Quick answer
- No move, no legal fee is our name for how we charge if your sale or purchase falls through.
- You pay the File Opening Fee (Non-refundable), £100 + VAT, and disbursements we have already paid out.
- Anything else you have paid us is refunded, or carried over to your next property.
- Offers like this have no official definition, so ask any firm for its terms in writing.
No move, no legal fee is our name for how we charge if your sale or purchase falls through. You pay the File Opening Fee (Non-refundable), £100 + VAT, and any disbursements we have already paid out on your behalf. Anything else you have paid us is refunded, or carried over to your next property.
Get a written, itemised quote before you instruct us.
What does "No move, no legal fee" mean?
Conveyancing is the legal work of buying or selling a property and passing ownership from one person to another. "No move, no legal fee" is the name we give to our terms for a deal that does not go ahead. It applies to a sale or a purchase that falls through. The exact amounts are in the table below, and they match what we publish on our fees page.
Many people search for this idea as "no sale, no fee". It is a marketing phrase, not a legal term. We found no official definition of it, so what it means depends on the firm using it and the terms that firm writes down.
This page is about legal fees only. Estate agents charge separately and set their own terms.
Do I pay anything if my sale or purchase falls through?
You may. Costs that have already been paid out do not disappear when a deal ends.
A disbursement is a cost your solicitor pays to someone else on your behalf. A search is a common example. If it has been paid out before the deal falls through, it is still a cost of your matter.
Firms set their own terms for an opening fee, for disbursements already paid out and for money you have paid in advance. Read the written terms of any firm before you instruct it. The checklist further down shows what to look for.
What do I pay with Waterstone Legal if my sale or purchase falls through?
You pay two things. Everything else you have paid us comes back to you, or moves with you to your next property.
The File Opening Fee is one of the items in the fees we quote you. Our fees page lists it by this exact name, and your itemised quote shows the amounts for your own matter.
Exchange of contracts is the point where buyer and seller swap signed contracts. GOV.UK explains that exchange legally binds both sides. If you are thinking of stepping back after that point, read what happens if you pull out after exchange.
The table covers a sale or purchase that falls through before exchange. We cannot say how any particular deal will end, and these terms do not change that.
What should I check in any fall-through offer?
Ask these questions before you instruct a firm:
- What is the offer called, and where are its terms written down?
- Is there an opening fee or an admin fee? Is it refundable?
- Do I pay for searches and other costs the firm has already paid out?
- Is anything charged if I withdraw, or if the other side withdraws?
- What happens to money I have already paid: is it refunded, or carried over to another property?
- Does the price change if the deal does complete?
- Do the terms stop applying at exchange of contracts?
- Can I have all of this in writing, in an itemised quote, before I instruct?
Questions 2, 3 and 5 are about money that has already moved. Ask for a figure for each one, not a general answer.
Solicitors regulated by the SRA must publish price information for some of the services they offer, including residential conveyancing. The SRA transparency rules explain what that means. We publish our fees under those rules.
How can I see my full cost?
We give you a written, itemised quote before you instruct us. It shows our fees and the costs paid to others on your behalf.
For a first estimate, see what a sale or purchase would cost with our calculator. See our fees for the full table, and read how a fixed fee works to see what a fixed fee covers.
Stamp Duty Land Tax and HM Land Registry fees are separate. They are not part of our fees, and we show them separately.
These guides go into more detail on each side of a move:
We have offices in London and Leicester. This page is general information, not advice on your own matter.
Get a written, itemised quote for conveyancing before you instruct us.
This guide is general information, not legal advice for your situation.