The Full Cost of Buying a House in the UK

The deposit gets all the attention, and it is the biggest single number — but it's far from the only one. Arrive at completion having put every penny into the deposit and you can find yourself short for the solicitor, the survey, the lender's fee and the removals van, all of which fall due before you get the keys. This article lays out every cost of buying a home in the UK in 2026, with real 2026 figures, when each one lands, and a worked total so nothing ambushes you.

A useful way to think about it: there's the deposit, and then there's everything else. The "everything else" — legal work, checks, fees, moving — typically runs to a few thousand pounds on a normal purchase, on top of any stamp duty. Budgeting for it separately from your deposit is the single best way to avoid a nasty surprise. Speak to an FCA-regulated mortgage broker before committing — the figures here are for planning, not quotes.

The deposit — the big one

Your deposit is a percentage of the purchase price, and it sets your loan-to-value (LTV) — which in turn sets the interest rate you're offered. The realistic minimum in 2026 is 5%, though 10% opens up meaningfully better rates. On an average English home of around £290,000, a 5% deposit is roughly £14,500 and a 10% deposit roughly £29,000. The deposit isn't a "cost" in the sense of money lost — it becomes equity in your home — but it's cash you need available up front, and it dwarfs everything else on this list. For how LTV bands affect your rate, see the main mortgage guide, and to see what a fixed sum buys at different incomes, read what a £20,000 deposit gets you.

Stamp Duty

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland depends on the price and on whether you're a first-time buyer, a home mover, or buying an additional property. As of 2026, first-time buyer relief applies up to £300,000, the standard nil-rate band sits at £125,000, and an additional-property surcharge of 5% applies to second homes and buy-to-lets. There's a sharp catch for first-time buyers: cross £500,000 and you lose the relief entirely, not just on the portion above it. For a typical home-mover purchase around £290,000, stamp duty runs to a few thousand pounds; many first-time buyers pay nothing. Work out your exact figure with the stamp duty calculator before you offer — it's the cost most likely to swing your budget. Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) have their own separate systems.

Conveyancing and legal fees

Conveyancing is the legal work of transferring ownership, handled by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. It splits into two parts: their fee for the work, and disbursements — third-party costs they pay on your behalf.

• Solicitor / conveyancer fee: typically £850–£1,500 for a standard purchase in 2026, rising with property value and complexity. Leasehold properties usually add around £300 for the extra legal work.
• Searches (local authority, environmental, drainage): roughly £250–£450.
• Land Registry fee: scaled to the purchase price.
• Bank transfer / telegraphic transfer fee: usually £25–£50.

Add it all together and the average cost of conveyancing when buying in the UK in 2026, including disbursements, lands around £2,300–£2,400 — though headline solicitor fees alone can look much lower, which is why comparing on the full figure matters. Quotes vary widely by firm, region and property type, so it pays to compare several itemised quotes rather than taking the first one.

The survey

The mortgage valuation your lender runs is for them — it confirms the property is worth roughly what you're paying, and is sometimes free or up to about £300. It is not a survey of the building's condition. That's a separate, optional cost that's almost always worth paying:

• RICS Level 1 (Condition Report) — most basic, from around £300. Suits new or modern homes in good order.
• RICS Level 2 (HomeBuyer Report) — the most common choice, roughly £400–£1,000+. Suits conventional properties in reasonable condition.
• RICS Level 3 (Building Survey) — the most thorough, from around £630 up to £1,500+. For older, larger, or unusual properties.

People who skip the survey to save a few hundred pounds frequently spend many times that fixing problems they didn't know about — and a survey that flags an issue can be used to renegotiate the price, often recovering its cost several times over.

Mortgage fees

Lenders charge to set up the mortgage, and the structure varies:

• Booking / application fee: often £100–£300, sometimes payable up front.
• Arrangement (product) fee: the big one — commonly up to around £1,500, occasionally higher. Many deals offer a fee-free version at a slightly higher rate.

This is a genuine trade-off, not just an annoyance. A deal with a £999 fee and a lower rate can be cheaper overall than a fee-free deal at a higher rate — or the reverse — depending on your loan size. Compare total cost over the fixed term, not the headline rate. You can add the arrangement fee to the loan, but you'll then pay interest on it for the whole term, so paying it up front is usually cheaper if you can.

Removals and moving costs

Easy to leave to the last minute, and it adds up. A professional removals service in the UK typically costs between £450 and £1,400, depending on the size of your home, the distance, and how much you pack yourself. On top of the van, budget for packing materials, mail redirection through Royal Mail, and the time off work moving usually swallows. Getting several quotes makes a real difference here — prices for the same move vary a lot between firms, and booking outside month-end and Fridays (the busiest, priciest slots) can save money.

Insurance from day one

This one surprises people: buildings insurance is usually a condition of your mortgage and must be in place from the day you exchange contracts — not from completion, and not "soon after you move in." From exchange, you're legally committed to buy, so you're responsible for insuring the structure. Buildings cover starts from modest monthly figures, and home-buyer protection products start from around £74. Contents insurance is optional but sensible. Factor at least the buildings policy into your completion budget, because your lender will check it exists.

Ongoing costs once you're in

Beyond the one-off purchase costs, your monthly budget changes the day you own rather than rent:

• Council tax — set by band and local authority.
• Utilities — and you're now responsible for the whole property, not just your room or flat.
• Service charge and ground rent — if the property is leasehold; check these carefully before buying, as they can be substantial and can rise.
• Maintenance and repairs — there's no landlord now. A boiler or roof is your bill. A common rule of thumb is to set aside roughly 1% of the property's value each year for upkeep.
• Furniture and redecorating — the costs that quietly balloon in the first few months.

A worked total

For a first-time buyer purchasing an average English home around £290,000 with a 10% deposit, a rough upfront picture in 2026 looks like:

• Deposit (10%): ~£29,000
• Stamp duty: £0 (first-time buyer relief, under £300,000)
• Conveyancing inc. disbursements: ~£2,000–£2,400
• Survey (Level 2): ~£500–£800
• Mortgage arrangement fee: £0–£1,500 (depending on deal)
• Removals: ~£450–£1,400
• Buildings insurance: from exchange, modest monthly

So beyond the deposit, you're realistically looking at £3,500–£6,000 in non-deposit costs on a clean first-time purchase — more if stamp duty applies, the property is leasehold, or you need a higher-level survey. The headline lesson holds: keep a buffer separate from your deposit. The buyers who get caught out are almost always the ones who treated the deposit as the whole cost.

How to keep the total down

• Compare conveyancing and removals quotes — both vary enormously between providers for identical work, and getting several quotes routinely saves hundreds.
• Weigh fee-free mortgage deals against fee-paying ones on total cost, not headline rate.
• Don't skip the survey — it's the cost most likely to pay for itself, either in avoided repairs or renegotiation.
• Time your move away from month-end and Fridays for cheaper removals.
• Use first-time buyer reliefs — the stamp duty saving alone can be thousands; check your position with the calculator before you offer.

The short version: the deposit is the headline, but the supporting cast — legal work, searches, survey, lender fees, removals and insurance — typically adds several thousand pounds that all fall due around completion. Budget for them as a separate pot, get the schemes and reliefs working for you, and read the full mortgage guide so the numbers hold no surprises.

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