How long does equity release take? Aviva quotes 6 to 8 weeks from application, Legal & General about seven, more2life 8 to 12.

Each of those figures is a lender describing its own process from its own starting point, and the advice meetings come before any of the clocks start. Below are the stages in order, how long an offer stays open, the legal advice that has to fit in before completion and what holds cases up. None of it predicts your own dates. If you are working to a deadline, each stage can be checked against it by a qualified equity release adviser, on a free call that the form on this page will arrange for you.

What three lenders say about the total time

  • Aviva, on its process page published 15 October 2026: "It usually takes around 6 to 8 weeks from when we get your lifetime mortgage application (step 6 below) to you having the money." The eligibility check, preparation, a family conversation and two adviser meetings all come before that point.
  • Legal & General, on its guide dated 8 April 2026, prints two ranges for a lifetime mortgage on the same page: "If you take out a lifetime mortgage, it’s usually six to seven weeks" in the main text, and "If you take out a lifetime mortgage (LTM), it’s usually four to six weeks" in an FAQ block further down. For its own plans it gives about seven weeks, from starting the application to receiving the money, and for a home reversion plan up to eight weeks.
  • more2life, on its undated what-happens-next page (read 20 October 2026), puts the whole process at usually around 8 to 12 weeks, start to finish.

Each comes with a usually or an around attached. They describe that lender's own plans; none is a promise or a market average. Aviva counts from receiving the application, L&G's seven weeks run from when you start it, and more2life's range covers the whole process, so the ranges do not line up like for like. More on the first two is in our Aviva guide and the Legal & General page.

The stages, in the order they happen

MoneyHelper's guide and the lender pages agree on the sequence. MoneyHelper's account runs from the adviser to the offer and the solicitor; the lenders fill in the valuation and the payout.

1. Advice and a recommendation

The adviser comes first. MoneyHelper says you receive a recommendation together with a suitability letter (or product confirmation letter) and a Key Facts Illustration (KFI). Aviva then holds a second adviser meeting to confirm you want to go ahead with the application, and L&G says a lifetime mortgage can only be taken out through a financial adviser. Choosing one is covered in our guide to equity release advisers.

2. Application and valuation

The adviser submits the application and arranges an independent valuation, which Aviva says you may have to pay for up front. L&G warns that a provider may come back with questions or ask for more documents, and will not move the application on until it has the answers. What the valuer looks at, and what a low figure means, are in our valuation guide.

3. The offer, and how long it stays open

Aviva uses the valuation to settle whether it will lend at all, the amount, and any conditions attached, such as paying off an existing mortgage or doing repairs; urgent repairs may need finishing before an offer is made. MoneyHelper describes the offer document arriving once the application is approved, and is clear that a reader who has doubts about it is not obliged to proceed. L&G sends its offer to you and your solicitor together.

Offers expire. Legal & General's guide says: "Your offer will be valid for a set period of time – with us, it’s 90 days." That figure is L&G's alone. With any other lender, look for the period in the offer document or ask the adviser at the outset, since a slow legal stage can run into it. Where an old mortgage must be cleared as a condition, equity release with an existing mortgage explains how.

4. The solicitor

Accepting the offer means signing a contract, which Aviva says you go through with a solicitor. On timing it says only: "How long this takes can vary, and may depend on whether any legal issues or question marks pop up around your property." L&G's customer guide (DA403, 04/26) adds that your solicitor works with L&G's own solicitors on the conveyancing, so information they ask for should go back promptly, and its guide says buildings insurance must cover at least the amount offered. The paperwork is in the conveyancing guide.

5. Completion

Aviva pays the money to your solicitor once everything is complete. Fees and any debts secured on the property are settled first, and the solicitor then transfers the remainder to your bank account. What comes out along the way is in equity release fees.

However fast it completes, the plan's trade-offs stay the same: on a roll-up lifetime mortgage interest compounds, so the debt grows; less is left in the estate; means-tested benefits can be affected; and repaying early can bring an early repayment charge. Our equity release guide covers them, and whether the money is taxable has its own page.

Legal advice, Scotland and changing your mind

The Equity Release Council, a voluntary trade body, says everyone who takes out equity release needs independent legal advice, and its Standards 2.0 show how that fits the timetable. Under rule 5.1 the advice sets out "the legal obligations, risks, and rewards of an equity release product before completion", and a Solicitor’s Certificate "signed by both the advising solicitor and the customer, must always be in place before completion". Rule 5.2 makes meeting the solicitor face to face mandatory and defines that as "a physical meeting rather than reliance on electronic or telephonic means", so the appointment has to be booked within the weeks above. These are standards for Council members rather than law for every firm. What the solicitor does is set out on the equity release solicitor page, and an attorney acting for someone else in the power of attorney guide.

On a Scottish home the legal stage is Scots conveyancing. The Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, at section 9, provides that a heritable security over land for a debt is valid in law only when embodied in a standard security, which is how the loan is secured there.

On changing your mind, MoneyHelper's point concerns the offer stage, as above. The FCA's mortgage rules add a reflection period, though not for every plan. MCOB 6A.3.4R says that where an MCD mortgage lender makes a binding offer, "it must give the consumer a reflection period of at least seven days", during which the offer stays binding on the lender and can be accepted at any time. That chapter applies to MCD regulated mortgage contracts, and the FCA's glossary excludes "an MCD exempt lifetime mortgage": one where the lender will not seek repayment of the capital until one or more specified life events occur. A lifetime mortgage outside that exemption counts as an MCD lifetime mortgage. Which kind a plan is, and what its terms say about withdrawing once signed, are worth settling with the adviser and solicitor before you sign. If no adviser is involved yet, the form on this page lines up a free call back from one.

What can slow a case down

Legal & General's guide lists five causes of delay. The first is "Complex circumstances – for example, a deceased property owner still being on the title deeds or a divorced couple’s property being subject to a separation agreement". The others are information that was missing or not disclosed (credit problems, or plans for the money, left unmentioned), hold-ups at the lender or adviser, slow replies from the borrower, and a valuation below what the owner expected.

more2life says the complexity of a case and any legal issues to be resolved can change its timeline, and Aviva ties the length of the legal stage to question marks over the property and the offer to any repairs. Situations that often add steps have pages of their own: joint ownership, flats and leasehold homes.

Questions people ask

How long does equity release take after the valuation?

The lender pages quote a total rather than a figure for each stage. After the valuation come the offer, the solicitor's work and completion, and Aviva says the solicitor stage can vary.

How long does a lifetime mortgage application take?

Aviva's 6 to 8 weeks runs from when it receives the application to the money arriving. The advice meetings come before that.

How long does a drawdown or a further amount take?

That is a different process. L&G's customer guide says a drawdown request on an existing facility is "typically quicker than applying for a Further Advance"; the mechanics are in the drawdown guide.

Can I get a rough idea first?

A figure for the amount you could borrow is a separate question, covered in how to get an equity release quote. It does not tell you the timetable.

Next step

The timetable depends on your home, your solicitor and the lender, and a deadline can change which of those matters most. Mention any deadline early. Anyone wanting a qualified equity release adviser to phone them can begin with the form on this page, which carries no fee. The independent legal advice comes later, before the plan completes.

Sources (read 20 October 2026 unless dated): Aviva, process (published 15 October 2026); Legal & General, how long it takes (8 April 2026); Legal & General, DA403 04/26; more2life, what happens next; Equity Release Council, Professional Standards & Guarantees and The Standards (Standards 2.0); MoneyHelper, What is equity release? (snapshot of 19 September 2026); FCA Handbook, MCOB 6A.3 and Glossary, MCD exempt lifetime mortgage; Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, section 9.