The cost of selling a house

How much does it cost to sell a house?

There are many costs to take into account when you sell your home. The table below gives a rough idea of what you might need to spend.

Average costs for selling a house

The costs of selling a house will depend on various factors, including the size, value and location of the property. But here are some ballpark figures:

^[1]_{Based on 1.5% of a property sold for £270,000 (average house price according to UK House Price Index, October 2025).}

Let’s look at each of these fees more closely, as well as other costs to factor in when selling your home.

Conveyancing fees

You’ll need to employ a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to manage the legal aspects of your house sale. If you’re buying a home at the same time, they can also handle that transaction.

Conveyancing fees range from around £800 to £2,400 depending on how complex the transaction is.

If you're selling a leasehold property, you’ll usually face a further charge of between £100 and £300 to cover the extra legal work, such as reviewing the lease.

To find out more about the legal process of transferring property, read our guide to conveyancing.

Energy Performance Certificate

You’ll need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) before you can legally put your home on the market.

An EPC grades how energy-efficient your property is, with A being the highest and G the lowest. It also suggests ways to improve your rating, so you may want to consider these before selling.

There’s no fixed fee for an EPC. The cost depends on factors like the type of property you own and the number of bedrooms it has. You should expect to be charged anywhere between £65 and £120 for this service. Your EPC will remain valid for 10 years.

To see if you already have an EPC, visit the energy certificate page on the UK Government website.

Removal costs

When selling up, you’ll also need to think about how much it will cost to move all your furniture and possessions out of your house.

Removal costs can vary considerably, depending on:

• The size of your house

• The amount of belongings you want moved

• How far you’re going

• The type of service you want.

According to Checkatrade, the average cost of removals for a three-bedroom house, including packing costs, is £1,300.

If you want to keep the costs down or don’t have many belongings, you might want to opt for a basic service where you do the packing yourself. A full removals service, which typically includes packing materials, packing and unpacking, dismantling and reassembly, will cost more.

Some removal companies offer discounts on advance bookings, so always try to plan ahead and compare prices.

Selling a home in Scotland

If you’re selling a property in Scotland, the process is slightly different to the rest of the UK. It’s your responsibility to organise a Home Report for the buyer before you put your home on the market.

This contains:

• A survey and valuation

• Details of past repairs, alterations and extensions

• An energy performance certificate.

Home Reports generally cost between £585 and £820, depending on the property size, age and location.

If you don’t give a potential buyer a Home Report within nine days of them asking for it, you could be fined £500 by your council's trading standards service.

Are there any other costs of selling a house I need to consider?

There’s a couple of other potential costs you should think about before putting your house on the market:

Preparing your house for sale

The costs involved in preparing your house for sale will vary, depending on how much work needs to be done. This could range anywhere from a quick lick of paint to a full-blown roof replacement.

If something crops up in the home survey, it’s likely your buyers may want to renegotiate the price. Alternatively, they might ask you to fix the problem before they go ahead with the purchase.

Redirecting your mail

You can use the Royal Mail redirection service to forward your post to your new address for up to 12 months after you sell up. This will help to ensure no important letters or documents go missing after you move. Prices start at £41.50.

Mortgage fees: porting vs re-mortgaging

If you’re selling a house with a mortgage, you can usually port your mortgage to your new property. This can be worthwhile if you’re on a particularly good deal with a low interest rate or you want to avoid an early repayment charge (ERC).

The other option is to take out a new deal – and moving house is an ideal time to see if you could save by remortgaging. But remember that you’ll have to factor in the ERC, which could be between 1% and 5% of the outstanding mortgage balance. You might also face an exit fee of up to £300.

At this point it would be best to get expert advice from a mortgage advisor. They’ll help you do the sums and work out which option would be the most cost-effective.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Expert mortgage advice

Our partners London & Country Mortgages Ltd (L&C)** offer fee-free, expert mortgage advice. They’ll do the sums and help you work out the best financial option for your needs.

**London & Country Mortgages Ltd (L&C) are a multi-award-winning mortgage broker with over 20 years’ experience in helping people secure their perfect mortgage. Advice is provided by L&C, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (143002). L&C are not part of Compare the Market Limited. Compare the Market receive a % of the commission that our partner London & Country earns. All applications are subject to lending and eligibility criteria.

L&C will not charge you a broker fee should you decide to proceed with a mortgage.