Finance and ownership
Transfer or gift of residential property
Giving all or part of a home to a family member or other connected person, with the transfer deed, lender consent and tax checks.
Every cost on its own line: the law firm's legal fee, VAT, the searches and other third-party costs, and any property tax. Your quote opens as soon as you send the form.
A gift of property can have tax consequences for both the giver and the receiver. Your conveyancer handles the legal transfer and will tell you when separate tax, inheritance or care fee advice is needed.
Giving a property away, or transferring it to a relative for less than it is worth, is simpler than a sale in some ways because there are no searches or chain. But the legal and tax consequences can be significant for both the giver and the person receiving the gift, so it pays to get the structure right before anything is signed.
This service is for transfers between connected people, such as a parent giving a house to a child, one sibling passing a share to another, or someone gifting a home to a partner. If you are adding or removing an owner as part of a mortgage change, see transfer of equity instead.
Your instant quote shows the legal fee, any admin fees and the HM Land Registry fee, and estimates any Stamp Duty Land Tax from the money paid and the share of the mortgage the receiver takes on. If you go ahead, Keyfolio introduces you to a regulated law firm that prepares the transfer and tells you where separate tax or care fee advice is needed.
What is involved
A gift transfer usually runs like this:
- Instructions and checks: identity checks on both the giver and the receiver, and confirmation that the giver understands what they are giving up and is acting freely.
- Title review: checking the registered title, any mortgage on the property and anything else registered against it.
- Lender consent: where a mortgage is secured on the property, nothing can be transferred without the lender agreeing. It may require the receiver to take on the loan, which can mean a new mortgage application.
- Tax check: working out whether Stamp Duty Land Tax or its Welsh equivalent is due. A pure gift with no mortgage is usually free of it, but taking over a mortgage counts as paying for the property.
- Paperwork: preparing the transfer deed, usually HM Land Registry form TR1, and sometimes a statutory declaration of solvency from the giver, which later buyers and lenders often ask to see.
- Signing and completion: both parties sign the deed in front of a witness, and the transfer takes effect on the agreed date.
- Registration: any tax return is filed and HM Land Registry is asked to record the receiver as the new owner.
Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and any effect on means-tested benefits or care fees fall outside the conveyancing work, and your conveyancer will say when to take separate advice.
What the legal fee covers
- Identity checks on the giver and the receiver
- Reviewing the title and any mortgage or charges registered against it
- Obtaining the lender's consent where there is a mortgage
- Assessing whether property tax is due on the transfer
- Preparing the transfer deed and any supporting declarations
- Arranging signing and witnessing of the documents
- Filing any property tax return
- Registering the new owner at HM Land Registry
Costs you may see on top
- The HM Land Registry fee for registering the transfer
- Identity checks for each person involved
- A fee if there is a mortgage to transfer or repay
- Lender fees for considering the change or arranging a new mortgage
- Stamp Duty Land Tax if the receiver takes on a mortgage large enough to be taxable
- Separate tax, inheritance or care fee advice, which is outside the conveyancing work
- Gifted deeds indemnity insurance, which some advisers recommend in case the gift is challenged later
What to have ready
- Photo identification and proof of address for the giver and the receiver
- The property address and title number, if you know it
- Mortgage details, including the lender, account number and current balance
- Details of any money changing hands, even if it is well below the property's value
- Whether the giver will carry on living in the property after the gift
- Contact details for any accountant or financial adviser helping you
How long it takes
A straightforward gift of a whole property with no mortgage can often complete within a few weeks, because there are no searches or chain. Where a mortgage is involved, the timetable is commonly 4 to 10 weeks and depends on how quickly the lender approves the change or issues a new mortgage offer. Allow time for both parties to take tax advice and to sign documents in front of a witness. Unregistered titles, missing paperwork or a giver who lives abroad can add further delay.
Things to watch for
- If the giver keeps living in the home after giving it away, the gift can still count as part of their estate for Inheritance Tax. This is known as a gift with reservation of benefit.
- Inheritance Tax is usually not due on a gift if the giver lives for 7 years afterwards. Gifts made within 7 years of death can be taxed, with a sliding scale of relief for gifts made 3 to 7 years before.
- Giving away a property that is not your main home can mean Capital Gains Tax for the giver, worked out on its market value, even though no money changes hands. Gifts between spouses and civil partners are treated differently.
- If the giver might need care in the future, a council assessing care fees can look at whether property was given away to reduce charges. Take advice before going ahead.
- If the giver has a mortgage, the receiver may need to take on the loan, and the lender will check they can afford it. Speak to the lender before agreeing a date.
Questions people ask
Is there stamp duty on a gift of property?
Not usually, if nothing is paid and there is no mortgage. If the person receiving the gift takes on some or all of a mortgage, the debt they take on counts as payment. For example, if a parent gives a child a home with a £150,000 mortgage and the child takes over the loan, Stamp Duty Land Tax in England is worked out on £150,000: 0% on the first £125,000 and 2% on the next £25,000, which is £500, before any reliefs or higher rates. See GOV.UK.
Can I give my house to my children and keep living in it?
You can, but it rarely works as people expect for Inheritance Tax. If you carry on living there without paying a full market rent, the home is usually still treated as part of your estate when you die. The gift can also expose the home to your children's circumstances, such as a divorce or debts. Take advice from a solicitor or tax adviser before deciding.
Can a gift be challenged later?
In some situations, yes. If the giver becomes insolvent within a few years, a trustee in bankruptcy may be able to challenge a gift made for less than full value, and relatives sometimes dispute gifts after a death. A solvency declaration from the giver, a clear record of their reasons and, where appropriate, indemnity insurance can help protect the person receiving the gift and any future buyer.
Does the person receiving the gift need their own solicitor?
Often it is sensible. The giver and the receiver have different interests: one is giving up an asset, the other is taking on ownership and possibly a mortgage. Some firms can act for both where the risks are low, but many prefer each side to have separate advice, especially where an older or vulnerable person is giving away their home.
Who does the work
Your matter is handled by a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or CILEx Regulation, or in Northern Ireland by a solicitor regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. At the moment the law firms on our panel act for property in England and Wales, so for property in Northern Ireland we tell you whether a firm can act for you before we pass your details to anyone. The firm confirms who will work on your file, their experience and its terms before you instruct it. How we choose our firms.