What happens between going unconditional and settlement day

The day your sale goes unconditional, the phone stops ringing. The buyer’s conditions are satisfied, the agreement is binding on both sides, and after weeks of enquiries and open homes there’s suddenly nothing to chase. The stretch from unconditional to settlement is the part of an NZ house sale nobody bothers to explain, so plenty of private sellers spend it quietly worried they’ve forgotten something.

Almost always, you haven’t. Between going unconditional and settlement day, the deposit is released from the trust account it’s been sitting in, both lawyers prepare the legal and banking side of the transfer, the buyer does a pre-settlement inspection, and you pack. On settlement morning the lawyers exchange money and documents, and once your lawyer confirms the funds have arrived, the buyer gets the keys (settled.govt.nz, completing the sale; settling on settlement day).

That’s the whole shape of it. Here’s what each piece means from your side.

How long is the gap from unconditional to settlement in NZ?

Exactly as long as the front page of your sale and purchase agreement says it is. The settlement date was negotiated when you and the buyer signed. There’s no standard gap; it’s whatever suited you both. If the date ever needs to move, that’s a conversation your lawyer has with the buyer’s lawyer, in writing, rather than a handshake over the fence.

Two things fill the time. Your lawyer prepares the transfer documents and arranges the discharge of your mortgage with your bank, and the buyer’s lawyer does the mirror image with their client’s money (settled.govt.nz, planning for settlement day). Little of it needs you beyond signing what your lawyer sends and answering the odd question promptly.

One date rule deserves attention before you ever sign: if your buyer is using a KiwiSaver first home withdrawal, their solicitor has to lodge the application and the provider needs time to pay out, so allow ten or more working days between unconditional and settlement (Kāinga Ora; Smith and Partners). We’ve written up the seller’s side of KiwiSaver in its own post.

The deposit stops being untouchable

While the agreement was conditional, the buyer’s deposit sat in a lawyer’s trust account, which is where deposits in a private sale belong (settled.govt.nz, selling privately). Once the sale goes unconditional, the deposit is generally released (settled.govt.nz, completing the sale).

Before you mentally spend it on the movers, ask your lawyer about the timing and about anything that comes off it first. The answer depends on what your agreement says, and this fortnight rewards people who confirm things rather than assume them.

What the buyer’s pre-settlement inspection is checking

Shortly before settlement, most buyers exercise their right to walk through the property one last time (settled.govt.nz, planning for settlement day). A pre-settlement inspection is not a second building inspection. The buyer is confirming two things. First, that the chattels listed in the agreement, the oven, the curtains, the heat pump, the light fittings, are still there and in reasonable working order, which is a warranty you gave when you signed (Citizens Advice Bureau). Second, that the house is in the same condition it was in when they agreed to buy it.

Run the inspection on yourself first. Test the oven, the garage door, every heat pump, anything with a motor or an element. The warranty is for reasonable working order, so honest wear is fine. But if something has died since the agreement was signed, tell your lawyer before the buyer’s walk-through finds it. A repair or a small adjustment agreed between the lawyers ahead of time is routine; the same problem surfacing on settlement morning can hold up the whole day.

Your jobs before settlement morning

The unglamorous list: pack, book the movers, redirect the mail, and take final meter readings so your power and water accounts close on the right numbers (settled.govt.nz, planning for settlement day). Round up every key, remote, alarm code and garage-door opener in the house, including the spare under the pot plant.

By settlement morning, the house should hold everything you sold with it and nothing else. Chattels on the agreement stay. The rest, all of it, goes with you. Buyers rarely feel warmly about inheriting a garage full of someone else’s paint tins.

The settlement call

Settlement happens between the lawyers, electronically. You don’t attend anything. The buyer’s lawyer pays the balance of the purchase price into your lawyer’s trust account. Your lawyer repays your mortgage out of the proceeds so the bank releases it, for which banks charge a discharge fee of roughly $250 to $500 (Leanne Stewart, 2026 cost-of-selling guide), and the title transfers to the buyer (settled.govt.nz, settling on settlement day).

Then comes the call: your lawyer confirms the money has landed and the sale has settled. Keys are handed over only after that call. However friendly the buyer, however certain everyone is that it’s all fine, the house is yours until settlement is confirmed, and your lawyer will tell you the moment it is.

When something goes wrong, the lawyers sort it

Occasionally the day wobbles. A bank misses a payment cut-off, a document needs correcting, or the pre-settlement inspection turns up a dispute over a broken chattel. Nearly all of these end with settlement happening later the same day or soon after, with any adjustment negotiated between the two lawyers under the terms of your agreement. If a problem runs deeper than that, settled.govt.nz, the Real Estate Authority’s consumer site, has a plain-English page on getting help if things go wrong when selling.

Your contribution is modest: stay reachable and let your lawyer do the arguing. That’s what they’re for.

The quiet between unconditional and settlement usually means the sale is working. If you’re selling with Celby, the conveyancing lawyer who runs your settlement is included in the $8,000 flat fee (that’s GST inclusive), so this stage of your sale is already staffed. Your part is boxes, meter readings and one last sweep for orphaned keys.

This article is general information, not legal advice — your lawyer advises on your situation.

Celby is not a licensed real estate agent. You’re selling your property privately, and all decisions about your sale are your own.

Sources

1. settled.govt.nz — Completing the sale
2. settled.govt.nz — Planning for settlement day when selling
3. settled.govt.nz — Settling on settlement day when selling
4. settled.govt.nz — Getting help if things go wrong when selling
5. Citizens Advice Bureau — Selling your property (chattels warranty)
6. Kāinga Ora — KiwiSaver first home withdrawal
7. Smith and Partners — KiwiSaver first home withdrawal Q&A
8. Leanne Stewart — Cost of selling a house in New Zealand (2026)