Do I need searches when remortgaging?
Usually not. On a purchase, searches protect you and the lender from what a viewing cannot show. On a remortgage you already own the property, so the lender's concern is narrower: that nothing has happened since you bought that damages its security. A lender may accept a no-search indemnity policy in place of a fresh local authority search on a remortgage, which is quicker and cheaper than a full search pack, but it is your lender's own answer, in its Part 2 entry of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook, that decides it rather than any general rule.
The exceptions are where the lender's own instructions insist on searches, where you are borrowing a large amount against a property you have owned for many years, or where the indemnity insurer will not cover a property with known issues. We check your lender's instructions on day one and tell you which applies. What searches are needed when buying a house explains what each search does, for comparison.
| Full search pack | No-search indemnity policy | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Fresh local authority, drainage and environmental searches | An insurance policy covering the lender against loss from an adverse search result |
| Who it protects | You and the lender | The lender only |
| Turnaround | Days to several weeks, depending on the council | Same day |
| Cost | Set by the council and the search providers | A one-off premium, usually much lower |
| Usual on a remortgage | Only where the lender requires it | Some lenders accept; each says so in its Part 2 entry |
Should I use the lender's conveyancing offer or my own conveyancer?
Many remortgage products come with the lender paying for the legal work through a firm on its panel, or with a cashback instead. Lender-funded legal work is a real saving and we say so; the trade-off is that a panel firm may handle a high volume of similar files, you may not have one named person, and a complication such as a transfer of equity or a leasehold query may be outside what the lender-funded service covers.
Our suggestion is simple. If the remortgage is a straight switch on a freehold house with no changes, the lender-funded service may be the better deal. If names are changing, the property is leasehold, there is a second charge, or the deadline is tight, one named handler on a fixed fee is usually worth it. Tell us which and we will tell you honestly.
Is Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax payable on a remortgage?
No, where the owners stay the same. Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Land Transaction Tax in Wales are charged on land transactions, and borrowing against a property you already own is not one. The position changes if a name is added or removed at the same time: the share of the outstanding mortgage debt taken on by an incoming owner counts as chargeable consideration, and a return is due once that reaches forty thousand pounds even where no money changes hands and no tax is payable. Transfers between spouses or civil partners made under a court order, or under an agreement in connection with a divorce or dissolution, are exempt and need no return, but an ordinary transfer between spouses during the marriage is not (Finance Act 2003 sections 77 and 77A and Schedule 4 paragraph 8, and sections 45 and 46 of the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017, all checked 20 September 2026). Our transfer of equity page and the Stamp Duty calculator explain when that bites.