Buyer pulled out before exchange? What to do next

Your buyer has withdrawn, perhaps by a phone call from the agent, perhaps days before the date everyone had pencilled in. It feels final, and it can undo your own purchase too. But what you do in the next two days decides whether you lose weeks or months.

Can a buyer pull out before exchange?

Yes. GOV.UK is plain about it: “An offer is not legally binding in England and Wales until contracts are exchanged.” Until then, a buyer can withdraw for any reason, or for none, and so can you. Your property is not legally sold until written contracts have been exchanged.

Exchange changes that. Once contracts are exchanged the agreement is binding and, in GOV.UK’s words, “usually, neither of you can pull out at this point without paying compensation.” The government’s How to sell a home guide adds that a buyer who withdraws after exchange may lose their deposit. If your buyer has pulled out after exchange, stop here and speak to your solicitor: the contract decides what happens next.

Do you pay solicitor and estate agent fees if the sale falls through?

Before exchange, a buyer who walks away usually owes you nothing, so the costs each side has run up so far normally stay with that side. What you owe your own professionals depends on what you agreed with each of them, so check before you pay anything or relist.

• Your conveyancer or solicitor. Citizens Advice suggests finding out at the start what charges, if any, will be made if the sale falls through before contracts are exchanged. If you didn’t, ask now, in writing: the costs so far, what the firm will charge from here, and what work can be reused for the next buyer, so the next sale moves faster.
• Your estate agent. Your estate agency agreement decides when the agent’s fee is due and what it covers. Most estate agents calculate their fee as a percentage of the final selling price, and the agent must confirm its charges and rate of commission when it agrees to act for you (Citizens Advice). Check whether extras, such as advertising, photographs or a “for sale” board, are charged separately.
• Before you add or change agents. With sole selling rights you pay the agent even if you find the buyer yourself; with sole agency you don’t (Citizens Advice). GOV.UK warns that if you use more than one estate agent, you may need to pay fees to more than one of them when your home sells (called dual fees), depending on your contract and whether an agent has sole selling rights.
• A reservation agreement. Some buyers and sellers sign one, in which each commits and which may include a financial penalty for pulling out (MHCLG). They are voluntary, and whether one helps you depends on its wording, so ask your conveyancer what, if anything, it entitles you to.

It works the same way for the buyer. Citizens Advice notes that a buyer whose purchase falls through may already have paid for a valuation or a survey, and may have to pay for any legal work their solicitor has done. That is part of why a buyer close to exchange has a lot to lose by walking away.

The first 48 hours

1. Get the withdrawal, and the reason, in writing from your agent. A reason tells you whether the next buyer might meet the same problem, such as a survey finding or a low valuation.
2. Tell your conveyancer to pause, and ask for the costs so far.
3. Ask your agent for every other offer and serious enquiry since the sale was agreed. Agents must forward offers to you promptly and in writing unless you told them in writing not to pass on that kind of offer (the Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No. 2) Order 1991, Schedule 3), and GOV.UK says this applies right up to exchange. Citizens Advice suggests keeping the details of everyone who offered for exactly this moment.
4. Tell the agent selling your next home, honestly and quickly, if you are buying too, and ask how long their seller will wait.
5. Check the date your own mortgage offer expires, and ask your broker what happens if completion moves past it. Our guide to a mortgage offer that could expire before completion sets out what to ask.

Relaunching: price, paperwork and the next buyer

Price from evidence, not hope. Check what similar homes nearby actually sold for, free, with HM Land Registry’s sold-price search on GOV.UK, and look at the latest UK House Price Index for the direction of the market.

Have the paperwork ready on day one. The next buyer’s conveyancer should get a full pack straight away: title deeds, the TA6 Property Information Form and TA10 Fittings and Contents Form (TA7 if leasehold), planning and building regulation certificates, guarantees and warranties. You must order an Energy Performance Certificate before you market the property, and it is valid for 10 years (GOV.UK); you can look yours up on GOV.UK.

Vet the next buyer. The government’s guidance suggests finding out whether a buyer is in a chain, how long it is, and whether it is open (someone is still waiting to sell) or closed (everyone has a buyer). Ask to see a mortgage agreement in principle and proof of deposit, and consider whether a reservation agreement would help.

If a backup buyer offers less than your original price, you are back to a price decision: is their offer better than waiting for another buyer?

How long a relaunch takes

Add the time your agent thinks it will take to find a buyer to the government’s average of around 120 days from offer accepted to completion (MHCLG reform roadmap, June 2026). Then allow for the chance that the next sale falls through as well: in the same roadmap’s words, “around one in 3 transactions fall through.” Compare the total with your mortgage offer’s expiry date and with how long your onward seller will wait.

If you’re the buyer and the seller pulled out

The same rule works the other way. Before exchange, a seller who withdraws, or accepts a higher offer after accepting yours (gazumping), usually owes you nothing. Which? explains that gazumping is not illegal in England and Wales, because nothing binds until exchange. In short:

• Tell your conveyancer to stop work and send costs to date, and ask what, if anything, can carry over to another purchase.
• Ask your lender whether your mortgage application can move to another property.
• Tell the agent you remain interested if the sale collapses again, and say how fast you could exchange.
• Next time, ask about the seller’s onward purchase before you offer, and consider a reservation or exclusivity agreement.

Our buyer’s guide, Seller pulled out or gazumped you?, covers each step, what you can recover, and how to lower the risk next time.