Legal & SPA · 7 min
Malaysia Legal Fees for SPA and Loan Agreements 2026: The Scale Fee Guide
Understand how Malaysian solicitors calculate scale fees for property SPAs and loan agreements under SRO 2023, the discount for buying from a licensed developer, subsidiary document charges, and what happens to your fees if a deal falls through.
Quick answers
Quick answer
A practical summary before reading the full article.
What is the quick take?
Legal fees for property transactions in Malaysia are regulated under the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023. For standard, non-HDA transactions, Table A charges 1.25% on the first RM500,000 (minimum RM500) and 1.00% on the next RM7,000,000, with anything above RM7,500,000 negotiable up to 1.00%. Buyers purchasing directly from a licensed developer under the Housing Development Act instead pay a discounted Table B scale, expressed as a percentage of the Table A fee. Subsidiary security documents can add up to 10% of the scale fee each, capped between RM500 and RM2,000 per document.
Lewis verdict
Always ask your solicitor to itemize whether your transaction falls under Table A, standard or subsale, or the discounted Table B, buying directly from a licensed developer under HDA, before assuming a quoted fee is correct, since the gap between the two scales is substantial. If your loan involves multiple security documents, understand the 10%-per-subsidiary-document rule, capped between RM500 and RM2,000 each, so you can sanity-check an itemized bill rather than accepting a lump sum. And if you're a landlord with a large portfolio of rental units in one building, ask specifically about the 50% discount available for 10 or more standard unit tenancies in the same building, since many landlords don't realize this exists and pay full scale fees unnecessarily.
What should buyers do next?
Ask your solicitor for an itemized fee breakdown referencing Table A or Table B, and confirm any subsidiary document charges before signing the engagement letter.
Quick summary
Quick answer
A practical summary before reading the full article.
| Best for | Buyers budgeting legal costs for a subsale or developer purchase, borrowers with multiple loan security documents, and landlords managing multiple rental units in the same building. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | Low, since scale fees are regulated and capped by SRO 2023, but there is a real risk of overpaying if you don't confirm which table and discount tier applies to your specific transaction. |
| Lewis verdict | Always ask your solicitor to itemize whether your transaction falls under Table A, standard or subsale, or the discounted Table B, buying directly from a licensed developer under HDA, before assuming a quoted fee is correct, since the gap between the two scales is substantial. If your loan involves multiple security documents, understand the 10%-per-subsidiary-document rule, capped between RM500 and RM2,000 each, so you can sanity-check an itemized bill rather than accepting a lump sum. And if you're a landlord with a large portfolio of rental units in one building, ask specifically about the 50% discount available for 10 or more standard unit tenancies in the same building, since many landlords don't realize this exists and pay full scale fees unnecessarily. |
| Buyer action | Ask your solicitor for an itemized fee breakdown referencing Table A or Table B, and confirm any subsidiary document charges before signing the engagement letter. |
The Regulatory Framework Under SRO 2023
Under Section 113 of the Legal Profession Act 1976, the Solicitors' Costs Committee, chaired by the Chief Judge of Malaya and including representatives from the Attorney General's Chambers, the Federal Court Registry and the Malaysian Bar Council, regulates solicitor remuneration for non-contentious business. The current framework, the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023, has been in force since 15 July 2023, replacing the older SRO 2005, with fees revised upward to reflect rising law firm costs, inflation and the increased complexity of modern title systems. Scale fees apply to three core instruments: the SPA, the loan or financing agreement, and the instrument of transfer.
Table A: Standard Scale Fees for Non-HDA Transactions
For subsale properties, commercial assets and other individual non-developer transactions, Table A sets the standard scale fee. As a worked example, for an untitled property purchase financed by a RM700,000 loan, the standard principal scale fee works out to 1.25% on the first RM500,000, RM6,250, plus 1.00% on the remaining RM200,000, RM2,000, giving a base fee of RM8,250.
Table A: Standard Scale Fees for Non-HDA Transactions
| Value Band | Scale Fee Rate |
|---|---|
| First RM500,000 | 1.25% (minimum RM500) |
| Next RM7,000,000 (RM500,001 - RM7,500,000) | 1.00% |
| Excess above RM7,500,000 | Negotiable, capped at 1.00% |
Table B: Discounted HDA Transaction Scale Fees
Buyers purchasing residential property directly from a licensed developer under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 benefit from Table B of the First and Third Schedules, a lower discounted scale expressed as a percentage of the applicable Table A fee. The percentage decreases as property value rises within the HDA scale, with tiers of 75% of the Table A fee (minimum RM500), 70%, 65% and 50% of the Table A fee applying sequentially across the value bands. Rule 7 of SRO 2023 also allows a solicitor acting for the purchaser to represent the financier bank in the same transaction, provided there is no conflict of interest, though generally a solicitor may represent only one party in a financing transaction.
Table B: Discounted HDA Transaction Scale Fees
| Discount Tier | Percentage of Table A Fee |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 75% of Table A fee (minimum RM500) |
| Tier 2 | 70% of Table A fee |
| Tier 3 | 65% of Table A fee |
| Tier 4 | 50% of Table A fee |
Subsidiary Documents, Termination and Lease Scale Fees
When a solicitor prepares both the principal security instrument and subsidiary security documents for the same loan, they may charge the full scale fee on the principal instrument plus an additional 10% of the scale fee for each subsidiary document, subject to a minimum of RM500 and a maximum of RM2,000 per subsidiary instrument. If a third party drafts the principal instrument and the solicitor only prepares subsidiary documents, one of those subsidiary documents must be billed at the full scale fee as if it were the principal document. Under Rule 5 of the Sixth Schedule, if a conveyancing transaction is terminated or left incomplete, remuneration must not exceed 50% of the applicable scale fee, unless the solicitor's work was already fully or substantially performed, in which case the full scale fee applies, and solicitors hold a statutory and common-law lien over client documents until scale fees are paid or a professional undertaking is received. Under the Second Schedule Table C, lease scale fees are based on monthly rental value, with any non-rent consideration such as service charges deemed rent for calculation purposes, and a solicitor handling 10 or more standard unit tenancies in the same building, or standard renewals, receives a 50% reduction subject to the schedule's minimum fee.
Buyer checklist
Legal fees for property transactions in Malaysia are regulated under the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023. For standard, non-HDA transactions, Table A charges 1.25% on the first RM500,000 (minimum RM500) and 1.00% on the next RM7,000,000, with anything above RM7,500,000 negotiable up to 1.00%. Buyers purchasing directly from a licensed developer under the Housing Development Act instead pay a discounted Table B scale, expressed as a percentage of the Table A fee. Subsidiary security documents can add up to 10% of the scale fee each, capped between RM500 and RM2,000 per document.
| 1 | Confirm whether Table A or the discounted Table B applies to your specific transaction before accepting a quoted legal fee. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Ask for a written breakdown of any subsidiary security document charges, capped between RM500 and RM2,000 each. |
| 3 | Check whether your solicitor is also representing the financing bank and confirm there is no conflict of interest. |
| 4 | If your deal is terminated before completion, ask your solicitor to confirm remuneration does not exceed 50% of the scale fee unless substantial work was already done. |
| 5 | If you own multiple rental units in the same building, ask about the 50% scale fee reduction for 10 or more standard unit tenancies. |
Common questions
Do I pay less in legal fees if I buy from a developer instead of a subsale?
Yes. Purchases directly from a licensed developer under the Housing Development Act qualify for the discounted Table B scale, which charges a percentage, 75%, 70%, 65% or 50%, of the standard Table A fee depending on the value tier, rather than the full Table A rate charged on subsale transactions.
What happens to my legal fees if my property transaction falls through?
Under Rule 5 of the Sixth Schedule of SRO 2023, if a conveyancing transaction is terminated or left incomplete, your solicitor's remuneration is capped at 50% of the applicable scale fee, unless their work was already fully or substantially performed, in which case they are entitled to the full scale fee.
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Confirm whether Table A or the discounted Table B applies to your specific transaction before accepting a quoted legal fee.
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Ask for a written breakdown of any subsidiary security document charges, capped between RM500 and RM2,000 each.
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Check whether your solicitor is also representing the financing bank and confirm there is no conflict of interest.
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If your deal is terminated before completion, ask your solicitor to confirm remuneration does not exceed 50% of the scale fee unless substantial work was already done.