Notice of transfer and notice of charge fees

When you buy a leasehold flat or house, the lease almost always says you must tell the landlord who the new owner is. That is the notice of transfer, sometimes called a notice of assignment. If you buy with a mortgage, the lease usually wants a second notice telling the landlord which lender now holds a charge over the lease: the notice of charge. Each comes with a fee, the landlord sets it, and it runs £10 to £135 for a single notice, across the landlords we read.

The same piece of paperwork, telling the landlord who now owns the flat, costs wildly different amounts depending on who the landlord is. The lease decides the fee, and you cannot shop around for a different landlord.

Who sets the fee: the lease, not the law

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

So there is no official figure to quote, and anyone who gives you one national number for this fee is guessing. What does exist is what landlords print on their own pages. We read them, quoted each word for word, and wrote down the day.

What landlords publish

Councils, a freeholder and a managing agent, each quoting its own fee on its own page. Where a landlord charges per notice, a buyer with a mortgage pays it twice, once for the transfer and once for the charge, unless the landlord offers a combined fee.

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

What conveyancers warn you to expect

Law firms have to publish what their service costs, and several name a range for notice fees as a disbursement they will pass on. These are the firms' own estimates, not charges, and they disagree with each other by a wide margin, which is the point: nobody can price this fee until they have read your lease.

In their own words

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

• Harlow Council. Priced per notice, so a buyer with a mortgage pays it twice. Notice of assignment: £75 / Notice of charge: £75 / Notice of assignment and notice of charge: £150 VAT: not stated.
• Islington Council. Islington's own 2026/27 fees paper carries the same figure, so this one is current. Notice of assignment / Registering a change of leaseholder / £84 / Combined notice of assignment and charge / £168 VAT: not stated.
• Lambeth Council. One of the lowest per-notice fees we found, and the combined fee is simply double. Notice of assignment - £35 / Notice of charge - £35 / Notice of assignment and notice of charge - £70 VAT: not stated.
• Lewisham Council. The only landlord we read that charges much less for both notices together than for two separate ones, so it is worth serving them together. Notice of charge/Transfer/Subletting £94 / Notice of Transfer and Charge £105 VAT: not stated.
• Liverpool City Council. Liverpool says it in terms: the lease sets the fee, and its published figure only applies where the lease is silent. If your lease doesn't stipulate the amount, the standard fee per notice is £114. For example, if you wish to serve notice for an assignment and charge, the standard fee would be £228. VAT: not stated.
• Newham Council. Newham also charges the same again for a deed of covenant, so a purchase with a mortgage can mean three of these fees, not one. Notice of Transfer: £91.49 / Notice of Charge: £91.49 / Deed of Covenant: £91.49 VAT: not stated.
• Pier Management. A managing agent's price, and the dearest per-notice fee we read before VAT is even added. A 2025 schedule that the agent still links as current. (£) / Notice of Assignment 135.00 + VAT / Notice of Charge 135.00 + VAT / Combined Notice of Assignment and Charge 270.00 + VAT VAT: plus VAT; the schedule says all fees are exclusive of VAT at 20%.
• Sheffield City Council. The lowest we found, and one fee covers both the new owner and the mortgage. We will charge £10 to register any transfer and to record the involvement of any banks or building societies which have granted a mortgage against the lease. VAT: not stated.
• Estates & Management (e&m). A large ground-rent landlord that does not price the notice on its own: it sells one pack covering the notice, the deed of covenant and the certificate of compliance. Our current fee for providing our Buyer's Pack containing the information outlined above is £310.00. / Our fees are inclusive of VAT (if applicable) unless otherwise stated. VAT: inclusive of VAT, if applicable.
• Banner Jones Solicitors. A firm that prices the two notices separately and expects the transfer to cost more. Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50-£250 (exc VAT). / Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) - This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50-£150 (exc VAT). VAT: excluding VAT.
• SA Law. The highest estimate we read. The firm does not say whether it is per notice or for all of them. The fees vary but are commonly between £100 – £300 (plus VAT at 20%) VAT: plus VAT at 20%.
• TLT LLP. The lowest estimate we read, and below what most of the landlords above actually charge. Notice of Transfer fee – this fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £5 to £50 plus VAT. VAT: plus VAT.

Who pays, and when

The buyer pays. The notices are served after completion, because until then there is no new owner to register, and the lease usually sets a time limit for serving them. Your conveyancer prepares the notice, sends it to the landlord or their agent with the fee, and gets back a signed receipt, which your lender will usually want to see. The fee reaches you as a disbursement on your conveyancer's bill, which is why a good quote lists it up front with the amount from the lease, or says plainly that it cannot know it yet.

On some leases the notices come with other paperwork the landlord also charges for: a deed of covenant, or a certificate of compliance that the Land Registry needs before it will register you. The leasehold conveyancing costs page explains each of those and where they sit on a leasehold purchase.

Where this sits on the whole bill

Notice fees are one small line on a leasehold purchase, next to the legal fee, the searches, the Land Registry fee and any stamp duty. The full breakdown, with 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.
• Leasehold conveyancing costs: why a leasehold purchase costs more to convey, and which of the extra fees anyone can price.
• Compare firms: what named firms publish as their own legal fee, quoted and dated.
• Every page Deedsum keeps: the hub, with the whole set on it.