What Are Conveyancing Disbursements

Disbursements are cost which are payable as part of a conveyancing transaction via your conveyancer to third parties. These are costs which do not form part of a conveyancer's fees. The following are some of the more common disbursements that you might have to pay during a conveyancing transaction depending on whether you are buying, selling or remortgaing:

Sale:

• Official copy entries – copies of the register and plan for your property from the Land Registry plus any other documents, such as transfers or conveyances, referred to in the register. The register and plan cost £3.00 at the time of writing and additional documents (of which there will typically be just one or two) cost £5.00 each.

 Additionally, if the property is leasehold: 

• Copy lease – this will cost £11.00 if available electronically or £23.00 if not.
• Landlord's information pack – there certain questions which all buyers will raise of your landlord via your conveyancer and your landlord will almost always charge a fee for replying. The level of the fee is not fixed and will typically range from £50 - £300 depending on the landlord

 Purchase: 

• Searches – these are the standard enquiries that your conveyancer will raise with the local authority, water authority, coal authority (if the property is in a coal mining area) etc. The cost will range from something like £100 - £300 depending on which searches are required, the area the property is in and who the searches are carried out with
• Land Registration Fee – this is the fee payable to the Land Registry for registering the change of ownership. The Land Registry charge on a scale based on the purchase price. The fee starts from £50 and goes right the way up to £900 for the most expensive properties. Your conveyancer will be able to tell you what the the fee will be once you tell them the purchase price
• Pre-completion searches – it will be necessary to do an OS1, at a cost of £3.00 plus, if you are buying with a mortgage, a bankruptcy search at a cost of £2 per purchaser.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax – this is a tax payable on land purchases. Your conveyancer will be able to tell you how much tax you will pay once you tell them the purchase price

 Additionally, if the property is leasehold:

• Notice of assignment and charge – it will be necessary following completion to serve a notice of change of ownership on the landlord, who will usually charge a fee for receipting the notice. The fee will vary from landlord to landlord. Generally it will be in the range £50 - £150 but there is no fixed minimum or maximum
• Other leasehold fees – as well as notice of assignment and charge, there may be a requirement to enter into a deed of covenant, transfer a share certificate or obtain a certificate of compliance, all which may attract a fee which will be variable depending on the landlord

Remortgage:

• Official copy entries – copies of the register and plan for your property from the Land Registry plus any other documents, such as transfers or conveyances, referred to in the register. The register and plan cost £3.00 at the time of writing and additional documents (of which there will typically be just one or two) cost £5.00 each.
• Search Indemnity Insurance – most lenders, where the transaction is a remortgage, will accept search insurance in lieu of searches. The cost of the insurance will depend on the amount borrowed under the mortgage
• Land Registration Fee – this is the fee payable to the Land Registry for registering the new mortgage. The Land Registry charge on a scale based on the amount borrowed. The fee starts from £40. Your conveyancer will be able to tell you what the the fee will be once you tell them the purchase price
• Pre-completion searches – it will be necessary to do an OS1, at a cost of £3.00 plus a bankruptcy search at a cost of £2 per borrower.

Additionally, if leasehold:

• Notice of charge – it will be necessary following completion to serve a notice of the new mortgage on the landlord, who will usually charge a fee for receipting the notice. The fee will vary from landlord to landlord. Generally it will be in the range £50 - £150 but there is no fixed minimum or maximum

Transfer of Equity

• Official copy entries – copies of the register and plan for your property from the Land Registry plus any other documents, such as transfers or conveyances, referred to in the register. The register and plan cost £3.00 at the time of writing and additional documents (of which there will typically be just one or two) cost £5.00 each.
• Land Registration Fee – this is the fee payable to the Land Registry for registering the transfer. The Land Registry charge on a scale based on the amount borrowed. The fee starts from £50. Your conveyancer will be able to tell you what the the fee will be once you tell them the consideration
• Stamp Duty Land Tax – this is a tax payable on land transfers. Your conveyancer will be able to tell you how much tax you will pay once the consideration is calculated. The calculation of stamp duty for a transfer of equity can be complex and it is not always possible to calculate at the outset

Additionally, if leasehold:

• Notice of assignment – it will be necessary following completion to serve a notice of change of ownership on the landlord, who will usually charge a fee for receipting the notice. The fee will vary from landlord to landlord. Generally it will be in the range £50 - £150 but there is no fixed minimum or maximum
• Other leasehold fees – as well as notice of assignment, there may be a requirement to enter into a deed of covenant, transfer a share certificate or obtain a certificate of compliance, all which may attract a fee which will be variable depending on the landlord

Please note that where any exact fees are quoted in this article they are believed to accurate at the time of writing but no warranty as to accuracy is intended and no such warranty should be implied. Furthermore the costs are subject to change in future and this article has not been update to reflect any such changes.

Whichever conveyancer does the work, the cost of disbursements will be broadly uniform. Some conveyancers will include the usual disbursements in their quotes and some will not It is a good idea therefore, when making comparisons, to strip away the disbursements and look just at the conveyancing fees.