How to sell your home yourself in London

No. Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid by the buyer, not the seller. However, it directly shapes what buyers can afford to offer you, so it is worth understanding. On a 600,000 pound purchase a UK buyer currently pays around 20,000 pounds in SDLT. Overseas buyers pay an additional 2 percent surcharge on top of the standard rates, which is common with London's large international buyer pool and can compress offers, especially at higher price points. Current rates and thresholds are on GOV.UK and can change with fiscal events.

Most London flats are leasehold, and you need a leasehold information pack before the sale can complete. The standard form is called the LPE1 (Leasehold Property Enquiry form), which your solicitor sends to the freeholder or managing agent. It covers the lease term, ground rent, service charge accounts, building insurance, planned major works, and any arrears. Freeholders and managing agents charge for this, typically 200 to 500 pounds and sometimes more, and turnaround can run several weeks. Order it as soon as you accept an offer. A lease below about 80 years is a serious problem: below that threshold buyers face higher costs to extend under the Leasehold Reform Act, mortgage lenders become restrictive, and your buyer pool shrinks sharply. If your lease is short, get legal advice before you list.

Not directly. Both portals accept listings only from registered estate agents, so private sellers use a flat-fee online estate agent to place the advert on their behalf while handling viewings, negotiation, and the sale themselves. Flat-fee services typically charge a few hundred pounds to around £1,500 upfront, often with no success fee. Rightmove and Zoopla require a registered agent, but owner-managed platforms let you post your listing yourself at no charge and handle all enquiries, offers, and negotiation in one place, eliminating agent gatekeeping fees if you're willing to manage the process.

For a freehold property, conveyancing from accepted offer to exchange typically takes eight to twelve weeks, followed by one to two weeks to completion. Leasehold sales routinely take longer, often twelve to sixteen weeks, because the buyer's solicitor must receive and review the LPE1 pack, raise lease enquiries, and satisfy the lender if the buyer has a mortgage. The most common causes of delay in London are a slow management pack, a short or defective lease, missing building regulations consents for extensions or conversions, and long chains. If your flat has had any structural alterations, locate the building regulations completion certificate before you accept an offer.

No. England operates on caveat emptor, meaning the buyer carries the legal risk of investigating the property's condition. You have no obligation to commission a structural survey, but you are required to answer the Property Information Form (TA6) honestly, which your solicitor will send you at the start of conveyancing. Deliberately concealing defects you know about can expose you to a claim after completion. London buyers of older period property, Victorian terraces, Edwardian mansion flats, and conversions, commonly commission their own RICS survey. If you know of a defect, budget, damp course, or roof issue, the honest approach is to disclose it and price accordingly rather than have it surface in the buyer's survey and trigger a renegotiation or collapse.

An Energy Performance Certificate rates your home's energy efficiency from A to G and must be commissioned before you market the property. You cannot lawfully advertise without one. An accredited domestic energy assessor carries out the inspection, which usually takes under an hour, and the certificate is valid for ten years. Cost is typically 60 to 120 pounds. You can check whether a valid EPC already exists for your property on the GOV.UK register before booking a new assessment. The EPC rating must appear in your listing advert.

A meaningful share of London buyers, particularly for prime and new-build property, are based overseas. Overseas buyers pay an extra 2 percent SDLT surcharge, so factor this into your expectations when they negotiate. Strong photography and floor plans matter more with remote buyers who may shortlist before visiting. Listing on a platform with international reach widens your pool beyond local Rightmove browsers. Owner-operated platforms with cross-border networks can help you connect with non-UK purchasers directly and show identity-verified buyer badges, which helps screen out time-wasters in remote enquiries. Be aware that overseas buyers often rely on London-based solicitors and can take longer to progress, and some lenders impose restrictions on non-resident mortgages, so ask about financing early in any negotiation.

In March 2026 the GOV.UK UK House Price Index put the average London home at £542,000, down 2.1 percent over the year, against £290,000 for England and £268,000 for the UK; London is the priciest market and one of the few falling. Selling is also slower here: Zoopla data showed London taking around 45 days to find a buyer compared with 37 across the UK, with Kensington and Chelsea the slowest in the country near 70 days. Because buyers have choice and leverage, realistic pricing and strong presentation matter more than anything else for a private seller.

UK estate agent commission averages about 1.42 percent including VAT and typically runs 1.2 to 1.8 percent inc VAT for sole agency (HomeOwners Alliance, 2026). On a London home near the £542,000 average that is roughly £7,700 to £11,000. Selling yourself avoids that, but you still pay to reach buyers: Rightmove and Zoopla take listings only from registered agents, so a flat-fee online estate agent places the advert for commonly a few hundred pounds to around £1,500, often payable upfront whether or not you complete. For buyers searching outside Rightmove and Zoopla, owner-led platforms cost nothing to list on and charge no commission, a genuine saving if you're comfortable skipping the agent gatekeepers and handling sale mechanics yourself. You also still pay your own conveyancer either way. Selling without an agent avoids the typical 1.42 percent commission (roughly £7,700 to £11,000 on the London average), though you still pay your own conveyancer and a flat-fee agent to reach the major portals, if you use them.

Most London flats are leasehold, and the buyer's solicitor will require a leasehold information pack (the LPE1) from your freeholder or managing agent covering the lease term, ground rent, service charges, insurance, planned major works, and any arrears. It commonly costs £200 to £500 and can take several weeks, so order it as soon as you accept an offer. A lease below roughly 80 years is a serious problem: extension costs rise, mortgage lenders become restrictive, and your buyer pool shrinks, which is part of why flats are currently selling more slowly than houses. If your lease is short, get legal advice before you list.