chased on Tuesday and Friday for the missing building-regulation certificate.”
“Still in conveyancing.”	“Searches and mortgage are complete; the final leasehold replies are the blocker before exchange.”

Questions to ask your conveyancer

When were the initial enquiries raised?
How many material enquiries remain unanswered?
Which party is responsible for each outstanding answer?
When was each outstanding point last chased?
Are any answers waiting on a managing agent, freeholder, lender or other third party?
Have any replies created new enquiries?
If those remaining points are resolved, what else would stop us exchanging?

Why leasehold enquiries often feel slower

A freehold sale is mainly between buyer, seller, their conveyancers and any lenders. Leasehold purchases can add information controlled by a landlord, freeholder or management company. Your conveyancer may need to review service charges, building insurance, planned works, ground-rent terms, consents and other lease obligations.

If a leasehold purchase is stuck, ask whether the delay is with the seller’s conveyancer or with an external party supplying management information. That distinction matters because the route for chasing is different.

Should you ask your solicitor to stop raising enquiries?

Not simply to save time. The point of the legal process is to identify issues before you exchange contracts. If you are concerned that questions are disproportionate or repetitive, ask your conveyancer to explain which outstanding enquiries they consider material and why.

You can make an informed decision with your legal adviser. A generic timeline cannot tell you which legal point is safe to ignore.

Not sure whether your own purchase is moving normally?

Enter the dates you know. Keyvo’s free progress checker estimates where your purchase appears to be, highlights possible blockers and gives you practical questions to ask next.

Use the free timeline checker

Sources used to review this guide

We write Keyvo’s guides in our own words and review factual process points against current public guidance. These sources were checked on 12 October 2026:

Keyvo provides general information and a progress-checking tool. It is not a solicitor, conveyancer, mortgage adviser or surveyor, and this guide is not legal, financial or mortgage advice. The process described here is for England and Wales; other UK jurisdictions use different systems.