How long does a remortgage take from start to finish?
Two clocks run on a remortgage, one after the other. The first is the lender's: application, valuation, underwriting and the mortgage offer, which for a straightforward case takes two to four weeks and for a self-employed borrower or an unusual property can take longer. No lender publishes a figure for this and there is no industry average, so treat it as a rough guide rather than anything your lender has committed to. The second is the legal work, which starts in earnest when the offer arrives and takes two to four weeks on a freehold house with a clean title. Put together, four to eight weeks from application to completion is a typical range.
That range moves in both directions. A remortgage with the lender's own panel firm, a freehold title and a borrower who signs the deed the day it arrives can complete inside a month. A leasehold flat where the freeholder is slow with information, a title with a defect that needs an indemnity policy, or a change in who owns the property can push the same remortgage past ten weeks. And the shortest option of all is not a remortgage: a product transfer with your existing lender needs no conveyancer and is often done within days.
Compared with a purchase, a remortgage is quick. There is no chain, no seller, usually no searches and no exchange of contracts, so much of what makes a purchase slow is absent here.
What happens at each stage of a remortgage?
The steps are the same on every remortgage. None is difficult in isolation; the time is spent waiting for third parties, mainly the two lenders and, on a flat, the freeholder. The table is a typical freehold remortgage to a new lender.
| Stage | Typical timing | What happens | What usually delays it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application and valuation | Weeks 1 to 2 | You or your broker apply; the lender values the property, often by desktop or automated valuation | Missing income documents; a physical valuation needed |
| Mortgage offer issued | Weeks 2 to 4 | The lender underwrites and issues the offer to you and to the conveyancer, which is the instruction to start the legal work | Further underwriting questions; a down-valuation |
| Instruction and identity checks | Same week as the offer | You instruct the conveyancer and complete identity and source-of-funds checks under the money laundering regulations | Documents not to hand; a borrower abroad |
| Title check and lender requirements | Week 4 to 5 | Official copies of the register and plan are read against the offer and the lender's part of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook | A restriction, an unregistered extension, a flying freehold, solar panels |
| Searches or search indemnity | Week 4 to 5 | Some lenders accept a search indemnity policy instead of a local authority search; each says so in its Part 2 entry of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders Handbook | A lender that insists on the search itself; council turnaround |
| Leasehold information | Week 4 to 7 | On a flat, the freeholder or managing agent confirms ground rent, service charge and arrears | Freeholder turnaround and fee, neither of which is published or controlled by us |
| Redemption statement | Week 5 to 6 | Your existing lender confirms the sum needed to repay the old mortgage on the completion date, including any early repayment charge | Old lender slow to respond; wrong completion date requested |
| Mortgage deed and report | Week 5 to 6 | You sign the new mortgage deed, witnessed, and receive a report on the title and the offer | Deed returned unsigned or unwitnessed |
| Certificate of title and drawdown | Week 6 to 7 | The conveyancer certifies the title to the new lender and requests the funds for the completion date | Lenders need notice before releasing funds, and each sets its own period |
| Completion | Week 6 to 8 | The new lender's money arrives, the old mortgage is repaid, any balance is paid to you | Late funds; bank cut-off times |
| Discharge and registration | After completion | Form DS1 or an electronic discharge removes the old charge; form AP1 registers the new one, with the HM Land Registry fee set by the fee order | HM Land Registry processing times, which it publishes on GOV.UK; an electronic discharge of the old mortgage can be completed automatically |
Do I need a conveyancer to remortgage?
Yes, if you are moving to a new lender. Two things must happen on the register: the existing lender's charge is discharged and the new lender's charge is registered in its place. The new lender is lending against a security it has never seen, so it also wants a conveyancer to confirm that the title is good, that nothing on it would trouble the lender, and that its charge will rank first. That work is done by a conveyancer on the lender's panel, and the lender will not release funds without it.
A product transfer, switching to a new rate with your existing lender, is different. The charge already registered secures the new rate, nothing changes on the register, and no conveyancer is needed. A further advance from your existing lender is usually the same, though some lenders require a title check where the loan increases substantially, which is a matter for the lender rather than a general rule.
Many remortgage products include a basic conveyancing service provided by a firm on the lender's panel at the lender's expense. For a straightforward freehold remortgage it can be adequate. The trade-offs are capacity and scope. A panel firm doing lender-funded work may handle large volumes, and you may not have one named person. The firm is instructed by the lender and acts for the lender as well as for you. And the service is scoped to a simple remortgage: a leasehold flat, a transfer of equity, a declaration of trust or an indemnity policy for a title defect usually falls outside it or attracts an extra charge.
Some products offer cashback instead of lender-funded legal work, leaving you to instruct your own conveyancer and use the cashback towards the fee. Where you do, the firm must be on the new lender's panel, so ask before you instruct. Our remortgage service gives you one named handler, a fixed fee agreed in writing before work starts, and regular written updates, and it deals with the leasehold, transfer of equity and title problems that a lender-funded service may not cover.
What slows a remortgage down?
Three things can cause delay. The first is a leasehold title, where the lender needs information from the freeholder or managing agent about ground rent, service charge and arrears, and the freeholder produces it at their own pace and for a fee. Ordering it on day one, and reading the lease early for a ground rent clause the lender will not accept, recovers most of that time.
The second is a title problem: an extension with no building regulations certificate, a restrictive covenant breached by the conservatory, a restriction on the register requiring someone's consent, or land that turns out to be unregistered. Many can be dealt with by an indemnity policy, if the lender accepts one, but the policy has to be quoted, approved by the lender and bought, from an insurer or through a broker, before completion. Unregistered land needs first registration before a lender will lend, which is a longer job.
The third is a change in the people on the title. Adding a partner, or removing a former one after a separation, is a transfer of equity as well as a remortgage. It needs a transfer deed on form TR1, the new lender's agreement to lend to the new owners, a declaration of whether the owners will hold as joint tenants or tenants in common, and, where the shares are unequal, a declaration of trust. There is also a check for Stamp Duty Land Tax in England or Land Transaction Tax in Wales, because a person taking on a share of the mortgage debt gives consideration for it even where no money changes hands. Schedule 4 paragraph 8 of the Finance Act 2003 treats debt assumed as chargeable consideration, and Wales does the same under its own Act, so a transfer of equity can be notifiable, and can carry tax, on a debt figure alone. Checked 20 September 2026. Add two to three weeks for this. Transfer of equity to a spouse covers the common case, and removing a name after divorce the harder one, where a court order or separation agreement is usually needed before the outgoing owner signs.
When should I start a remortgage?
Aim to have the mortgage offer issued two to three months before your current deal ends, which means applying three to four months out. Mortgage offers are valid for a period the lender sets and a lender may let you book a rate well before the old one expires, but both are set by the individual lender and neither is published as a market rule, so check the expiry date on your own offer and your own lender's rate booking window. There is no penalty for lining the legal work up early.
The cost of starting late is not the legal fee; it is the standard variable rate. A remortgage that completes a month after the fixed rate expires costs a month of the lender's reversion rate, which is often the largest avoidable cost in the whole exercise. Completing early, on the other hand, can trigger an early repayment charge on the old mortgage. So the completion date is chosen to fall on or just after the end of the existing deal, and the redemption statement is requested for that exact date.
If the deal has already ended, do not wait for a perfect date. Instruct now, ask the conveyancer for the earliest completion the new lender can fund, and accept that a few weeks on the variable rate is the price of the delay.
How can I make a remortgage faster?
Have your documents ready before the offer arrives: identity and proof of address for each borrower, the existing lender's account number, and on a flat the lease and the last service charge demand. Complete the identity checks the day you are asked. Nothing on the legal side can start until they are done, so do not leave them for the weekend.
Sign and return the mortgage deed the day it arrives, in front of an independent adult witness, because the lender registers that deed and an unwitnessed signature sends it back round. Tell the conveyancer at the outset about anything unusual: an extension, a loft conversion, a dispute with a neighbour, a partner moving in or out. A problem raised in week one is an indemnity quote; the same problem raised at certificate of title is a lost completion date.
If the flat is leasehold, ask the freeholder or managing agent for the lender's information the day you decide to remortgage, before the offer, and pay their fee promptly. That step can save weeks on a flat.