Can I delay settlement if I am not ready?

Why the date is not yours to move

Once the agreement is signed, the settlement date binds both sides. The buyer has arranged finance to draw down on that day, has probably given notice somewhere, may have a removal truck booked, and may have their own sale settling the same day. Changing your date changes all of that.

If you cannot settle and the buyer does not agree to move, you are in default. What follows is governed by the agreement, which will set out the remedies available to the buyer, including any compensation payable for the delay. Your lawyer can tell you exactly what your agreement provides, and that is the first call to make.

Ask early, and ask for a specific date

The moment you know the date is at risk, tell your lawyer and ask them to approach the buyer's lawyer. A buyer who is given several weeks of warning can often reorganise. A buyer told on the morning usually cannot.

Ask for one specific new date rather than an open extension, and be ready to explain what has gone wrong. Requests that come with a reason and a firm new date get agreed far more often than vague ones.

The alternatives worth raising

• Settle on time and stay on briefly. Some buyers will agree to settle as planned and let the seller remain for a short period under a separate written arrangement, which your lawyer draws up. The buyer owns the house from settlement in that case.
• Settle on time and store. If the problem is that your next place is not ready, a short storage and accommodation arrangement is often cheaper and simpler than a contractual default.
• Compensate the buyer. Where the delay costs the buyer money, offering to cover that cost is sometimes what makes the extension acceptable.

The common cause, and how to avoid it

Most seller side delays come from a purchase that has not settled, or a chain where someone further along is late. If you are buying and selling, line the dates up at the contract stage and talk to your lender about what happens if they slip, before either agreement is signed.