Certificate of compliance fees

A certificate of compliance is a short signed statement from your landlord or the management company, sent to the Land Registry, confirming that what the lease asks of a new owner has been done: usually a deed of covenant signed and the fees paid. Where the title carries a restriction that asks for one, you cannot be registered as owner without it. The party that signs it charges for it, and across the landlords we read that fee runs £50 to £160.

One sheet of paper confirming the conditions in your lease have been met, and the landlords we read charge three times as much for it at the top as at the bottom. Your lease decides who issues it, so you cannot shop around for a cheaper one.

Why the Land Registry asks for it

A standard Form L restriction stops the Land Registry registering a sale until a named party certifies the lease's provisions have been complied with. In the Land Registry's own standard wording, no sale caught by it is to be registered without a certificate signed by {name} of {address} [or their personal representatives] [or [their conveyancer {or specify appropriate details}]] that the provisions of {specify clause, paragraph or other particulars} of {specify details} have been complied with [or that they do not apply to the disposition].

The restriction sits on the register of your flat's title. It names who has to sign the certificate, usually the landlord or the management company, and which clauses of the lease they are certifying. Until that certificate reaches the Land Registry with your application, you are not registered as owner.

The standard wording: HM Land Registry, Practice Guide 19, read 28 September 2026.

Where a restriction is entered in the register, no entry in respect of a disposition to which the restriction applies may be made in the register otherwise than in accordance with the terms of the restriction, subject to any order under subsection (2).

The Act: legislation.gov.uk, Land Registration Act 2002, section 41, read 28 September 2026.

Who sets the fee

No law sets the amount. A variable administration charge is payable only to the extent it is reasonable. No statute names a certificate of compliance fee or sets an amount for it. Since 2003 in England and 2004 in Wales, a variable administration charge under a lease has been payable only to the extent it is reasonable, but a fee fixed by the lease itself is outside that rule, so the lease and the landlord's own schedule are where the figure comes from. Several of the landlords below print their fee on the same schedule as their administration charges.

Source: legislation.gov.uk, Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, Schedule 11, read 28 September 2026.

A law passed in 2024 will make landlords publish their administration charges in advance before they can demand them, but that part is not in force yet, and even then it makes them publish a fee, it does not set one. For now the figure is whatever your lease says.

The 2024 Act: legislation.gov.uk, Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, section 61, read 25 September 2026.

What landlords publish for a certificate of compliance

A council, seven housing associations and two managing agents, each quoting its own fee on its own page. Two are before VAT, four include it and four do not say, so read the VAT column in the words below before comparing.

If your landlord is not here, the figure you pay is the one its own schedule or the lease sets, and your conveyancer will find it when they read the title and the lease. The table shows how far apart landlords are, not what yours will ask.

Some landlords bundle it. Estates and Management sells one buyer's pack covering the notice, the deed of covenant and the certificate, and its price is £310 for the whole buyer's pack, VAT included.

The e&m pack: Estates & Management, read 25 September 2026.

Same name, different certificate: former right to buy homes

Councils use the same words for something else. Sell a former right to buy home within ten years and the council usually has the right to buy it back first; once it declines, it issues a certificate that the offer was made. That is also called a certificate of compliance, it is priced separately, and it is kept out of the range above:

What conveyancers warn you to expect

Law firms have to publish what their service costs, and several name a range for the landlord's certificate as a disbursement they will pass on. These are the firms' own estimates, not charges, and two of them say the real figure is only known once the lease or the management pack has been read.

In their own words

Every figure above, as the landlord or firm printed it.

• Bromford. Bromford's own sheet, which also offers the deed of covenant and the certificate together for one combined fee. Certificate of Compliance (Land Registry) This fee covers the cost of issuing a Certificate of Compliance to confirm to Land Registry that your buyer has met the lease requirements. £75 VAT: All fees are inclusive of VAT unless stated.
• E&J Estates. A managing agent's 2026 schedule, before VAT. It prints the total with VAT beside it. Certificate of Compliance £150.00 + VAT £180.00 VAT: + VAT; the schedule prints the VAT-inclusive total beside it.
• Ealing Council. Ealing's certificate, on the same 2026 to 2027 table as its deed of covenant fee. Legal fees certificate of compliance £150 VAT: not stated.
• First Choice Homes Oldham. A housing association's schedule, reissued September 2026, VAT included. Certificate of Compliance £100.00 VAT: All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT.
• Guinness Homes. The Guinness Partnership's homes arm, on its own charges page. if Guinness are asked to provide a Certificate of Compliance the cost is £150.00. VAT: not stated.
• Latimer by Clarion Housing Group. Latimer's certificate, charged on completion. Certificate of compliance / £63 / Purchaser - on completion VAT: Costs are inclusive of VAT unless otherwise stated.
• Magna Housing. Magna prices the certificate on one line with a certificate of consent, VAT included. Certificate of Compliance / Certificate of Consent £84 VAT: column headed "Fee (including VAT)".
• One Manchester. One Manchester's own page, which explains the restriction beside the fee. Certificate of compliance - £85.00 VAT: not stated.
• Pier Management. Pier's certificate, before VAT, on the same schedule as its deed of covenant fee. Conveyancing / Dispositions / Legal fees (£) / Certificate of Compliance 160.00 + VAT VAT: plus VAT; the schedule says all fees are exclusive of VAT at 20%.
• Settle. The lowest we read, from a housing association's own table. Certificate of compliance £50.00 VAT: not stated.
• Cheshire West and Chester Council. The same offer-back certificate, from a council outside London. If we do not wish to repurchase, you will require a Certificate of Compliance, the fee for which is currently £150. VAT: not stated.
• Hackney Council. Same name, different certificate. This one proves a former right to buy home was offered back to the council first. You or your solicitor will need to get a certificate from us confirming that you offered the property back to us. This is known as a certificate of compliance. It costs £190. VAT: not stated.
• Banner Jones. A law firm's estimate of the landlord's fee, not a charge. Certificate of Compliance fee - To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £50- £150 (exc VAT). VAT: exc VAT.
• Lease Law. A law firm's estimate of the landlord's fee, not a charge. Certificate of Compliance fee – This fee is provided by the management company or landlord of the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £50 – £250. VAT: not stated.
• SA Law. A law firm's estimate of the landlord's fee, not a charge. To be confirmed upon receipt of the management pack and can range between £150 – £350 (plus VAT at 20%) where required VAT: plus VAT at 20%.
• TLT. A law firm's estimate of the landlord's fee, not a charge. Certificate of Compliance fee - this is a fee charged by a third party, often landlord/management company, for providing a certificate of compliance with a title Restriction. Often it is between £100 to £300 plus VAT. VAT: plus VAT.

Who pays, and when

The buyer pays. Once the deed of covenant is signed and the notices are served, your conveyancer asks the landlord or its agent for the certificate, pays the fee and sends the certificate to the Land Registry with the application to register you. The fee reaches you as a disbursement on your conveyancer's bill. A good quote on a leasehold purchase either names it from the landlord's own schedule or says plainly that it cannot know it until the title and the lease have been read.

Not every leasehold title has the restriction, which is why some firms list the certificate as "where required". If yours does not, there is no certificate to pay for.

The rest of the landlord's side of the bill

The certificate rarely comes alone. What landlords charge for the deed of covenant it usually certifies is on the deed of covenant fee page, the notice of transfer and notice of charge fees are on the notice of transfer fee page, and why a leasehold purchase costs more to convey at all is on the leasehold conveyancing costs page. The full bill, every figure sourced, is on the conveyancing fees page.

See the full conveyancing bill

Questions people ask

Where to go next

• Conveyancing fees: the whole bill in one place, the legal fee, the disbursements and the tax.
• Deed of covenant fee: what landlords charge for a deed of covenant and a certificate of compliance, quoted from their own pages.
• Notice of transfer fee: what landlords charge to register a new owner and a mortgage, quoted from their own pages.
• Leasehold conveyancing costs: why a leasehold purchase costs more to convey, and which of the extra fees anyone can price.
• Every page Deedsum keeps: the hub, with the whole set on it.