Rise in conveyancing legal fees will mean increased cost of purchasing a home, says Rehda

• Rehda president Datuk N K Tong: The average citizens, who are still grappling with the aftermath of Covid-19, will undoubtedly feel the impact of the increase in legal fees.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 21): The recent hike in conveyancing legal fees will result in a rise in the cost of purchasing a house, said Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda).

Rehda president Datuk N K Tong (pictured) told Berita Harian that the increased fees will mean buyers have to bear the increased cost of purchasing a home.

"The average citizens, who are still grappling with the aftermath of Covid-19, will undoubtedly feel the impact of the increase in legal fees. At this time, industry players should strive to find ways to reduce the cost of purchasing a house in order to fulfill the housing agenda proposed by the government,” Tong told the Malay language daily.

He said the pricing of residential properties has already been impacted by factor such as construction materials prices and high development costs.

Rehda also said earlier that the increase in legal fees “for property-related transactions compounds the potential inflationary effect of the fees, in which homebuyers will be affected not only by the increase in fees from the rising prices of properties but also by the increase in the percentage of fees collected”.

The conveyancing legal fees officialy went up on July 15 with the gazetting of Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2023 (SRO 2023).

According to the SRO 2023, the changes will “affect transactions involving non-contentious matters such as the sale and purchase of movable and immovable properties, financing and tenancies”.

The SRO 2023 governs the legal fees that lawyers can charge in Malaysia in respect of Sale and Purchase Agreements and financing agreements involving immovable properties (land and building).

It replaces the Solicitors Remuneration Order 2005, which was revised in 2016 and again, in 2017.