Completion day: your complete guide

Completion day is the day the property changes hands: the money reaches the seller’s solicitor, ownership passes to the buyer and the keys are released. This guide explains what happens on completion day, what to do before it and what happens afterwards, for buyers and sellers. You can print it and use the checklists as you go.

What completion means

Completion is the final legal step of a purchase or sale. On completion day:

• the buyer’s money, from their lender and from them, reaches the seller’s solicitor;
• ownership of the property passes to the buyer;
• the estate agent releases the keys.

How completion differs from exchange. Exchange of contracts comes first. It is the point where the sale becomes legally binding and the completion date is fixed. Completion is that agreed date, when the money moves and the property changes hands. There is usually a gap of 1 to 4 weeks between the two, but they can happen on the same day.

Keep your money safe in the days before completion. This is when payment fraud is most often attempted, because large sums are about to move.

Between exchange and completion

Once contracts are exchanged, the date is fixed. Use these lists to prepare.

If you are buying

• Book your removals for completion day.
• Confirm your buildings insurance is in place from exchange. You are committed from that date, and your lender will require cover by completion at the latest.
• Pay the balance from your completion statement, as cleared funds, in good time before completion, usually at least two working days before. Your conveyancer will confirm the date.
• Call us on the number you already have for us to confirm our bank details before you pay.
• Check your bank’s daily transfer limits, so a large payment is not held up.
• Agree with the estate agent how and where you will collect the keys.

If you are selling

• Book your removals for completion day.
• Plan to leave the property empty by the agreed time, with the fixtures and fittings you agreed to include.
• Arrange to hand the keys to the estate agent on the day.
• Keep paying your mortgage as normal until completion.

Everyone

• Arrange to take meter readings on the day: gas, electricity and water.
• Tell the council (for council tax), your energy and water suppliers, your broadband provider and your insurers that you are moving.
• Update your address with your bank, your GP and the DVLA.
• Arrange for Royal Mail to redirect your post.

On the day

Completion follows the same steps every time, although the timing varies.

1. Morning: we send the money. If you are buying, we send the purchase money, from your lender and from you, to the seller’s solicitor by same-day bank transfer.
2. The seller’s solicitor confirms they have received it. At that moment the sale is complete.
3. The estate agent releases the keys. The seller’s solicitor tells the agent, and the agent hands over the keys.

Many completions happen around midday to early afternoon, depending on the chain. The contract usually sets a latest time for completion on the day, often early afternoon.

Why the keys can come later than you expect. In a chain, the money moves up the chain one link at a time. The buyer at the bottom pays their seller, who then pays for their own purchase, and so on. Nobody can collect keys until the money has reached the seller’s solicitor for that property, so if you are near the top of a long chain, your keys may be released later in the day.

If completion is delayed

Most completions happen on the agreed day, but delays do happen.

Why it happens

• Money gets held up somewhere in the chain, for example at a lender or a bank.
• Funds arrive late from a buyer or a lender.

What we do

We track the money, keep in touch with the other solicitors in the chain, and tell you what is happening as soon as we know.

What you can do

• Stay in touch with your removals firm and the estate agent, and let them know about any delay.
• Keep your phone to hand so we can reach you.

The consequences of a late completion depend on the terms of the contract. We will explain the position on your own matter.

After completion: if you bought

• Stamp Duty. We pay your Stamp Duty Land Tax and file the return. The return is due within 14 days of completion. For property in Wales, Land Transaction Tax applies instead, and its return is due within 30 days.
• Registration. We apply to HM Land Registry to register you as the owner, together with your lender’s charge. Registration can take weeks or many months; HM Land Registry publishes its current processing times.
• Your title. When registration is complete, we send you a copy of the updated title.
• Your file. We then close your file.

Our article on what happens after completion explains these steps in more detail.

After completion: if you sold

• Your mortgage. We repay your mortgage from the sale money on the day.
• The estate agent. We pay the agent’s fees, as shown on your completion statement.
• Your balance. We send the balance to the bank account you have already confirmed with us.
• Your lender’s discharge. Your lender confirms the mortgage is repaid with a form called a DS1, which is sent to HM Land Registry so its charge is removed from the title.
• Your file. Once that is confirmed, we close your file.

Your moving checklist

One list to print and tick off. Items marked for buyers or sellers apply only to you if you are doing that.

After exchange

• Book removals for completion day.
• Buyers: confirm buildings insurance from exchange.
• Buyers: call us on the number you already have for us to confirm our bank details.
• Buyers: pay the balance from the completion statement in good time, and check your bank’s daily limits.
• Sellers: keep paying your mortgage until completion.
• Tell the council, energy and water suppliers, broadband provider and insurers that you are moving.
• Update your address with your bank, your GP and the DVLA.
• Arrange for Royal Mail to redirect your post.
• Agree key collection or handover with the estate agent.

On completion day

• Keep your phone to hand so we, the agent and your removals firm can reach you.
• Sellers: leave the property empty by the agreed time, with the agreed fixtures and fittings.
• Sellers: hand the keys to the estate agent.
• Take meter readings for gas, electricity and water, and photograph them.
• Buyers: collect the keys once we tell you completion has taken place.

After completion

• Buyers: look out for your copy of the updated title from us.
• Sellers: check the balance has reached your account.
• Keep your completion statement and our letters somewhere safe.

Frequently asked questions