Up to 50% discount on lawyers’ fees for buyers

Datuk Roger Tan

PETALING JAYA: There is a good discount in legal fees for property buyers of new units from licensed developers, thanks to the latest changes in the Solicitors’ Remuneration Order.

Those who buy such properties from developers who fall under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act will automatically get up to a 50% discount on conveyancing fees, according to the latest Solicitors’ Remuneration Order (SRO 2023) gazetted yesterday. Before this, lawyers were only allowed to give a reduction of between 25% and 35%.

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Datuk Roger Tan, who is a member of the Solicitors Costs Committee (SCC), which approved the amendment to the SRO 2023, said the changes will help ease the burden of potential house buyers.

“This will help a lot of house buyers. It is a form of corporate social responsibility,” he said.

Prior to this, the last amendment was made in 2017, and it even allowed discounts on fees for buyers of second-hand homes and commercial units.

Before 2017, lawyers were not allowed to give any form of discount under the Solicitors Remuneration Order 2005.

The Solicitors Remuneration Order 2005 (now replaced by SRO 2023) was approved by the SCC as a guideline to regulate the legal fees for conveyancing matters.

Conveyancing basically covers non-litigation (non-court) work that includes sale and purchase agreements, tenancy agreements, lease agreements, transfers, loans, assignments, and so on and so forth.