selling

How much does it cost to sell a house in England and Wales?

4 min read
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
By Your Property Check team

Part 1 of 5

What a seller pays

GOV.UK lists the costs of selling as estate agent fees, legal fees, removal costs, and Capital Gains Tax if the property is not your main home or includes a lot of land. It also tells you to ask your mortgage lender about early repayment charges and any fee for moving your mortgage. No official page gives one average total, so this page does not invent one. Instead it shows each cost, who sets it, and how to get your own number.

This guide covers England and Wales. Costs vary by property, price and firm.

Part 2 of 5

The costs, one by one

Estate agent fee

Citizens Advice says most agents charge a percentage of the final selling price, and that this can vary from less than 1% to 3.5%. Check whether advertising, photographs, a for sale board and VAT are included. Our guide to estate agent fees goes through fee types, contracts and what you can negotiate, so we do not repeat it here.

Conveyancing

A solicitor or licensed conveyancer does the legal work. Citizens Advice says there is no set scale of fees, so the only reliable figure is a written quote. Ask whether it is fixed, whether expenses and VAT are included, and what you would pay if the sale falls through before exchange. Our guide to how long conveyancing takes shows where delays and extra work tend to arise.

Energy Performance Certificate

GOV.UK says you must order an EPC for potential buyers before you market your property, and that it is valid for 10 years. It does not state a price. You pay an accredited assessor, so ask for their fee. Your agent may arrange it for you. Our guide to finding an EPC may save you buying a new one.

Removals

GOV.UK lists removal costs but gives no price. Quotes depend on distance, volume and date, so get two or three.

Early repayment charge and mortgage fees

If you are still in a fixed or discounted deal, your lender may charge to let you leave early. GOV.UK says to ask your lender how much you owe, whether there is an early repayment charge, and whether moving the mortgage has fees. Read early repayment charge when selling before you list.

Capital Gains Tax

GOV.UK says you do not pay Capital Gains Tax when you sell your home if it has been your only home and your main residence throughout, with no part rented out or used exclusively for business, on grounds under 5,000 square metres, and not bought just to profit. Private Residence Relief applies automatically. If any of that is not true, you may owe tax, for example on a rental property. Use the Capital Gains Tax calculator to test a sale.

Part 3 of 5

What you do not pay

Stamp Duty

Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid by the buyer. GOV.UK says you must pay it if you buy a property or land, and does not list sellers as payers. Do not budget for it as a seller. Buyers can check theirs with the stamp duty calculator.

A Home Information Pack

You do not need one. The government suspended the duty to provide Home Information Packs on 21 May 2010. GOV.UK said at the time that sellers would still have to commission an EPC.

Part 4 of 5

How to add up your own total

Use this table as a template. The figures are round numbers for illustration only. They are not averages, quotes or advice.

Cost	Where the number comes from	Illustration on a £300,000 sale
Estate agent	Citizens Advice range of 1% to 3.5% of the price, before VAT	£3,000 to £10,500
Conveyancing	Your written quote	Your quote
EPC	Assessor's quote, if you need a new one	Your quote
Removals	Two or three quotes	Your quote
Early repayment charge	Your lender's written figure	Your lender's figure
Capital Gains Tax	Zero on your only home, otherwise see GOV.UK	Zero or your calculation

Only the agent row can be worked out from a published range. The rest need your own quotes, which is why we give no total. Add the agent figure to your quotes to get your own number, then take it from your expected price.

To see how different sale routes change that sum, try the sale method comparison tool. Compare the net figure you would receive, not the headline price.

Part 5 of 5

Ways to keep costs down

Compare at least two agents and two conveyancers in writing, and ask what is included. Check whether you already have a valid EPC. Ask your lender for the early repayment figure and the date the charge ends before you set a moving date. Never pay a fee up front without understanding what it covers.

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice.

Our take

Add up your own total, not an average

There is no single cost of selling. Agent fees, a conveyancer, an energy certificate, removals and any early repayment charge all vary, and the buyer, not the seller, pays Stamp Duty. The common mistake is to compare routes on headline price alone. We think the useful number is what you keep after costs, and how long it takes.

Our free sale method comparison compares auction, estate agent and cash buyer routes on net proceeds and timescale, so you can put your own figures in side by side. It is general information, not advice, and it is worth running before you instruct anyone.

Compare sale routes

Our opinion, drawn from the facts on this page: not advice and not a forecast. We earn from OfferCheck reports and from introducing sellers to cash buyers, so weigh it with that in mind (see our disclosure). We are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to sell a house in the UK?

No official source gives one total. Costs include an estate agent, a conveyancer, an energy certificate and removals, plus any early repayment charge. Citizens Advice says agent fees run from under 1% to 3.5% of the price. Get written quotes for the rest.

Who pays Stamp Duty when a house is sold?

The buyer pays Stamp Duty Land Tax. GOV.UK says you must pay it if you buy a property or land. A seller does not pay it on a normal sale, so it should not be in a seller's budget.

Do I pay Capital Gains Tax when I sell my house?

Not usually on your only home. GOV.UK says Private Residence Relief applies automatically if the property has been your main residence throughout and meets the other conditions. You may pay on a second property, rental or one with a lot of land.

Do I still need a Home Information Pack to sell?

No. The duty to provide Home Information Packs was suspended on 21 May 2010. You still need an Energy Performance Certificate for potential buyers before you market the property.

Can I sell a house without paying estate agent fees?

Yes, but you then take on the marketing and viewings yourself. See our guide to selling without an estate agent. You still pay conveyancing and other costs, so compare the full total with an agent sale.

Where this comes from

Sources

Last reviewed 30 October 2026 by the Your Property Check team. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, speak to a conveyancing solicitor or another qualified professional.