How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House (UK)

You’ve agreed on a sale price for your home. Brilliant!

But here’s the question that catches many sellers off guard: how much of that money will you actually keep?

If you’re like most homeowners, you’ve probably focused on the headline figure — what your house will sell for. But the reality is, selling a property through a traditional estate agent comes with a lengthy list of costs that can eat away thousands from your final payout.

This guide breaks down every potential cost of selling a house with a traditional estate agent in the UK, so there are no nasty surprises.

We’ll also show you how alternative selling methods can eliminate these fees entirely — putting more money in your pocket and completing the sale in days rather than months.

The Main Costs of Selling Your House

Let’s start with the explicit fees you’ll encounter when selling through an estate agent. These are the costs that will directly reduce the amount you receive from your sale.

Estate Agent Fees: The Biggest Bite

Estate agent fees are typically the largest single expense when selling your home.

Most traditional high street estate agents charge between 1% and 3% of your final sale price, plus 20% VAT. That might not sound like much as a percentage, but let’s put it in real terms.

The average estate agent fee in the UK is around 1.42% including VAT, according to the HomeOwners Alliance.

Let’s say you’re selling a property for £285,000 at the average rate.

That’s £4,047 going straight to your estate agent.

Over four thousand pounds.

And here’s the kicker: that fee comes out regardless of how much work your agent actually does. Whether your house sells in a week or sits on the market for six months, whether they conduct two viewings or twenty, the percentage remains the same.

You might be thinking about online or hybrid agents who offer cheaper fixed fees. Yes, they typically charge less — usually between £500 and £1,500. But there’s a catch. These fees are often payable upfront, whether your house sells or not. If your sale falls through, you don’t get that money back.

Important clarification: Unlike estate agents who charge a percentage of your sale price, solicitors work differently. Some sellers mistakenly believe conveyancers take “25%” or some other percentage. They don’t. Solicitors charge fixed fees (see below), not percentage-based fees. The percentage model only applies to estate agents.

Legal Fees (Conveyancing): The Essential Expense

You can’t sell a house without a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to handle the legal transfer of ownership. It’s not optional — it’s a legal requirement.

Conveyancing costs typically range from £850 to £1,500 for a straightforward sale, according to Which?. But that word “straightforward” is doing a lot of heavy lifting. If you’re selling a leasehold property, dealing with boundary disputes, or have any complications with your title deeds, expect those costs to climb higher.

Most solicitors will also charge additional fees for things like bank transfers (usually £20-50 per transfer), dealing with your mortgage redemption, and various searches and checks. These “disbursements” can add another few hundred pounds to your bill.

If you’d like more details on the cost of conveyancing, then this guide will dive into this in a lot more detail, so you’ll get a much better idea of how much it will cost you for your property. We also have a guide here about cheap conveyancers.

Note for Wales: If you’re selling in Wales, your buyer will pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT) rather than Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), which has different thresholds. You can find details on the Welsh Revenue Authority website.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC): The Legal Requirement

Before you can even market your property, you need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). You can find all the official details on the government’s EPC guidance page.

An EPC typically costs between £60 and £120, depending on your property size and location. The certificate is valid for 10 years, so if you’ve had one done recently, you might be able to skip this cost. But for most sellers, it’s another expense to add to the list.

You can check EPC certificates here.

Mortgage Exit and Early Repayment Fees: The Sting in the Tail

If you still have a mortgage on your property, your lender will want their pound of flesh when you pay it off.

First, there’s the mortgage exit fee, sometimes called an “account closing fee”. This typically ranges from £50 to £300.

But the real sting can be the Early Repayment Charge (ERC). If you’re still within a fixed-rate period, your lender may charge you a penalty for paying off your mortgage early. These charges can be substantial — typically 1% to 5% of your outstanding loan amount.

Let’s say you have £150,000 left on your mortgage and face a 3% ERC.

That’s £4,500 gone, just like that.

If your mortgage lender has an online account, you should be able to log in and check the ERC rates for your mortgage. Otherwise you might need to go digging through old paperwork or give them a call to figure out exactly what the cost would be for you.

Removal Costs: The Final Expense

Once you’ve sold, you need to actually move out. Removal costs vary wildly, but a typical three-bedroom house move will cost between £600 and £2,000, according to industry estimates.

If you’re moving a long distance or need storage, these costs can easily double or triple.

We’ve written here extensively about the costs of moving house, so do go check that out.

Capital Gains Tax (for Investment Properties & Second Homes)

Here’s a cost that doesn’t apply to most people selling their main home — but if you’re selling a second property, a buy-to-let, or an inherited property you didn’t live in, you need to know about Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Your main residence is protected by Principal Private Residence relief, which means you don’t pay CGT when selling the home you live in.

But for investment properties and second homes, you’ll pay CGT on the profit you’ve made.

The rates are:

• 18% for basic-rate taxpayers
• 24% for higher-rate taxpayers

You get a tax-free allowance of £3,000 per year (as of 2026). Anything above that is taxable.

So if you bought a buy-to-let for £200,000, sold it for £280,000, and your costs (purchase, improvements, selling fees) totalled £10,000, your taxable gain would be £70,000. Minus the £3,000 allowance = £67,000 taxable. At 24%, that’s £16,080 in tax.

That’s a significant cost.

Good news: You can deduct some selling costs from your CGT calculation, including estate agent fees and legal fees. Keep all receipts.

You must report and pay CGT within 60 days of completion. Full details are on HMRC’s CGT property guidance page.

Do Sellers Pay Stamp Duty?

This is a common question, so let’s clear it up:

No, sellers don’t pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) or Land Transaction Tax (LTT).

Those taxes are paid by the buyer when they purchase the property — not by you when you sell.

However, if you’re selling a second home or investment property (as mentioned above), you may face Capital Gains Tax on your profit. But that’s a completely different tax with different rules.

So if someone asks “Do I pay stamp duty when I sell my house?” — the answer is no. That’s the buyer’s responsibility.

The only tax you might pay as a seller is CGT, and only if the property isn’t your main home.

The ‘Hidden’ Costs of a Slow Sale

Now we get to the costs that most sellers don’t consider — but they’re often the most painful.

The Problem: Time Is Money (Literally)

The average time to sell a property in the UK, from listing to completion, can stretch beyond 20 weeks in many regions. That’s five months of your life in limbo.

And every single day your house sits on the market costs you money.

But wherever you are, the waiting costs stack up.

Running Costs: The Meter Keeps Ticking

While you wait for a buyer and the legal process to unfold, you’re still paying:

• Monthly mortgage payments
• Council Tax
• Gas and electricity bills
• Water rates
• Buildings and contents insurance

Let’s be conservative and say your monthly household bills total £1,500. Over a typical 5-month sale process, that’s £7,500 in holding costs alone.

That’s right. Seven and a half thousand pounds, just for the privilege of waiting.

Now, you could argue that you’d have to live somewhere, and wherever that location is (new house or old), you’d be paying these bills either way. And of course you’d be right — if you’re selling your main residence and moving straight into another property, many of these costs are unavoidable.

But the picture changes completely if:

• The house you’re selling is a second home, rental property, or inherited property (you’re paying bills on an empty property)
• You’ve already bought your next home and are now paying two mortgages
• You’re stuck in a chain and can’t move forward

In these scenarios, every extra week on the market is money out of your pocket.

Bridging Finance Costs (If You Need to Buy First)

Here’s a scenario many sellers face: you’ve found your dream home and need to move quickly, but your own property hasn’t sold yet.

Enter bridging finance.

A bridging loan is a short-term loan that “bridges” the gap between buying your new property and selling your old one. It lets you complete the purchase while you wait for your sale to go through.

The catch? Bridging loans are expensive.

Interest rates typically range from 0.5% to 1.5% per month, not per year. That’s roughly 6% to 18% annually. Plus arrangement fees, valuation fees, and legal fees.

If you borrow £200,000 for 6 months at 1% per month, that’s £12,000 in interest alone.

For some people, bridging finance is the only way to avoid losing their dream home. But it’s another significant cost to factor in.

The alternative: Selling to a cash buyer first can break the chain entirely. You get a certain sale with a completion date you can rely on, which means you can buy your next home with confidence and no bridging loan needed.

We help sellers in this situation all the time — around 100 enquiries per month come from people whose buyer has pulled out or who need to secure their onward purchase.

Repairs and Staging: The Beauty Contest

Here’s an uncomfortable truth: buyers are picky.

To attract them, you’ll likely need to spend money on redecorating, garden tidying, and minor repairs.

These costs can range from a few hundred pounds to several thousand. And there’s no guarantee these improvements will actually speed up your sale or get you a better price.

For major repairs, we have a whole section on our website that covers the cost for major repairs. Everything from changing a septic tank, to replacing all your windows, to removing a load bearing wall, and everything in between is covered in this array of guides.

The Cost of a Broken Chain: When It All Falls Apart

This is the nightmare scenario that keeps sellers awake at night.

And it should.

The sale fallthrough often means you’ve wasted money. It could mean that you’ve wasted estate agent fees if using an online estate agent. It normally means you’ve wasted legal fees since many conveyancers will often want to be paid regardless of sale success. And, if it’s a second property, you’ve wasted ‘holding fees’ i.e. bills associated with having a vacant property.

We’ve got a super in-depth guide on the cost of a broken property chain over here. I highly recommend you read it if you’re interested in diving deeper into that topic.

The Alternative: A Fast, No-Fee Sale

What if you could bypass all these costs and uncertainties?

This isn’t a pipe dream. It’s exactly what we do at Property Rescue.

As professional cash house buyers, we’ve stripped away everything that makes traditional selling expensive, stressful, and uncertain. No estate agents. No chains. No waiting. No fees.

The Direct Comparison: Traditional Sale vs Property Rescue

Let’s put the numbers side by side:

Those aren’t typos. When you sell to Property Rescue, you pay nothing. Zero. Not a penny.

But here’s the full picture:

We cover your legal fees — and I should be upfront about why. The legal costs are factored into our offer price, so there’s nothing hidden. You accepted a lower price for speed and certainty, and in return you don’t pay a penny in fees. That’s the trade-off, and it works for both sides.

Now, here’s the maths most people don’t do.

By the time you’ve paid your estate agent (around 1.42% on average), covered your solicitor, kept up with mortgage payments for six months, and factored in the risk of the sale falling through — your net figure on the open market is often around 90-95% of asking price.

Our cash offer typically comes in at around 80% of market value.

But when you account for all those real costs — fees, time, risk — the gap narrows significantly.

For sellers under pressure (repossession, probate deadlines, broken chains, urgent relocation), the certainty of a completed sale can minimise risk and offer financial freedom. The 20% discount looks significant on paper, but the net value comparison is closer than most people think.

Important: A cash sale isn’t right for everyone. If you have time, aren’t under pressure, and can afford to wait for the best possible price, a traditional sale might work better for you. But if speed and certainty matter more than squeezing out every last pound, the numbers tell a different story.

How Can We Do This?

It’s simple: we’re not middlemen like estate agents. We’re the actual buyers.

We don’t need to market your property and cross our fingers that you’ll get an offer, because we’re buying it ourselves with our own cash funds.

Speed:
We can provide a formal cash offer within hours and complete the purchase in 2-4 weeks on average. We can exchange contracts in as little as 48 hours and give you a cash advance to tide you over if you need cash urgently. Our fastest ever completion was 7 days (a repossession case).

Certainty:
Our offer is certain once it’s been accepted and an independent survey is completed. As direct cash buyers, there’s no chain to break and no mortgage to be refused.

Simplicity:
No viewings, no repairs, no stress. We genuinely buy houses in any condition.

Regulation:
Because of our Sale and Rent Back service, we’re one of the only house buying companies in the UK that’s regulated by the FCA (register number 522471). We’re also founding members of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) and members of The Property Ombudsman.

We operate in England and Wales.

Take Control Today

Selling your house doesn’t have to be expensive or uncertain. Our service is particularly valuable if you are:

Facing financial difficulty:
We can help you avoid house repossession by completing a sale faster than any bank deadline.

Dealing with probate:
If you need to sell an inherited property, we can provide a quick, compassionate, and hassle-free sale to help you settle the estate and address any inheritance tax requirements.

Stuck with a broken chain:
If your buyer has pulled out, we can step in and buy your property immediately, keeping your own purchase on track.

Why put yourself through the stress and expense of a traditional sale?

Ready to see how much you could get for your home without any of the fees or delays?

Enter your postcode on our secure online form to receive a free, no-obligation cash offer today. It only takes a minute.

Or call us directly on 020 8634 0224.

No pressure. No obligation. Just honest advice and a genuine fast cash offer. If you don’t like the offer for any reason, you’re free to walk away.