What are disbursements when selling a house?

Home sellers often encounter the term "disbursements" on their conveyancing quote and final bill. These additional charges can be confusing, especially for those who rarely engage with the property market. This guide will explain everything you need to know about disbursements when selling your home.

Disbursements are fees that your solicitor pays to other companies or organizations during the process of selling your property. Unlike legal fees, which cover your solicitor's time and expertise, disbursements are payments made to third parties on your behalf.

The complexity of the conveyancing process involves terminology that can be confusing to people who only encounter it a few times in their lives. This often results in surprise when the final bill arrives with unexpected items listed under "disbursements".

Your property lawyer collects these payments from you and forwards them to the relevant organizations. They are typically handled through your solicitor because this is more convenient than you making multiple separate payments to different entities.

It's important to distinguish between what constitutes "legal fees" and what falls under "disbursements" when reviewing your conveyancing costs:

• Legal fees: These cover the solicitor's time, expertise, and work on your transaction.
• Disbursements: These are payments to third parties that your solicitor makes on your behalf.

This distinction becomes particularly important if you've chosen a firm offering a "no completion, no fee" guarantee and your sale falls through. While you might not pay the legal fees in such cases, you'll still be responsible for any disbursements that have already been paid by your solicitor.

If you're also purchasing a property, you should be aware that buying involves significantly more disbursements than selling. You can learn more about these in our comprehensive buyer's guide to conveyancing disbursements.

When selling a home, the disbursements are typically fewer than when buying property. Here are the most common disbursements you might encounter:

ID verification fees

As part of anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering regulations, your solicitor must verify your identity. This requires:

• Photographic identification (passport, driving license)
• Proof of address (utility bills, bank statements no older than 12 months)

This verification can happen face-to-face or via online verification systems. Online identification checks come with a fee and will verify your name, address, passport number, and National Insurance number. This fee is a disbursement.

The online verification may fail if you:

• Have lived at your current address for less than one year
• Are not on the electoral roll
• Don't pay any tax
• Have your main residence overseas

Land registry title copy fees

Your solicitor will obtain an official copy of your property's title and plan from the Land Registry. This document:

• Proves you own the property and have the legal right to sell it
• Shows any factors affecting the title, property use, grounds, and borders
• Provides information about covenants that may be in force

Most solicitors now obtain these documents through direct download from the Land Registry's site for business customers, which costs considerably less (typically £6 rather than £14 for register and plan copies).

Additional document retrieval fees

Sometimes the registered title indicates that the property is affected by provisions contained in a document filed at the registry. This is common with houses originally built by developers as part of an estate. Your solicitor will need to obtain a copy of such documents, which incurs additional charges (typically £5 instead of £11 through electronic systems).

Bank transfer/CHAPS fees

Many conveyancing firms charge what is usually called a Telegraphic Transfer (TT) fee. This covers:

• The fee charged by the firm's bank when sending payments to your lender to pay off your mortgage
• These payments use the Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS) for same-day transfers of large sums

You may be charged a separate TT fee if you want the balance of your sale proceeds sent directly to your bank account by this same-day transfer system, rather than by the standard BACS transfer which takes longer.

Mortgage redemption statement fees

If you have an outstanding mortgage on the property you're selling, your solicitor will request a redemption statement from your lender. This document states how much remains on the mortgage so it can be repaid in full at completion.

When selling your home, disbursements typically don't add significant expense compared to buying property. The costs will vary depending on your specific circumstances, but here's a general guide:

For most standard freehold property sales, total disbursements might amount to £30-70. However, leasehold properties involve additional disbursements that can significantly increase costs.

If you're selling a leasehold property, you'll face additional disbursements:

Lease copy fee

Your solicitor will order a copy of the lease from the Land Registry, which costs:

• £11 if stored electronically
• £23 if not stored electronically

Management information pack

If your flat is in a block managed by a company or managing agents (including local authorities), the buyer will require a management information pack. There is no set fee for this, and management companies can charge as much as they like - typically £300 or more.

Your solicitor will contact the company to determine their fee and ask you to pay this amount. This information is essential for the sale process and constitutes a necessary disbursement.

Homeward Legal proudly offers our "No Completion, No Fee" guarantee, meaning you won't pay legal fees if your transaction doesn't complete. If your sale doesn't go through for any reason, our basic legal fees are completely waived - providing you with financial protection during what can be a stressful process.

However, it's important to understand that this guarantee doesn't extend to disbursements. This is because these are third-party costs that have already been paid on your behalf.

If your sale falls through for any reason, you'll still be responsible for reimbursing your solicitor for any disbursements they've already paid on your behalf. 

When choosing a conveyancing solicitor, ensure you understand their policy regarding disbursements in case of non-completion. At Homeward Legal, we pride ourselves on being completely transparent about these potential costs from the outset, so you'll never face unexpected charges if your transaction doesn't complete.

In some cases, title issues might arise during the conveyancing process that could potentially delay or derail your property sale. These issues might include:

• Lack of building regulations approval for alterations
• Absence of planning permission for extensions or conversions
• Missing documentation for rights of way or access

Typically, it's the buyer who purchases indemnity insurance to protect against these issues. However, buyers may sometimes request that sellers contribute to or fully cover the cost of these policies to facilitate the sale.

If your buyer requests that you pay for indemnity insurance, this cost would be handled through your solicitor and classified as a disbursement. Whether you agree to this request often depends on:

• The strength of your negotiating position in the market
• How quickly you need to sell
• The cost of the policy relative to the overall transaction

Your solicitor will advise you on the best course of action if this situation arises during your sale.

Understanding the disbursements involved in selling your property helps you budget effectively and avoid surprises on your final bill.

While these additional costs are necessary parts of the conveyancing process, they typically represent a small proportion of the overall expense when selling a home.

Now that you understand what disbursements to expect when selling your home, the next step is getting an accurate quote for your specific property.

For a personalized quote including all potential disbursements for your specific property, contact our expert team today at or use our free online quote system.

Our free online quote system provides a detailed breakdown of all expected costs, including potential disbursements specific to your property type. We guarantee that whatever you are quoted for legal fees at the start of the process is what you'll be billed at the end, with no hidden surprises.