This is notification of potential additional charges in addition to your estimate of costs. This is not an exclusive list, but an example of additional services and fees we provide. All fees are subject to VAT.
In order to ensure that we are providing you with a quality service, we may have to charge you an additional fee, where extra work is required. If any apply to your transaction, we will notify you of any specific further fees prior to carrying out the work.
| Additional Service | Fee |
| Additional Title Fee – If you are buying or selling where the property is split over two or more titles, we will charge for checking and transferring both titles. Please note there may also be an additional charge made by the Land Registry. | £100.00 |
| Auction Fee – When you are buying or selling a property through an auction rather than a standard transaction. | £350.00 |
| Bridging Loan – A bridging loan can be useful if you need to borrow money for a short period. It can help to ‘bridge the gap’ if you want to buy a new home before selling your old one. Bridging loans can also be used if you buy a property at auction, where you’ll need the money immediately but may not have sold your current property yet. | £200.00 |
| Building Safety Act Fee – This will apply where the transaction involves a property affected by the Building Safety Act 2022. This includes buildings that are at least 18 metres tall (7 storeys). This covers the additional work required in reviewing building safety documentation, liaising with managing agents/freeholders, and advising on compliance and any associated risks or obligations as these properties face the strictest safety regulations. | £450.00 |
| Buy-to-Let Fee – Additional checks required for Buy to Let properties that are subject to an existing tenancy agreement and are being bought by individuals or companies. | £150.00 |
| Certificate of Compliance – Sometimes the freehold owner of the property will place a restriction on the leasehold title. A certificate of compliance is needed by the Land Registry as proof that the buyer has complied with the necessary requirements stated in the lease. This allows the restriction to be removed from the leasehold title. | £100.00 |
| Concessionary Purchase – If you sell to a related party at a discounted price, we are required to undertake additional checks and verifications including reporting to any lender, obtaining any relevant indemnities against future insolvency of the seller and preparing Statutory Declarations. Indemnity policy premium and Statutory Declaration are charged separately. | £250.00 |
| Court Order Fee – If you are buying or selling a property under a Power of Attorney (either a general, lasting or enduring power) or a Court Order made by the Court of Protection, we will charge for checking that the Power or Court Order is correct and that the seller has the legal power to sell. This fee is charged for each Power or Court Order in force. | £250.00 |
| Dealing with a Third Party on Your Behalf – A fee is payable to us in relation to the additional work we have to carry out in where we are required to liaise extensively with external advisers, executors, attorneys, accountants or overseas representatives. | £150.00 |
| Deed of Covenant Fee – If you are buying a leasehold property, or a freehold property with obligations to abide by a covenant, we will charge for preparing the deed and registering the signed deed with the correct party on completion. This fee is charged for each deed of covenant. | £150.00 |
| Deed of Easement – A deed of easement grants rights over the grantor’s land in return for a payment made by the grantee to the grantor. It contains optional clauses for a lender to give consent to the grant of the rights. | £750.00 depending on complexity |
| Deed of Postponement Fee – If you are buying/re-mortgaging a property with the assistance of more than one mortgage or finance product and the lenders require a deed setting out which legal charge comes first, we will charge for preparing or approving the deed of postponement. This fee is charged for each deed. | £150.00 |
| Deed of Variation Fee – If we have to rectify the title you are selling due to a title defect, an additional fee is charged for the extra work involved. | £750.00 depending on complexity |
| Discount to Market Fee Scheme Fee – An additional fee charged where a property is being purchased under a Discount to Market or Affordable Housing scheme. | £150.00 |
| First Homes Scheme Fee – An additional fee charged when a property is being purchased under the First Homes Scheme (a government-backed affordable housing scheme). | £150.00 |
| Forces Help to Buy Fee – If you are purchasing a property using the Forces Help to Buy scheme. | £150.00 |
| Fraud Protection (Purchase only) – To protect against fraudsters posing as the seller or a joint owner selling your property to a third party using fake identification and forged signatures, recommended by the Land Registry, and designed to protect investment properties, joint owners and even sole proprietors from this type of fraud. | £100.00 |
| Freehold Property with a Management Company/Rent Charge Fee – If you are buying, selling or re-mortgaging a freehold property which has a legal obligation to make contributions to a management company or a rent charge, we will charge for the extra work involved in making enquiries of the management company. Such enquiries may include obtaining receipts to check that all payments are up to date, what the future payments may be, and obtaining accounts for previous years to check for shortfalls. This fee is charged for each management company or rent charge in place. Please note that the management company may also charge a fee. | £150.00 |
| Gifted Deposit Fee – An additional charge that applies when part (or all) of a buyer’s deposit is being gifted by a third party, usually a parent or close family member. The fee applies per gift. | £75.00 |
| Help to Buy ISA Fee – An extra charge applied when a buyer is using a government Help to Buy ISA bonus as part of their purchase funds. This fee applies per person. | £50.00 |
| Indemnity Policy Arrangement Fee – If there is a legal issue with the property that you are buying or selling and it is necessary for a policy or indemnity insurance to be put into place, this is the fee that we will charge for obtaining the correct policy. Indemnity Insurance policies provide financial protection against specific legal issues. This fee is charged for each policy arranged or approved. | £75.00 |
| Key Undertaking Fee – If you are selling a property and you agree to give your buyer access before completion, or you are buying a property and have negotiated such access, it will become necessary for the buyer to enter into a key undertaking. We will charge for the preparation or approval of the key undertaking. | £150.00 |
| Lease Extension – If you are selling or buying a property and a lease extension is required, an additional fee will apply for all work carried out in relation to the drafting and/or negotiating the terms of the extension including drafting/reviewing the new lease, notices and deed of assignment. Please note this does not include statutory Landlord & Tenant applications. | £950.00 depending on complexity |
| Licence to Occupy Fee – If occupation of the property is required before completion has taken place, we will charge a fee for drafting or approving the licence to occupy. | £150.00 |
| Lifetime ISA Fee – An additional charge applied when a buyer is using funds from a Lifetime ISA towards their property purchase. | £100.00 |
| Limited Company Fee – An additional charge applied when you are purchasing a property as a company. | £200.00 |
| Merger of Titles Application – An additional fee for preparing and submitting the application to HM Land Registry to have multiple titles merged into one legal title where beneficial to the purchaser. | £150.00 |
| Negative Equity Fee – If you are selling your property and there are insufficient funds to repay your mortgage, we charge a fee for dealing with the additional work required to deal with a source of funds and removing the mortgage. | £150.00 |
| New Build Fee – An additional charge applied when a client is buying a newly built property from a developer. | £400.00 |
| Non-Standard Legal Document Review – An additional fee for reviewing and advising on the impact of non-standard legal documents, such as an overage agreement, on your transaction. | £150.00 |
| Non-Standard Undertaking – An undertaking is a commitment by a solicitor to do something. It can be enforced against the solicitor by the courts. | £100.00 |
| Notice to Complete – If completion does not take place on the date stated in the contract, the non-defaulting party may choose to have their solicitor serve a notice to complete on the delaying party’s solicitor. | £150.00 |
| Personal Guarantee – Directors – A personal guarantee is an agreement that means a business director takes a certain level of responsibility for his or her company’s debts in the event that they cannot be paid back by the business itself. | £250.00 per Guarantee |
| Purchase under Trust Fee – An additional fee charged when a property is being purchased in the name of a trust rather than an individual or company. | £150.00 |
| Registering a Restriction Fee – If you are buying or re-mortgaging a property and we are required to register a restriction, we will charge for preparing and registering the restriction. This is charged for each entry. This fee will not be charged on any standard restrictions associated with a leasehold title, new build or mortgage. Please note there may also be an additional charge made by the Land Registry. | £100.00 |
| Repossessed Properties – If you are buying from a lender in possession, there is a compulsory period of time to exchange and complete. We will charge an additional fee to prioritise and deal with the additional work involved. | £150.00 |
| Restrictions, Cautions or Notices Fee – If you are buying, selling or re-mortgaging a property which has a restriction, charge or notice registered, we will charge for preparing, amending, complying or removing them. This is charged for each entry. This fee will not be charged on any standard restrictions associated with a mortgage. Please note there may also be an additional charge made by the Land Registry. | £100.00 |
| Retention Fee – A fee for the work involved in relation to agreeing a retention on completion in respect of excess services charges. | £150.00 |
| Reviewing Survey Report – An additional fee for reviewing the legal advice section of the survey report, identifying any discrepancies between the survey and the information provided by the seller and advising you with regards to any additional enquiries required and replies received as a result. | £150.00 |
| Right to Buy Fee – An additional fee charged when a property is being purchased under the Right to Buy scheme, which allows eligible council or housing association tenants to buy their home at a discounted price. | £200.00 |
| Second or Subsequent Mortgage Fee – Sale – If you are selling/re-mortgaging a property which has more than one legal charge registered, we will charge for arranging for the removal of the second or subsequent legal charge. This includes Legal Aid Board Charges. This fee is charged for each lender that we liaise with. Please note that this does not apply to a private mortgage. | £100.00 |
| Second or Subsequent Mortgage Transfer Fee – Purchase – If you are buying/re-mortgaging a property with the assistance of more than one mortgage or finance product, where the lender requires a legal charge over the property (including porting over an existing mortgage), we will charge for the extra work involved in: liaising with them, resolving any issues relating to the property; and keeping them updated concerning the transaction. This fee is charged to each lender that we liaise with. Please note that this does not apply to a private mortgage. | £100.00 |
| Septic Tank Investigation Fee/Private Drainage – If the property has a septic tank/private drainage system, we will charge this fee for dealing with the extra enquiries this generates. | £150.00 |
| Shared Ownership Fee – An additional fee charged when a property is being purchased under a Shared Ownership scheme, where the buyer purchases a share of a property (typically 25%–75%) and pays rent on the remaining share to a housing association or developer. | £300.00 |
| Share of Freehold Fee – If you are buying a leasehold property where the seller is also selling their share in the freehold title of the building, we will charge for checking the freehold title and dealing with the transfer of the share into your name at the same time as your purchase of the property. The seller’s share in the freehold title may be in their own personal name, or they may hold a share in a separate limited company which owns the freehold. Please note there will also be an additional charge made by the Land Registry. | £300.00 |
| Sitting Tenants – A sitting tenant is a person who is renting a house that the owner (their landlord) has decided to sell. If they have an ongoing tenancy agreement with their landlord (the seller), the sitting tenant will be able to stay in the property after the sale is completed. A fee is charged for the additional work involved. | £200.00 |
| Solar Panels Fee – Many properties have solar panels attached to the roof. If you are selling a property with a defective solar panel lease, we will need to rectify it. If you are buying/re-mortgaging a property which has solar panels and there is a mortgage, we will have to check that the solar panel lease meets your mortgage lender’s requirements. | £250.00 |
| Staircasing Fee – An additional fee charged when a shared ownership homeowner wants to buy an additional share of their property (increase their ownership percentage). | £250.00 |
| Statement of Truth – A statement of truth is a method of providing evidence in support of an application you send to HM Land Registry. | £75.00 |
| Statutory Declaration Fee – If there is an issue with the property which you are buying, selling or re-mortgaging and it is necessary for a Statutory Declaration or a Statement of Truth to be prepared, we will charge for preparing or approving the same. This fee is charged for each declaration/statement. Please note the document needs to be declared in the presence of an independent solicitor who will also charge a small fee, payable to them directly. | £100.00 depending on complexity |
| Title Split Fee – An additional fee charged when a property’s ownership is being split into separate legal titles, for example, when one plot is being divided into two, or when land is being subdivided. | £250.00 |
| Third-Party Matrimonial Lawyers Fee – If you are going through a divorce, separation or other matrimonial proceedings and we have to liaise with a family lawyer acting for a co-owner, we will charge for the extra work involved in liaising with them, resolving any issues relating to the property and keeping them updated concerning the transaction. This fee is charged for each lawyer that we liaise with. | £200.00 |
| Tyneside Lease – A Tyneside lease, also known as a crisscross or cross-over lease, is an arrangement where the leaseholder of each flat is also the landlord of the other flat. We will charge an additional fee to deal with the work involved. | £150.00 |
| Unregistered Title Fee – An additional charge applied when the property being bought or sold is not registered at HM Land Registry. | £200.00 |