I was recently instructed on an assignment of a small lock-up shop in Maidenhead and the lease, as is common, required landlord’s licence to assign. However, the fees demanded in this connection by London solicitors instructed by the landlord amounted to £1,000 plus VAT for the licence to assign, together with a further £750 plus VAT for the rent deposit deed.
These fees, for the production of standard documentation, are a disgrace – and a fine example of why the profession is getting a bad reputation.
It is high time the SRA or Law Society had a look at these sorts of fees and put some controls upon them. Members of the profession do not seem to be able to be reasonable in this respect.
I find it unacceptable to be made to give an undertaking to pay costs of £2,100 when the fee for the entire transaction that I am charging, including VAT, is considerably less.
Peter Mason-Apps, Mason-Apps Smallmans & Co, Maidenhead
