Do You Need a Solicitor to Remortgage? When You Do, and When You Don't

You need a solicitor to remortgage if you are moving your mortgage to a new lender. The new lender needs a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to check your title, pay off your old mortgage and register its own. If you are staying with your current lender on a new deal, called a product transfer, you usually do not need one.

We do not give mortgage or rate advice; for that, speak to a mortgage broker or your lender.

When you need a solicitor to remortgage

• Moving to a new lender: yes. The new lender will not lend until a solicitor or licensed conveyancer has checked the title and can register its mortgage. The firm must be on the lender's panel.
• A product transfer with your current lender: usually no. Its mortgage is already registered against your home, so there is nothing to transfer. You can usually arrange it yourself or through your broker.
• Borrowing more from your current lender: sometimes. Many lenders handle further borrowing without a solicitor, but some ask for one, so check with your lender.
• Changing who owns the home at the same time: yes. Adding or removing someone from the deeds is a transfer of equity, which needs a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, whichever lender you use.

Product transfer or new lender?

A product transfer keeps your mortgage with the same lender, on a new rate. It is usually quicker and involves no legal work.

Moving to a new lender is a full remortgage: the new lender lends you the money, your old mortgage is paid off with it, and the new lender's mortgage is registered against your home. That registration is the legal work a solicitor does.

Which suits you is a financial decision about rates, fees and any early repayment charges, and a broker or your lender can advise on it.

What are free legals?

Some lenders include a free legal service when you remortgage to them. They pick a firm from their own panel and pay its fee. It can save money, but you do not choose the firm, and some extra costs can still apply. Ask your broker or lender what is covered before you accept.

If you would rather choose your own solicitor, or the deal you want does not include free legals, you pay the solicitor's fee yourself.

What a solicitor does on a remortgage

1. Checks your identity and the title to your home at HM Land Registry.
2. Reports to the new lender that the title is good security, and raises anything that needs sorting first.
3. Asks your current lender how much is needed to pay off your mortgage.
4. Has you sign the new mortgage deed.
5. On completion, receives the money from the new lender, pays off your old mortgage and sends any extra borrowing to you.
6. Registers the new lender's mortgage at HM Land Registry and removes the old one.

If someone lives in the home or guarantees the mortgage but is not on the title, the lender may ask for them to have independent legal advice before completion. Your quote shows the cost if it applies.

How much does a solicitor cost to remortgage?

Our fee to remortgage a freehold home with borrowing under £1 million is typically £610 to £910 + VAT, depending on the amount you borrow. That covers our legal fee and these fees: Telegraphic Transfer Fee (Per Transfer), Redeeming your existing loan and Lender Portal Management Fee. A leasehold home costs more, and your quote shows the fee for borrowing of £1 million or more.

The HM Land Registry fee for registering the new mortgage is separate and shown in your quote.

Disbursements, the third-party costs we pay for you such as Land Registry copies, the Land Registry priority search and portal charges, are about £40 to £57 for one or two people, including VAT where it applies.

Some work is charged only when it applies, at a fixed price shown in your quote: Dealing with your lender's own solicitors (£300 + VAT), Independent legal advice (£100 + VAT per person) and Staircasing (£250 + VAT) for buying a further share of a shared-ownership home.

Your quote confirms the exact figure for your home and your loan. Get a remortgage quote, or see our fees page.

How long does a remortgage take?

A remortgage is usually simpler than a purchase: there is no seller, no chain and, in most cases, no searches. Most of the timing depends on your new lender: its valuation, its mortgage offer and when it releases the money. Your broker or lender can tell you how long their part usually takes, and we tell you at the start what we need from you.

Do you pay Stamp Duty on a remortgage?

Not on a remortgage on its own: you are borrowing against a home you already own, not buying one. Stamp Duty can apply if ownership changes at the same time and someone takes on a share of the mortgage and the share taken on is above the Stamp Duty threshold, for example when a partner is added to the deeds. GOV.UK explains when a transfer of property is taxed. Our guide to transfer of equity explains how this works.

Remortgaging and changing the names on the deeds

If you are adding or removing someone from the ownership of your home while you remortgage, both happen together: the transfer of equity and the new mortgage complete on the same day. Our page for transfer of equity solicitors explains what is involved.

Questions people ask

Can I remortgage without a solicitor?

Only if you stay with your current lender on a product transfer, or your lender lets you borrow more without one. Moving to a new lender needs a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

Do I need a solicitor for a product transfer?

Usually not. Your lender's mortgage is already registered, so the switch is between you and your lender.

Can I use any solicitor to remortgage?

The firm must be on your new lender's panel. If you take free legals, the lender chooses the firm for you.

What do I need to remortgage?

From the legal side: proof of identity, your current mortgage account details, and the new lender's mortgage offer. We tell you exactly what we need when you instruct us.

Remortgaging soon?

Our page for remortgage solicitors explains how we handle a remortgage, and your remortgage quote shows the fee for your home. Our conveyancing services page covers every other kind of property work we do.

Sources

Stamp Duty when land or property is transferred: gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/land-and-property-transfers

Our fees: our fee scale, checked 20 October 2026. Published ranges: our fees page.

This is general information about remortgaging a home in England and Wales, not legal, mortgage or tax advice. Whether a remortgage suits you is a financial decision; speak to a mortgage broker or your lender. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England; a home in Wales pays Land Transaction Tax instead.