Selling London property from the Gulf is easier than buying one and takes longer than owners expect: four months from the agent’s instruction to the money reaching a Gulf account is normal in 2026, six is common, and the tax return is due within sixty days of completion. This covers selling from abroad, not the tax (see selling as a non-resident) or whether to sell (see sell or hold). The managing agent’s pack costs the extra months.
Owning and letting
Selling a London property from abroad: the agent, the price, the paperwork and the four months from instruction to the money
How long does it take to sell a London property from abroad?
A seller abroad does not need to travel: the agent markets and the solicitor completes. Allow four months from instruction to the money, six commonly, with the capital gains return due within 60 days of completion. Sole agency costs 1 to 1.5 per cent plus VAT in prime London; the leasehold pack costs £200 to £600 and takes four to eight weeks, so order it in week one. The catch: price to the Land Registry evidence, which in 2026 means 2014 prices, or the flat sits for a year.
The timeline for a sale from abroad in a normal 2026 market:
Selling a London property from abroad: week-by-week timeline from instruction to proceeds
| Weeks | Stage |
|---|---|
| 0 | Decide, with our sell-or-hold arithmetic; serve notice on a tenant if selling vacant (four months under the sale ground, after the first year) |
| 0 to 2 | Instruct the agent and the solicitor; energy certificate; photographs; the solicitor assembles the contract pack and orders the leasehold pack |
| 2 to 8 | Marketing, viewings, offers; a buyer found by week six in a normal market |
| 8 to 16 | The buyer’s conveyancing, as our conveyancing guide describes; exchange around week fourteen |
| 16 to 18 | Completion; the agent paid; the solicitor sends the net proceeds |
| within 60 days of completion | Non-resident capital gains tax return and payment |
Source: firm’s transaction timings, October 2026; GOV.UK selling your home and capital gains tax for non-residents.
A prime flat priced right sells in weeks; one priced to 2016 sits for a year and sells for less than it would have in month one.
Choosing an estate agent to sell your London property
For a prime London property the choice is between the national firms’ local offices (Knight Frank, Savills, Strutt & Parker and the like), the strong independents in each district, and the online agents, which the firm does not recommend above £500,000. Ask three to value, in writing, with comparables; take the one whose valuation is supported by the Land Registry evidence, not the highest; and check the two legal memberships (a redress scheme and anti-money-laundering supervision) as our letting agent guide does for lettings.
Sole agency and off-market sales in prime London
Sole agency for eight to twelve weeks is usual; joint or multiple agency raises the fee and rarely the price. For a property above £5,000,000 a quiet off-market sale through the agents’ private client networks, as our buying agent guide describes from the other side, is often the better route.
Estate agent fees when selling a London property
1 to 1.5 per cent plus VAT for sole agency in prime London, 2 to 2.5 per cent for multiple agency, sometimes a fixed fee below £500,000; payable on completion out of the proceeds, with no fee if the property does not sell (check the agreement for “ready, willing and able purchaser” clauses, which charge a fee if the seller withdraws after an offer). The agent’s agreement is a contract and should be read: the term, the notice, the fee trigger, and whether the agent is entitled to a fee on a sale to a buyer it introduced after the term ends.
Pricing a London property using Land Registry evidence
The Land Registry records every sale; the agent’s comparables, the street’s last three sales and the flat’s own purchase price are the evidence, and in 2026 the evidence is that prime London is at 2014 prices, as our market note sets out. An owner who bought in 2015 and prices at cost plus inflation does not sell.
Setting the asking price and agreeing a floor with your agent
The asking price should be the figure the evidence supports, with the agent instructed to report every offer; a flat that receives two offers in the first fortnight was priced right, and one that receives none in six weeks was not, and the reduction should be made then, not in month four. The firm advises a seller abroad to give the agent a floor in writing and to decide in advance what offer it will accept, because a decision made at 3 a.m. Gulf time is a poor one.
Paperwork needed to sell a London flat or house
The buyer’s solicitor will want: the title (the solicitor obtains it); the lease and the leasehold information pack (ordered from the managing agent in week one, at £200 to £600, because it takes four to eight weeks); the energy certificate (£60 to £120, valid ten years); the property information form and the fittings list, completed by the seller honestly, because the answers are contractual; the building safety information for a flat in a block over 11 metres; consents and guarantees for any alterations; and, for a let property, the tenancy documents.
Completing the sale forms from abroad by email
A seller abroad completes the forms by email with the solicitor’s help, and the firm chases the managing agent for the pack, which is the single most common cause of a slow sale.
Selling a London property tenanted or vacant
A let flat can be sold with the tenant in place, to an investor, at a discount of 5 to 10 per cent for ordinary stock and with no void; or vacant, to a wider market, after notice under the sale ground (four months, not within the first year of the tenancy, with a penalty for reletting afterwards), as our Renters’ Rights guide explains, with a void of four to six months through marketing and completion.
Deciding whether to sell tenanted or vacant at week zero
The decision is made at week zero and depends on the likely buyer: investor for a one-bedroom in Canary Wharf, family for a house in Kensington. A seller who serves notice and then changes its mind has an empty flat and a lost tenant.
Accepting offers and exchanging contracts when selling from abroad
The agent reports offers in writing with the buyer’s position (cash, mortgage, chain) and proof of funds; the seller accepts one, subject to contract, and the agent issues the memorandum of sale. From then the buyer’s solicitor runs the process in our conveyancing guide and the seller’s solicitor answers enquiries, which for a seller abroad means being available by email within a day. Exchange binds both sides; the seller signs the contract abroad with a witness or under a power of attorney, as our power-of-attorney guide explains, and the transfer deed likewise. A seller who is slow to answer enquiries loses buyers to other flats.
Completion, proceeds and capital gains tax after selling a London property
On completion the buyer’s money arrives at the seller’s solicitor, who pays off any mortgage or Islamic finance, the agent’s fee and its own, and sends the balance to the account the seller names, in sterling; our currency guide explains converting it, and our bank account guide where it can go. The keys go to the buyer through the agent; the managing agent and the council are told; the utilities are closed in the seller’s name. Within sixty days the capital gains return is filed and the tax paid, as our tax guide sets out, whether or not there is a gain. The solicitor sends the file; keep it.
Sources: Selling your home (GOV.UK) · Energy performance certificates for your home (GOV.UK) · Capital gains tax on UK property for non-residents (GOV.UK) · Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (legislation.gov.uk) Figures verified 14 October 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about selling a London property from abroad
No. The agent markets, the solicitor completes, the contract and transfer are signed abroad or by attorney, and the firm handles the keys and the managing agent.
Rarely beyond cleaning, decorating and fixing what the survey will find; a kitchen for a buyer who will rip it out is wasted. A flat that has been let for ten years needs a decorator and a cleaner, not a designer.
Before exchange, nothing is owed and the flat goes back to market; the agent’s fee is not payable. After exchange the buyer forfeits the deposit. The firm’s advice is to keep the second-best offer warm until exchange.
Four months from the agent’s instruction to the money in a Gulf account is normal in 2026, and six is common. A buyer is found by week six in a normal market, exchange comes around week fourteen and completion at weeks sixteen to eighteen. The non-resident capital gains return and payment are due within 60 days of completion.
1 to 1.5 per cent plus VAT for sole agency in prime London, 2 to 2.5 per cent for multiple agency, and sometimes a fixed fee below £500,000. It is paid on completion out of the proceeds, with no fee if the property does not sell, but check the agreement for a “ready, willing and able purchaser” clause, which charges a fee if the seller withdraws after an offer.
A national firm’s local office or a strong district independent; the firm does not recommend online agents above £500,000. Ask three to value in writing with comparables and take the one the Land Registry evidence supports, not the highest. Above £5,000,000 a quiet off-market sale through the agents’ private client networks is often the better route.
The title, the lease and the leasehold information pack (£200 to £600, four to eight weeks, so order it in week one), the energy certificate (£60 to £120, valid ten years), the property information form and fittings list, building safety information for a flat in a block over 11 metres, consents and guarantees for alterations, and the tenancy documents for a let property.
Tenanted sells to an investor at a 5 to 10 per cent discount for ordinary stock with no void. Vacant reaches a wider market but needs notice under the sale ground, four months and not within the first year of the tenancy, plus a void of four to six months. Decide at week zero by the likely buyer: investor for a one-bedroom in Canary Wharf, family for a Kensington house.
At the figure the Land Registry evidence supports, which in 2026 means prime London at 2014 prices. Two offers in the first fortnight means it was priced right; none in six weeks means it was not, and the reduction should be made then. Give the agent a floor in writing and decide in advance what offer you will accept.
On completion the buyer’s money arrives at your solicitor, who pays off any mortgage or Islamic finance, the agent’s fee and its own, and sends the balance in sterling to the account you name. Our currency guide explains converting it and our bank account guide where it can go. Within sixty days the capital gains return is filed and the tax paid, whether or not there is a gain.
