What a property paralegal actually does

Property was one of the largest practice areas among the live paralegal roles on this site in mid-2026, behind only personal injury and ahead of most commercial work. Firms run dedicated conveyancing teams that need paralegals to keep transactions moving, which is why the role is reliably available across the regions, not just in London.

Residential vs commercial

Property paralegal work splits into two worlds. Residential conveyancing handles house and flat sales and purchases. It is higher volume, more standardised and the usual entry point. Commercial property deals with business premises, leases, development sites and investment portfolios. It pays more, moves at a different pace, and generally wants more experience. Many paralegals start residential and move commercial as they grow.

The day-to-day work

• Opening files and ID. Setting up matters, running client identity and anti-money-laundering checks, and sending out client care information.
• Ordering and reviewing searches. Local authority, drainage and water, and environmental searches are the core set, with extras depending on the property. Reading the results and flagging issues is real legal-adjacent work.
• Contract packs and enquiries. Drafting or reviewing the contract pack, raising and responding to pre-contract enquiries, and reviewing title from the Land Registry.
• Transfer deeds. Preparing the TR1 (or TP1 for part transfers) and the completion documents.
• Exchange and completion. Coordinating the exchange of contracts, preparing completion statements, handling the transfer of funds, and managing the moving parts on completion day.
• Post-completion. Submitting the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) return and registering the new owner at the Land Registry.

SDLT and Land Registry: the deadlines that matter

Two post-completion tasks dominate the back end of a conveyancing file. The SDLT return must be filed and the tax paid to HMRC within 14 days of completion in England and Northern Ireland, the tightest filing window in the UK. HMRC then issues an SDLT certificate, and without it the Land Registry cannot register the buyer as the new owner. Missing either step causes real problems, so property paralegals live and die by their post-completion diary. Note too that the rules continue to evolve: from 18 May 2026 firms must be registered as a tax adviser to file SDLT returns, the kind of change a good paralegal keeps on top of.

Leasehold adds a layer

Leasehold transactions, common with flats, bring extra work: management packs, ground rent and service charge enquiries, notices to the landlord, and deeds of covenant. Leasehold reform remains a live policy area, so this is a part of the job that keeps changing.

Skills that get you hired

• Methodical process management. A conveyancing file is a chain of dependent steps, and dropping one stalls the whole transaction.
• Clear client communication. Buyers and sellers are often stressed and need plain-English updates.
• Speed and accuracy on case-management systems. Conveyancing teams run on platforms designed to standardise the workflow.
• Comfort with figures. Completion statements and SDLT calculations have to be right to the penny.

Pay, and why property is a smart long game

Permanent property paralegal salaries sit around the middle of the market. The real story is the contract and locum market: experienced conveyancing paralegals command some of the strongest day rates in the profession, often £150 to £250 a day, because firms need cover quickly when transaction volumes spike. That makes property an unusually flexible practice area to build a career in. For the full picture, see our UK paralegal salary guide.

Browse live property and conveyancing paralegal roles or read how to land your first paralegal job.