Do I need a specialist conveyancing solicitor for Help to Buy?

Yes. Dealing with a government equity loan adds a significant layer of legal complexity to a standard property transaction. Your solicitor must be experienced in dealing directly with the Help to Buy Administrator (Homes England), obtaining the correct 'Authority to Proceed' and 'Authority to Complete', and ensuring all legal undertakings meet strict government deadlines. A standard conveyancer without this specific experience can cause severe delays to your transaction.

Do I need a RICS valuation if I am just transferring equity?

Not always. If you are simply adding or removing a name from the Help to Buy loan without paying any of the equity off, Homes England does not require a RICS valuation. However, if your Transfer of Equity is happening simultaneously with a partial or full repayment (staircasing), a compliant RICS valuation becomes a mandatory legal requirement.

What is the Homes England administration fee?

Whether you are repaying your loan in full, staircasing, or remortgaging, Homes England charges a mandatory, non-refundable administration fee to process your legal paperwork. For standard Help to Buy schemes, this fee is £200. For older government initiatives, such as FirstBuy or HomeBuy Direct, the administration fee is £250.

Can I use an estate agent's appraisal instead of a RICS surveyor?

No. Homes England will immediately reject standard mortgage valuations, drive-by valuations, or estate agent appraisals. Your property must be physically inspected and valued by a surveyor who is registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) at either MRICS or FRICS level. They must also be completely independent of your estate agent.

What happens if my Help to Buy valuation expires?

Your initial RICS valuation report is strictly valid for 3 months. If your conveyancing process takes longer than this—which is common when dealing with complex chains or remortgages—your solicitor cannot proceed until the valuation is renewed. You will need to contact your original surveyor and pay for a 'Desktop Valuation' to extend the validity period for a further 3 months.

Can I add or remove someone from my Help to Buy property without paying it off?

Yes, you can. This is processed as a Transfer of Equity. Your conveyancing solicitor will need to submit a formal application to the Help to Buy Administrator to change the names on the legal title. As long as no equity is being redeemed during this transaction, you avoid the need for a valuation, though standard legal and administrative fees will still apply. Read our complete guide: Help to Buy: Transfer of Equity Process.

Help to Buy Conveyancing Solicitors

We are specialists in repaying your Help to Buy loan. Whether it's a partial or full repayment, we provide all the services you need.

Our quotes are Fixed All-Inclusive Fees and kept competitive by our panel of specialist CQS-accredited conveyancing solicitors. Trusted by thousands each year, you'll be in safe hands.

Fixed Fees

Panel of RICS Surveyors

SAM Conveyancing are on 99% of all mortgage lender panels

99% of Mortgage Panels

SAM's Panel solicitors are accredited by the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) from The Law Society

CQS Accredited

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How our Help to Buy solicitors can help you

Dealing with Homes England requires specialist administrative and legal knowledge. Our hand-selected panel of expert, SRA-regulated conveyancing solicitors handles Help to Buy transactions every single day. Because our solicitors are approved and sit on 99% of mortgage lender panels, we can seamlessly manage both your Help to Buy repayment and your new mortgage or sale simultaneously.

We pride ourselves on providing a transparent, fixed-fee service with no hidden extras, so you know exactly what your legal costs will be from day one. Whether you need a local RICS-regulated surveyor to provide your Help to Buy valuation or a specialist solicitor to finalise the complex paperwork, we offer a complete, end-to-end solution to remove the stress from your property transaction.

What Help to Buy services do we offer?

We offer a complete solution for any Help to Buy service you need, including:

Help to Buy RICS Valuation (Nationwide)
Desktop extensions for expiring valuations
Help to Buy Repayment: partially or fully
Transfer of Equity (without paying off the loan)
Remortgage, whether paying off a loan or not

Why choose SAM Conveyancing for your Help to Buy transaction?

I am one of the specialists in Help to Buy Conveyancing Solicitors you could be working with. I pride myself on delivering fast, friendly service while meeting strict Homes England timelines. When you work with SAM Conveyancing, you'll benefit from:

100% Fixed Fee Guarantee: Our quotes are completely transparent. The price you are quoted is the price you pay, with no hidden extras.
No Move, No Fee Protection: If your sale or remortgage falls through through no fault of your own, you will not lose your legal fees.
Nationwide Coverage: Our hand-selected panel of SRA-regulated and CQS-accredited solicitors covers all of England and Wales.
Seamless Co-ordination: We can provide both your RICS Help to Buy valuation and your conveyancing solicitor under one roof, saving you time and preventing frustrating delays.

Ruth Nippers

Partner & Conveyancing Solicitor

Help to Buy Conveyancing Solicitors' Fees

Your legal fees will vary depending on the type of property you own and whether you are paying off your Help to Buy equity loan in full or partially (staircasing). We pride ourselves on transparent, fixed-fee quotes with no hidden extras.

Help to Buy Service	Freehold	Leasehold
Full Repayment	£333 INC VAT	£433 INC VAT
Partial Repayment	£393 INC VAT	£493 INC VAT
RICS Valuation Homes England-compliant	£360 INC VAT	£360 INC VAT
Remortgage	£347 INC VAT	£347 INC VAT
Transfer of Equity	£499 INC VAT	£499 INC VAT
Building Safety Act (BSA)	N/a	£360 to £900 INC VAT The cost depends on what work is required.

We have a hand-selected panel of excellent Help to Buy conveyancing solicitors and RICS Valuers who will meet Homes England's strict requirements. Get a quote to finalise your Help to Buy repayment today.

Disbursements

Help to Buy Repayment Conveyancing Disbursements

These are often called third-party costs and are payments you need to pay outside of the fee you pay for the solicitor's legal work. These are the types of disbursements you'll need to pay:

Description	Cost
Application Fee You must pay the admin fee set by Help to Buy. For older government initiatives, such as FirstBuy or HomeBuy Direct the cost is £250.	£200
RICS Valuation You must pay to have the Homes England-compliant valuation report. If you are simply adding or removing a name from the Help to Buy loan without paying any of it off, Homes England does not require a RICS valuation.	£240 to £360 INC VAT
Land Registration Fee The Land Registry cost is based on the price of your property.	£20-£140
Local Authority Search Indemnity When remortgaging, you can get local search indemnity insurance instead of all the normal conveyancing searches the lender requires when you purchase the property. The insurance cost depends on the property's value.	£50-£120
Online ID Check A Solicitor will charge an online ID fee per person on the legal title, and for anyone paying money.	£18 to £50 INC VAT
Official Copy of Register and Title Plan (per title)	£10 per document
Online Mortgage Fee Mortgage lenders charge a fee to download a mortgage. The cost depends on the online portal they use, such as LMS or Lender Exchange.	£12 to £45 INC VAT
(if leasehold) Official Copy of the Lease	£3
(if leasehold) Notice to freeholder	£TBC

How it works

How our Help to Buy process works

While the exact legal steps differ depending on whether you are selling, staircasing, or redeeming, our overarching process is designed to be as stress-free as possible:

Get your Fixed-Fee Quote: Tell us what you need to achieve, and we will provide an instant, transparent quote for the legal work and your RICS valuation.
Instruct: We will assign you a dedicated, specialist Help to Buy conveyancing solicitor and, if required, we also have a local RICS surveyor to value your property.
We Handle Homes England: Your solicitor will liaise directly with the Help to Buy Administrator, secure the necessary Authority to Proceed, process the legal deeds, and register the final transaction at HM Land Registry.

How long does the Help to Buy conveyancing take?

The time to complete a Help to Buy repayment varies depending on how you are funding the repayment, and if you are linking the repayment to a conveyancing chain by selling.

Selling a Help to Buy property: The process can be completed between 10 and 12 weeks for a freehold and longer for a leasehold. Transactions involving third parties, such as your buyer and potentially an onward purchase, may take longer to complete.
Partial or Full Repayment: The process can be completed within 3 months with a remortgage or personal savings. If the property is a leasehold or has Building Safety Act issues, then the process will take longer, and you'll need to extend your valuation, potentially more than once.

How does the Building Safety Act affect Help to Buy repayments?

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) introduced stringent new regulations regarding fire safety and cladding. If your Help to Buy property is a leasehold apartment in a building over 11 metres (typically 5 storeys) tall, these rules will directly impact how you value your property and repay your equity loan.

CRITICAL RISK - Unapproved Valuers: If your building is affected by external cladding, a standard Help to Buy valuation will not suffice. Homes England explicitly requires you to instruct a specialist MRICS or FRICS valuer experienced in cladding issues. Crucially, Homes England must formally approve your chosen valuer before they conduct the physical inspection.
HIGH RISK - EWS1 Form Requirements: Your RICS surveyor, conveyancing solicitor, and mortgage lender will likely require an EWS1 Form (External Wall System) from your building's management company. If remediation works are required, the valuer must factor these estimated costs into the final valuation report.
MODERATE RISK - Extended Legal Timeframes: The BSA has drastically increased the administrative burden on conveyancing solicitors. Because your legal team must now obtain complex Landlord's Certificates and verify government remediation funding streams, you should expect your Help to Buy redemption to take significantly longer than a standard freehold transaction.

Leaseholder Protections: The BSA protects "qualifying leaseholders" from the crippling costs of removing unsafe cladding. During the conveyancing process, your solicitor will draft and submit a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate. This legally proves you are not liable for massive repair bills, preventing the property's market value from plummeting (which would artificially skew Homes England's repayment figure).

What are the Help to Buy Schemes we can help you with

We can help with all of the Help to Buy schemes in the market, including:

Homes England

We can help partially or fully repay your Help to Buy Loan in England.

Help to Buy Wales

The Welsh Government has extended the Help to Buy scheme until 31 March 2027. This means we can help buyers in Wales purchase a new build using the government's scheme. Read more about: Help to Buy Wales Scheme.

Forces Help to Buy

The Forces Help to Buy scheme is a government initiative designed to help military personnel purchase their own home. Read more about: Forces Help to Buy Scheme.

Expert Tip: You need a conveyancing solicitor before you contact Help to Buy

The biggest confusion at the outset of a Help to Buy application is when to instruct your solicitor. The answer is you get your RICS valuation first, and then your conveyancing solicitor, as you need to provide both to Help to Buy in your Application Form.

The problem with this, though, is that many clients leave it a few weeks before instructing their solicitor and applying to Help to Buy, normally because they are focusing on their mortgage application. This is where you can make a very costly error.

Your valuation expires after 3 months, and believe it or not, you need every day in that time to complete the repayment process, especially if the property is a leasehold. If you don't start your application close to the survey date, you'll end up with an expiring valuation and need to pay for a desktop valuation. This is completely avoidable if, on the day you get your valuation, you instruct your solicitor, send off your Application Form, and then focus on your mortgage application.

Andrew Boast FMAAT

CEO & Managing Director

Help to Buy Repayment Solicitors

We provide the complete Help to Buy redemption service from local RICS surveyors, to specialist Help to Buy Solicitors.