Changing your solicitor during a property purchase is not something to do lightly, but it is entirely within your rights and is sometimes the most sensible course of action when communication has broken down, progress has stalled, or you have lost confidence in the firm handling your transaction. This guide explains when it may be justified, what the process involves, and what to expect in terms of cost and delay.

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When Changing Solicitors May Be Warranted

The most common reasons people consider changing solicitor mid-transaction include consistent failure to respond to queries, unexplained delays in progressing the transaction, errors in documents or advice, concerns about competence, or a fundamental breakdown in the professional relationship. Not all of these necessarily justify the disruption of changing, but persistent unresponsiveness or mistakes that affect your transaction may make a change necessary.

Before deciding to change, it is worth raising your concerns formally with the solicitor or their firm in writing, and asking for a clear explanation of what has caused any delays and what the timeline going forward looks like. Sometimes what appears to be the solicitor's fault is actually caused by slow responses from the other side of the transaction or from the search providers.

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When You Can Change

You can instruct a new solicitor at any point before exchange of contracts without any legal restriction. Up to exchange, no binding contract has been entered into and you are free to change your professional advisers. After exchange, you are legally committed to completing the transaction and changing solicitors at that stage would be extremely disruptive, though technically possible in exceptional circumstances.

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What the Process Involves

To change your solicitor, you need to formally terminate your existing solicitor's retainer by writing to them and asking for your file and any documents to be transferred to your new firm. The existing solicitor is entitled to hold your file until any outstanding fees are paid, known as a solicitor's lien. If there are disbursements such as search fees that have already been paid out of your account, these will need to be accounted for.

You should then instruct a new firm, providing them with as much background on the transaction as possible. The new firm will contact the outgoing solicitor to request the file, check the searches and legal work already completed, and pick up the transaction from where it stands. They will need to carry out their own verification checks under anti-money laundering regulations.

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The Impact on Your Transaction

Delay

Changing solicitors will almost certainly cause delay. The new firm needs time to review the file, catch up on the transaction history, and carry out their own checks. Depending on how far through the process you are, this might add two to four weeks or more to the timeline. If you are in a chain where other parties are waiting on your completion, this delay can cause significant frustration and potentially put the chain at risk.

Cost

You will typically be charged by the outgoing solicitor for the work they have done up to the point of change, even if the transaction does not complete with them. This may be a proportion of their quoted fee plus any disbursements. The new solicitor will charge their own fee for taking on the transaction from the current stage. There may also be some duplication of work as the new firm re-examines documents already reviewed by the original solicitor.

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Complaining About Your Solicitor

If you believe your solicitor has been negligent or has caused you a financial loss, you have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman after exhausting the firm's internal complaints process. If the solicitor has behaved dishonestly or in a way that constitutes professional misconduct, you can also report them to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. These routes are separate from the decision to change firms and can be pursued whether or not you continue with the same solicitor.

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Summary

You can change your solicitor at any time before exchange of contracts. It causes some delay and additional cost but is sometimes the right decision. The process involves terminating the existing retainer, paying any outstanding fees, and arranging transfer of the file to the new firm. Checking that the new firm is on your mortgage lender's panel before instructing them is an important first step. After exchange, changing solicitors is technically possible but strongly inadvisable given the legal commitments already in place.