A Timeline for Exchange and Completion: What Happens and When

Two dates shape the end of every house purchase: exchange of contracts and completion. Everything before exchange is preparation and negotiation, where either side can still walk away. Everything after exchange is binding. This timeline sets out what happens at each stage and where buyers most often lose time.

Exchange and Completion: What Each Word Actually Means

Exchange is when you and the seller swap signed contracts and become legally bound to buy and sell. Until then the sale is “subject to contract”, which means either side can withdraw without penalty. Completion is when the purchase money is transferred, the ownership documents change hands and you collect the keys.

The person managing both milestones is your conveyancer, the legal representative who carries out the legal work needed to buy a property. Most buyers never meet the other side for either event. Exchange usually takes the form of a phone call between the two conveyancers, and completion happens through bank transfers between their firms.

The deposit is paid at exchange, but the property only becomes yours at completion. Between the two dates you are committed without holding the keys, which is why the gap deserves planning.

What Must Be in Place Before You Can Exchange

Your conveyancer will not let you sign until several jobs are finished. Work through them in roughly this order.

• A formal mortgage offer. This is your lender’s written confirmation that it will lend on the property. Our guide to what a mortgage agreement in principle tells you covers the earlier step that usually comes before it.
• Legal checks and enquiries. Your conveyancer examines the property’s legal position and asks the seller’s side questions about anything unclear. Any problems raised must be answered before exchange.
• A survey. This is an inspection of the property’s condition, paid for by you and separate from the lender’s valuation. If it finds defects, you may renegotiate the price before committing. Our guide to how much a house survey costs explains the options.
• Cleared deposit funds. Decide early where the deposit will come from and move the money into an account you can transfer from, because it is due the moment contracts are exchanged.
• Buildings insurance. Under a standard freehold contract, responsibility for the property passes to the buyer on the date the contract is made, and the seller is under no duty to keep it insured. A leasehold flat is often different, because another policy may cover the building. Arrange cover that starts on the exchange date.
• An agreed completion date. Both sides fix this date in the contract, so talk about your moving plans before exchange rather than after.

Remember that if the sale falls through before exchange, you may already have paid for a valuation or survey and for the legal work your conveyancer has done.

The Day of Exchange: Deposits, Contracts and Insurance

Both parties sign identical final copies of the contract and send them to each other. The two conveyancers then confirm, normally by telephone, that exchange has taken place, and a note is made of the time. From that moment the agreement to sell and buy is legally binding, and usually neither side can pull out without paying compensation.

If your purchase sits in a chain, a line of linked buyers and sellers, every transaction in the chain exchanges on the same day, so all parties must be ready before anyone can proceed.

The deposit is typically 10% of the purchase price. That figure is a standard contract term rather than a law, and a smaller amount can be negotiated with the seller’s written consent. The deposit is not a separate charge; it counts towards the sum you hand over at completion.

Any buildings insurance you arranged earlier should now be live.

Handy tip

Ask your insurer to start buildings cover on the exchange date rather than completion day. On a standard freehold contract you bear the risk between the two.

How Long Between Exchange and Completion?

There is no fixed gap. Most buyers and sellers complete between 1 day and 2 weeks after exchange, though some arrange to swap contracts and finish on the very same day, and in some circumstances the wait runs to months.

If you are using a mortgage, your conveyancer typically needs around 5 days, one working week, to draw down the funds from the lender and forward the Certificate of Title. Occasionally the money arrives sooner, but conveyancing firms rarely agree to move the date earlier, so build that week into your plans.

You will also want practical time to book removal vans, cleaners and storage. A very short gap is possible, but it makes moving day harder than it needs to be.

Completion Day, Step by Step

1. Your conveyancer transfers the balance of the purchase price to the seller’s conveyancer.
2. The seller’s conveyancer confirms receipt and releases the remaining balance to the seller’s account.
3. The seller sends the legal documents needed to transfer ownership to your conveyancer.
4. Once everything is confirmed, the estate agent releases the keys. Keep in mind that the agent’s primary role is to help the seller sell, so confirm directly with your own conveyancer when the money has gone through.
5. You collect the keys and move in.

If you are selling as part of your move, note that the seller must leave the property in the state agreed in the contract.

What Commonly Delays Either Date

• Chains. Selling a home takes about 5 months on average, and the process takes longer if you are part of a chain of buyers and sellers. One slow transaction holds up every linked one.
• Mortgage drawdown. The roughly 5 working days needed to release funds sets a floor on how fast you can complete after exchange.
• Scheme approvals. On First Homes purchases, the council issues an Authority to Exchange and a Compliance Certificate only once your conveyancer has confirmed the sale is fully compliant. Applying for a mortgage before the council grants its earlier Authority to Proceed causes delays, because a full application incurs costs.
• Late paperwork. A deposit that is not cleared, insurance that has not started or an unanswered enquiry can all push an exchange date back.
• Renegotiation after surveys. If a survey reveals a problem, agreeing who pays for it can add days or weeks to the pre-exchange stage.

If You Need to Move or Delay After Exchange

After exchange, changing your mind is expensive on both sides. If the buyer pulls out, the seller may be able to keep the deposit and sue for breach of contract, and the buyer can be made to pay interest on the part of the price still outstanding as well as fees and penalties. If the seller pulls out, the buyer can sue for compensation for costs and interest on the deposit paid.

The completion date is written into the contract. If you genuinely need to move it, contact your conveyancer immediately to discuss what changing it would involve.

The better approach is prevention. Budget and plan early so the final exchange is not delayed, and only exchange once you are certain about the date, the deposit and your moving arrangements.

More on this site

• Before You Make an Offer on a House: a checklist covering what to confirm before you commit to a price, the stage that starts this whole timeline.
• Deposits and Loan-to-Value: how your deposit size shapes the mortgage deals you can access, useful when planning the money due at exchange.

Your questions

How long is there between exchange and completion?
There is no fixed gap, but most buyers and sellers complete between 1 day and 2 weeks after exchange. Some arrange for both events to happen on a single day, and in some cases the wait stretches to months.

Can I pull out after exchanging contracts?
Usually not without paying compensation. A buyer who withdraws may lose the deposit and be sued for breach of contract, while a seller who withdraws can face a claim from the buyer.

Do I own the house between exchange and completion?
No, ownership passes at completion. However, on a standard freehold contract you bear the risk from exchange, which is why buildings insurance should be in place from that date.

Can exchange and completion happen on the same day?
Yes, some buyers and sellers arrange this. If you are using a mortgage, bear in mind that conveyancers typically need around 5 working days to draw down the funds, so a single-day arrangement is harder to organise.