You need the same documents as any first-time buyer, plus your provider's finance offer and the name of the structure it uses. Get the identity and source-of-funds evidence together before you find a property — it is the stage that stalls most first purchases. And settle two questions at the quote stage rather than later: which structure your plan uses, and how Stamp Duty works when the provider buys alongside you.
Start here: nobody has explained the vocabulary to you
Two words will come up constantly and nobody hands you the glossary.
Home purchase plan (HPP) is what your product is actually called. "Halal mortgage" and "Islamic mortgage" are what people search for; HPP is what the documents say.
Your structure — most likely Diminishing Musharaka or Ijara — is how the provider takes its stake in the property. It decides what gets registered at the end and who holds the legal title while you are paying. If you want the mechanics, we have written what each structure puts on your title deeds separately. For this article, it is enough to know the word and to tell your solicitor which one you have.
The documents, in the order we ask for them
Who you are
Photo identification and proof of your current address. We do this electronically wherever we can, usually from your phone. It is the fastest stage of the whole transaction if you do it the day we ask, and one of the slowest if you leave it a fortnight.
Where the money came from
This is the part first-time buyers underestimate. We have to see not only that you have the deposit, but where it came from. In practice that means:
- bank statements covering the period the money accumulated;
- payslips or accounts if it was saved from income;
- evidence of the sale if it came from selling something;
- for a gifted deposit, a letter from the person gifting it, their identification, and evidence of their source of funds too.
None of this is suspicion. It is anti-money-laundering law, it applies to every buyer, and it is far less painful gathered in advance than assembled under time pressure in week six.
The property
The estate agent's memorandum of sale, and any documents the seller has already provided. If you are buying leasehold, expect the management pack to become a recurring topic.
The finance
Your provider's offer or agreement in principle, and the name of the structure. Send it to your solicitor at the quote stage, not once the file is running — it changes what we register and, occasionally, what we quote.
The timeline, honestly
Our fees page publishes a typical timescale of eight to fourteen weeks for a standard purchase. Roughly:
- Week 1: quote accepted, identity checks done, file open, contract pack requested, searches ordered.
- Weeks 1–2: title reviewed, searches in progress.
- Weeks 2–4: enquiries raised with the seller's conveyancer; the provider's documents arrive and are checked alongside.
- Weeks 3–6: the provider's requirements satisfied; the lease or co-ownership agreement settled; your report goes out.
- Then: exchange, and completion on the agreed date.
- After you move in: the Stamp Duty return and the Land Registry registration — quiet paperwork that finishes weeks or months later.
Almost none of that duration is the Islamic finance. It is searches, enquiries and the chain. The full stage-by-stage version is in the legal process for an Islamic home purchase plan, and what each stage costs is itemised in what a halal home purchase costs in legal fees.
Stamp Duty when the provider buys with you
Two separate things are going on here, and it is worth keeping them apart.
You should not be taxed twice. Because the provider acquires the property as part of the structure, the transaction can look like two purchases. HMRC's alternative property finance relief exists precisely so that Islamic finance buyers are not taxed twice on the same home. It is claimed on the return, and claiming it correctly is part of what we do on every one of these purchases.
First-time buyers' relief is a separate question. England's Stamp Duty rules give first-time buyers their own treatment, and how that treatment interacts with a home purchase plan is exactly the sort of thing to confirm before you commit rather than after. Ask us at the quote stage and we will tell you where you stand on your transaction.
Registration fees and the Stamp Duty itself are government charges, separate from our fee. Our fees page links straight through to HMRC's own calculator and HM Land Registry's fee scale so you can check the figures yourself.
Five things first-time buyers on a plan get wrong
- Leaving the identity and source-of-funds work until a property is agreed. Do it first. It costs nothing and saves a fortnight.
- Not telling the solicitor which structure the plan uses. It is the one detail that changes the legal work.
- Assuming a survey is included. It is not. A valuation for your provider is not a survey for you.
- Leaving buildings insurance until moving day. Your finance provider will normally require cover from exchange, and some contracts move the risk onto you at that point — though under the standard conditions of sale the seller keeps the risk until completion unless they are varied. Ask your solicitor what your contract says, and have the cover ready either way.
- Choosing a firm on price alone. On a home purchase plan, the difference between a firm that meets these documents regularly and one meeting them for the first time is measured in weeks.
What we do about it
Our Sharia-compliant home purchase service exists for exactly this transaction: the full legal work for you and for your finance provider in one firm, a named solicitor with a direct line, updates at each milestone, and a fixed fee agreed before we start.
One thing to check with any firm, including us: whether it can act for your particular provider as well as for you. We are on the panels of the major high street banks and building societies, but that is a count of conventional lender panels — the Islamic provider you are using is the one that matters, and it is a question we settle at the quote stage rather than in week four. The three questions worth asking any firm cover the rest.
Questions people ask
Can I do the identity and source-of-funds work before I have found a property?
Yes, and you should. Identity checks and source-of-funds evidence are the same whichever property you end up buying, and getting them done in advance takes the slowest avoidable stage out of the timeline entirely. Ask any firm you are considering whether it will start those checks at the quote stage.
How much deposit will I need?
That is set by your finance provider, not by us, and it varies by product. Ask your provider or a regulated broker before you start viewing, because it determines your budget more than anything else does.
Can I use a Lifetime ISA towards a home purchase plan?
Ask before you rely on it. Lifetime ISA withdrawals for a first home have their own conditions, and how they apply where a finance provider is acquiring an interest in the property needs checking against the scheme rules rather than assumed.
When should I instruct a solicitor — before or after my offer is accepted?
Get your quote and start the identity work before, and instruct formally as soon as the estate agent issues the memorandum of sale. Sellers and agents read a buyer who already has a solicitor in place as a serious one, and the first fortnight of a purchase is mostly waiting for things you can set in motion early.
Shah leads the firm’s Islamic finance work and its CQS accreditation, and has completed halal purchases with every major UK provider.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For advice on your own matter, make an enquiry — it's free and confidential.