Legal & SPA
Can one lawyer act for both buyer and seller?
A developer's panel lawyer acts for the developer, not for you — "free legal fees" simply means the developer is paying that lawyer's bill. You keep the right to appoint your own lawyer. In a subsale, one firm acting for both buyer and seller is a real conflict-of-interest risk once their interests actually diverge.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Buyers at the booking, offer or SPA stage |
|---|---|
| Risk level | Medium |
| Buyer action | Send Lewis the property, how the names are held on the title and what you are trying to decide, and he will tell you what to check first. |
Before you sign anything
What follows takes apart the developer's panel lawyer is not your lawyer, and the free legal fee is where that matters For a residential unit sold by a licensed developer, the agreement is a statutory form. The protections in it are not concessions the developer chose to give, and they cannot be contracted away.
"Free legal fees" describes who pays, not who the lawyer works for
New-launch marketing frequently advertises free legal fees as a buyer incentive. What that phrase actually describes is who foots the bill, not who the lawyer represents. The lawyer appointed under that arrangement is the developer's panel lawyer, engaged and paid by the developer to prepare and act on the sale and purchase agreement. That lawyer's professional duty runs to the developer as the client, not to you as the buyer, even though the paperwork they produce is the document you are about to sign. In routine transactions this rarely causes visible friction, because the developer's interest in a smooth, standard sale usually does not conflict with a buyer's interest in the same thing. But the lawyer is not there in the capacity of your legal adviser.
You keep the right to appoint your own lawyer
Nothing about the free-legal-fees arrangement removes your right to instruct a separate lawyer of your own choosing to act for you and review the agreement independently, at your own cost. Buyers who do this are paying for something specific: a lawyer whose professional duty runs to them, checking the agreement, the schedule it follows, and any variations from the standard terms, purely from the buyer's side. Whether that expense is worth it depends on the size of the purchase and how much independent scrutiny you want — but the option exists regardless of what the developer's marketing implies about legal fees being covered.
Why a subsale is a different risk profile
In a subsale, cost-saving sometimes leads both the buyer and the seller to instruct the same law firm to handle the transaction, on the basis that a straightforward transfer between cooperative parties does not need two sets of lawyers. This can work while both sides genuinely agree on price, timeline and terms, because there is, in that moment, no conflict for the firm to manage. The risk sits in what happens if that stops being true — a dispute over a defect, a disagreement about what was included in the sale, a delay one side blames on the other. A single firm cannot fully act in the interest of two parties whose positions have diverged, which is the essence of a conflict of interest in professional practice.
The professional-conduct principle at stake
The underlying principle is straightforward even without reciting professional rules: a lawyer's duty is to advance and protect the interests of their client, and a lawyer cannot fully discharge that duty to two clients at the same time once those clients' interests point in different directions. That is why acting for both sides is treated as acceptable only where interests are genuinely aligned, and becomes untenable the moment they are not — at which point one or both parties typically need to be advised to seek separate counsel.
What this means in practice
On a new launch, know that the panel lawyer paid by the developer works for the developer, and decide deliberately whether you want your own lawyer alongside that arrangement. On a subsale, ask plainly whether the law firm involved is acting for one side or both, and if it is acting for both, treat that as fine for as long as everyone's interests are genuinely the same — and as a signal to get your own lawyer the moment they are not.
Check this against your own case
Read your own agreement rather than a summary of it. For an HDA residential unit the terms are prescribed by statute and cannot be watered down, so any clause that looks worse than the statutory position is worth querying immediately. For anything outside the HDA, the contract is whatever was drafted — and that is exactly where the risk sits.
Buyer checklist
"Free legal fees" on a new-launch purchase does not mean legal representation is free — it means the developer is paying the lawyer who is acting for the developer. That lawyer's job is to protect the developer's position in the sale and purchase agreement, not yours, even where the paperwork is routine and the interests usually align. You are entitled to appoint your own lawyer to act for you instead, at your own cost, if you want independent advice on the agreement you are signing. In a subsale, one law firm sometimes acts for both buyer and seller to save cost — that is workable while everyone agrees, but it becomes a real conflict of interest the moment a dispute or a diverging interest arises, because one firm cannot fully advocate for two people pulling in different directions.
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| 1 | Understand that a developer's "free legal fees" lawyer is paid by, and acts for, the developer. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Decide deliberately whether you want your own lawyer for independent review, at your own cost. |
| 3 | In a subsale, ask directly whether one firm is acting for both buyer and seller. |
| 4 | Treat one firm acting for both sides as workable only while everyone's interests genuinely align. |
| 5 | Get your own separate lawyer the moment a dispute or diverging interest appears. |
Common questions
Does "free legal fees" mean the lawyer works for me?
No. It means the developer is paying the panel lawyer's fee, but that lawyer acts for the developer, not for you.
Can I still appoint my own lawyer on a new launch with free legal fees?
Yes. Nothing about the arrangement removes your right to instruct your own lawyer to act for you and review the agreement independently, at your own cost.
Is it fine for one law firm to act for both buyer and seller in a subsale?
It can work while both sides genuinely agree on the terms, but it becomes a real conflict of interest once a dispute or diverging interest arises.
What should happen if the buyer and seller stop agreeing while sharing one lawyer?
One or both parties typically need to be advised to seek separate counsel, because a single firm cannot fully act for two clients whose interests have diverged.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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Understand that a developer's "free legal fees" lawyer is paid by, and acts for, the developer.
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Decide deliberately whether you want your own lawyer for independent review, at your own cost.
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In a subsale, ask directly whether one firm is acting for both buyer and seller.
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Treat one firm acting for both sides as workable only while everyone's interests genuinely align.