Updated 22 Sep 2026. You can discuss a conveyancing fee with a law firm. There is no current Law Society minimum sliding scale that prevents a firm from quoting below the percentages previously published on this page. The Law Society’s legal-costs guidance says there is no recommended fee structure. This guide concerns a private solicitor’s non-contentious conveyancing work, not a universal tariff for every HDB service or a fee estimate for litigation.
The correction matters to a buyer comparing quotations. A claimed compulsory minimum can discourage you from shopping around and make an unsupported bill appear inevitable. Ask what the firm will actually do, what it excludes and how it will price changes. A negotiated fee is still subject to the applicable fairness and reasonableness requirements.
What the current remuneration rule actually says
Paragraph 2 of the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Remuneration) Order requires a fair and reasonable amount for non-contentious business. Its considerations include complexity, responsibility, time, the property’s value and the importance of the work to the client. It does not prescribe the percentage bands or S$1,080 minimum formerly shown here.
Paragraph 3 permits additional remuneration where special exertion carries work through in an exceptionally short time. That is a reason to ask how urgent work would be charged, not a licence to insert an unexplained premium into a bill. Paragraph 6 preserves the earlier Order for instructions accepted before 1 February 2003. This guide addresses new instructions in 2026; it is not an assessment of an old retainer governed by that transition.
The Law Society describes fixed and time-based arrangements for non-contentious work. A written quote should make clear which arrangement you are accepting. “Fixed fee” is useful only when the work included, assumptions and exceptions are clear.
Compare quotations on the same brief
Send each firm the same transaction summary: purchase or sale, property type, price, expected dates, lender, CPF involvement and any ownership, tenancy or title issue already known. Do not forward confidential documents to a firm you have not verified. Ask who will handle the matter and who you can contact when a deadline is near.
| Part of the quote | What to ask in writing |
|---|---|
| Professional fee | Which purchase, sale, mortgage and CPF tasks are included? What is expressly excluded? |
| Disbursements | Which third-party costs are fixed, estimated or payable at actual cost? Will supporting details be provided? |
| Taxes | Is each quoted amount inclusive of GST where applicable? Keep stamp duty separate from the lawyer’s remuneration. |
| Other representation | Can the firm handle the required lender and CPF work? If another firm is needed, whose bill will you pay? |
| Changes and urgency | What happens if the lender, owners, completion date or instructions change? |
| Payment | When is each amount due, and what happens to any unused money held for expenses? |
Do not assume a headline “all-in” amount includes taxes, every registration expense or work arising from a later dispute. Equally, do not add an automatic second mortgage-lawyer fee without confirming whether it is already included. The right total comes from the actual scope and funding arrangements.
A lower headline can produce a higher comparable total
Consider two entirely hypothetical quotes for the same stated scope. Assume all figures below already include any applicable tax, and that both firms have confirmed the listed items do not overlap. These are invented arithmetic inputs, not market rates or quotations from real firms.
| Amount | Firm A | Firm B |
|---|---|---|
| Headline professional fee | S$2,400 | S$3,000 |
| Additional stated mortgage/CPF work | S$700 | Included |
| Assumed disbursements | S$500 | S$400 |
| Comparable total | S$3,600 | S$3,400 |
A’s headline is S$600 lower, but its comparable total is S$200 higher. The result changes if scope or actual expenses change. This table deliberately excludes the purchase price, stamp duties, lender valuation, insurance and any other expense not specified. It is a method for checking a quote, not a complete purchase budget.
For a household, that distinction prevents legal costs from being confused with the much larger amount needed to complete the purchase. Use our separate completion-cash and conveyancing-cost guide to reconcile deposits, loan funds and CPF. An investor should also keep acquisition costs separate from recurring expenses when assessing a return.
Agree the fee if the purchase stops or becomes complicated
Before appointing the firm, ask for the charging basis if you decide not to proceed before exercising an option, if work stops later, or if you change lawyers. Ask which expenses will already have been incurred and whether a fixed fee changes when the scope changes. Keep the answer with the engagement letter.
The solicitor’s bill and the seller’s contractual rights are different questions. This article does not say that abandoning a purchase always loses a particular percentage of the price. The consequences depend on the actual contract, stage and reason the transaction ends. Obtain advice before missing an exercise or completion deadline.
For an unusual title issue, an overseas signing arrangement or a disagreement between co-buyers, ask whether the quote covers the additional advice. Do not choose the lowest initial figure on the assumption that it buys unlimited work. Conversely, a higher fee needs a clear explanation of scope and service, rather than a claim that every firm must charge a statutory minimum.
If the bill differs from the quotation
Put the quotation, engagement letter, agreed variations, invoices and expense records together. Mark the items you cannot reconcile and ask the firm for an explanation and an itemised bill. Identify whether the disagreement concerns work performed, extra work authorised, time charged or an expense passed on.
The Law Society recommends approaching the lawyer first and describes mediation and court assessment routes for unresolved fee disputes. Their availability and procedure depend on the matter; obtain prompt advice rather than assume that disputing an invoice suspends a deadline or gives a right to withhold every payment. This is not a procedural guide to bringing a costs application.
A useful appointment decision: choose a firm whose written scope matches the transaction, whose total you can reconcile and whose communication arrangements fit your deadlines. Negotiate that documented package. Do not negotiate against an invented compulsory scale.
Checked 22 September 2026 against the linked Law Society guidance and the current Singapore Statutes Online Order displayed as at that date. This correction replaces the earlier fee scales, unsupported market ranges, compulsory private-solicitor claims, fee charts and speculative forecast of a fee-scale revision. It is general information, reviewed editorially, not approval of a retainer by a lawyer. No case citation is needed for this bounded explanation of the current rule.
Featured photograph: Tanjong Pagar Road shophouses, August 2006, by Terence Ong, CC BY 2.5. Resized for web use; Singapore property context, not a law firm’s premises or the hypothetical transaction.
