The short answer
With many firms, yes. You pay “abortive fees” for the work done so far, and often for searches already bought. At Pinnacle Law you pay nothing if your sale or purchase falls through, for any reason, including if you pull out yourself. When you find a new buyer or another property, we pick up where we left off for the same fixed fee.
This is the third part of the Pinnacle Price Promise: one fixed fee that never goes up, nothing to pay until you complete, and nothing to pay if your move falls through.
Ask anyone whose house move has fallen through how it felt, and you will hear words like gutted, exhausted and out of pocket. What surprises many of them is the bill that follows. Here is what abortive fees are, how often they matter, and why we carry that risk instead of you.
What are abortive fees in conveyancing?
Abortive fees are what a conveyancer charges when a sale or purchase does not complete. They usually cover the legal work done so far, plus any costs already paid out, such as searches on a purchase, and they can be a set amount or a proportion of the full fee.
The firm has done real work, so charging for it is not unreasonable in itself. The question is who should carry that cost when a move falls apart for reasons you could not control.
How often do property sales fall through?
Often enough to plan for. Around one in four agreed sales in the UK fails to complete: property data firm TwentyCI put the fall-through rate at 23.7% in the first quarter of 2026 (Mortgage Solutions).
The reasons are mostly outside the client’s hands. In Quick Move Now’s data for April to June 2026, a third of collapsed sales failed because of mortgage or lending problems and over a quarter because of the survey, with chain breaks, buyers’ changed circumstances and legal issues making up most of the rest (Newsfile). If you are selling, most of those reasons sit with your buyer, not with you.
Why does it matter who pays when a move falls through?
Because a failed move is already expensive. If you are selling, you may have paid for an energy performance certificate or a leasehold management pack, and if your buyer pulls out you may lose the home you were buying as well. If you are buying, you may have paid for a survey, a mortgage valuation and a broker. None of that money comes back. An abortive legal bill on top turns a disappointment into a real financial setback, just when you need money to start again.
Charging abortive fees moves the risk of the transaction onto you. If the firm is paid either way, its fee is safe whether or not you get to completion.
Why does Pinnacle not charge abortive fees?
We think the risk belongs with us. We are the ones who handle hundreds of transactions and can absorb the occasional one that fails. You are the one making a single, very large sale or purchase, often with a budget that has no room for paying twice.
It also keeps our incentives honest. We are only paid when you complete, and nothing is paid upfront, so everything we do is aimed at getting you there.
And it is good business. If your sale or purchase falls through, you will most likely be back on the market soon, and we would like to be the firm that helps you. So when you find a new buyer or another property, we pick up where we left off, with no extra fee.
What should I look for in a “no move, no fee” promise?
Read the conditions. Some no move, no fee offers only apply if the transaction falls through for particular reasons, still charge for searches or other costs already paid out, cap the abortive fee rather than removing it, or only waive the fee if you instruct the same firm again.
The questions to ask are simple:
- Will I pay anything at all if my move falls through?
- Does that apply whatever the reason, including if I pull out?
- Are searches and other costs already paid out included?
If the answer to all three is not a clear yes, the promise has limits you should know about. Ours does not. If your transaction is not successful for any reason, whether it was your decision or someone else’s, we do not charge you abortive costs.