A property transaction is the largest contract most people ever sign — and the costliest place to discover a problem late. Connaught Law's property solicitors act for buyers, sellers and owners across London and the UK: conveyancing that moves at the pace of your chain, and straight answers when title, covenants or lease terms throw up surprises.
· Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority · Legal 500 · Lexcel
How We Can Help
Selling a Property
Sales fall through on delay more than on price. We prepare the contract pack on day one, answer enquiries fast enough to keep buyers committed, and manage exchange around your chain. Where a sale has complications — tenants in place, unregistered title, probate — we say so early and solve them in parallel, not in sequence.
Leasehold Transactions
Leasehold purchases carry questions freehold buyers never face: lease length and its effect on value and mortgageability, ground rent terms lenders now scrutinise, service charges and management packs. We report on the lease in plain English before you're committed — and where the lease is short, our lease extension service deals with it, before or after completion. Our guide to assigning a lease covers the transfer mechanics.
Remortgage & Transfer of Equity
Remortgages, transfers of equity on separation or estate planning, and lender requirements handled to panel standards — we act for a wide range of lenders through our lender panel service, which keeps both sides of the transaction under one roof and completions on schedule.
Covenants, Title Defects & Indemnities
Restrictive covenants that block your extension, missing title documents, boundary uncertainty, rights of way, chancel and access issues — the problems that surface in searches and stall transactions. We advise on what a covenant actually prohibits, when indemnity insurance is the pragmatic fix, and when a title needs proper rectification or a covenant needs releasing before you build.
New Build, Auction & Off-Plan
Each has its own clock: developer deadlines and incentive conditions on new builds, 28-day completions on auction purchases, deposit protection and long-stop dates off-plan. We work to those timescales as standard — and flag the contract terms developers and sellers hope you won't read.
How We Work
You deal with the person actually running your transaction — not a case-tracking portal with a law firm attached. Costs are set out clearly before you instruct us, updates come without chasing, and problems are raised the day we find them with a recommendation attached, because a transaction only stays on schedule when decisions are made quickly.
Where your matter touches other specialisms — a short lease, a dispute with a neighbour over a covenant, tax on a purchase — the relevant team is in the same firm, and the handover is a conversation, not a referral.
Why Connaught Law
01Speed where it mattersContract packs out on day one, enquiries answered in days not weeks — because transactions die of delay.
02Plain-English reportingYou get what the lease or title actually means for you, not twenty pages of recitation.
03Senior attention throughoutYour transaction is run by our experienced property team, not passed down — with direct access to the person handling it.
04The whole pictureLease extensions, disputes, finance and tax sit in the same firm — problems get solved, not referred out.
Fee structures are set out on our fees page — and our conveyancing calculator gives you an estimate in minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does conveyancing take?
A straightforward freehold purchase typically runs eight to twelve weeks from offer to completion; leasehold, chains and management-pack delays add time. The biggest variable is responsiveness on all sides — which is why we answer enquiries in days and chase the parties who don't.
What is a restrictive covenant on a property?
A binding promise on the land itself — commonly restricting building, extensions, business use or alterations — which runs with the property and binds every future owner. Some are obsolete, some are enforceable and actively policed. Before you buy or build, the covenant's wording and history need reading properly; the fix may be insurance, consent or a formal release.
Do I need a solicitor to remortgage?
Yes — the new lender requires legal work on the title, redemption of the existing charge and registration of theirs. Where we're on the lender's panel, one firm handles both sides, which is faster and usually cheaper than split representation.
Should I worry about buying a short-lease flat?
Not necessarily — but price it in. Leases nearing 80 years affect value and mortgageability, and extending costs more once below that threshold. Since 2025 you no longer need two years' ownership before claiming a statutory extension, so a purchase and extension can be planned together; we run both.
Buying, selling or refinancing?
Tell us about the transaction. We'll give you a clear costs picture, a realistic timescale and a named solicitor — before you commit to anything.
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