Buying or selling a home normally takes 2 to 3 months. The process can take longer if you're part of a chain of buyers and sellers.

There are several steps you'll need to follow:

• sellers must provide an Energy Performance Certificate for the property
• if a seller is using an estate agent, potential buyers must make any offers through the agent
• once a buyer's offer has been accepted, the seller is responsible for drawing up a legal contract to transfer ownership
• an offer isn't legally binding until contracts are exchanged
• depending on the amount given for property, the buyer may have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax

This guide relates to England and Wales. Shelter has advice about buying and selling a home in Scotland.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed whenever a property is:

• built
• sold
• rented

You must order an EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent.

In Scotland, you must display the EPC somewhere in the property - eg in the meter cupboard or next to the boiler.

An EPC contains:

• information about a property's energy use and typical energy costs
• recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money

An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and it is valid for 10 years.

Check how you could make your home more energy efficient using the EPC adviser.

How to get an EPC

You’ll need to find an accredited assessor if you're selling or renting out your home in:

• England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Scotland

They'll assess your property and produce the certificate.

You can be fined if you don't get an EPC when you need one.

The person selling the house, the landlord or the letting agent must show you the EPC if you're buying or renting.

Buildings that don't need an EPC

These include:

• places of worship
• temporary buildings that will be used for less than 2 years
• stand-alone buildings with total useful floor space of less than 50 square metres
• industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that don’t use a lot of energy
• some buildings that are due to be demolished
• holiday accommodation that's rented out for less than 4 months a year or is let under a licence to occupy
• listed buildings - you should get advice from your local authority conservation officer if the work would alter the building’s character
• residential buildings intended to be used less than 4 months a year

See other properties' EPCs

You can look at the EPCs of other properties free of charge. This lets you compare your home's energy performance with that of similar homes. You can search by the property’s address or by the EPC’s report reference number.

You can opt out of the EPC register if you don't want other people to be able to see your EPC.

You must sign a legally binding contract with an estate agent if you use one to sell your home.

You must stick to the terms of the contract or you could be taken to court.

Estate agents must also treat buyers fairly. They must show any offers promptly and in writing to the person selling the house.

Estate agents are also legally obliged to pass on any other offers for the property right up to when contracts are exchanged.

Complaints about estate agents

All estate agents must belong to one of the following schemes to deal with complaints:

• The Property Ombudsman
• The Ombudsman Service

You must first complain to the estate agent and give them a fair chance to sort out the problem before you complain to either scheme.

A buyer must make an offer through the estate agent if a home is sold through one.

A buyer can make their offer directly to the seller for a private sale.

Buyers can make offers verbally (over the phone or in person) or in writing.

An offer isn't legally binding in England and Wales until contracts are exchanged.

If a buyer makes an offer 'subject to contract’, this means the price can still be negotiated (eg if a survey finds a problem with the property).

Find out about making an offer for property in Scotland on the Shelter website.

Once the offer is accepted

The seller is responsible for drawing up a legal contract to transfer ownership.

The contract contains details about:

• the sale price
• the property boundaries
• which fixtures and fittings (like carpets and kitchen units) are included
• any legal restrictions or rights, like public footpaths or rules about using the property
• any planning restrictions
• services to the property, like drainage and gas
• when the sale will complete

If the seller has hired a solicitor or conveyancer, they will:

• draft the initial contract
• answer questions from the buyer's solicitor or conveyancer (with the seller's help)
• negotiate the details of the contract if necessary

Exchanging contracts

When the buyer and seller are happy with the contract, both sides sign final copies and send them to each other.

The agreement to sell and buy is legally binding once this happens. Usually neither party can pull out without paying compensation.

Completion

Once you exchange contracts and deal with any remaining checks the buyer has asked for:

1. The money is transferred from the buyer to the seller.

2. The legal documents needed to transfer ownership are handed over to the buyer.

3. The seller moves out and leaves the property in the state agreed in the contract.

4. The seller hands over the keys to the buyer.

5. The property now belongs to the buyer.

Shelter has more advice about buying or selling your home.

Legal ownership of a home can be arranged between 2 or more people, as 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'. The maximum number of legal owners is 4.

There are rules depending on the type of ownership you choose. For example, if you buy as 'joint tenants', you can't pass on your share of the property in your will. Instead, it automatically goes to the other joint owners.

Find out more about buying property with other people on the Shelter website.

If you buy property for more than £125,000, you pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) of between 1% and 7% on the whole purchase price.

You still have to pay SDLT if you swap something of economic value for a property, eg shares, another property.

You don’t pay any SDLT if you pay £125,000 or less.

See Stamp Duty Land Tax rates.