Property legal fees calculator Kenya

Updated 12 November 2026

This free calculator estimates the scale fee an advocate may charge for a Kenyan land sale, purchase, mortgage, charge or discharge under Schedule 1 of the Advocates (Remuneration) Order. The figures come from the Advocates (Remuneration) (Amendment) Order, 2014, Legal Notice 35, published in Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 42 of 11 April 2014. The Kenya Law consolidation of the Order, revised on 31 December 2022 by Legal Notice 221 of 2023, still shows the same Schedule 1 First Scale and Second Scale. Checked on 12 November 2026.

How to use the property legal fees calculator

Choose the transaction and the advocate you want to price, then enter the consideration or the value of the subject matter in Kenya shillings. For a sale or purchase, that is usually the price, or the value if the Order requires value instead. For a mortgage, charge or debenture that creates a security, it is the consideration or value of that security.

The First Scale is the same starting scale for the vendor’s advocate and the purchaser’s advocate. It is cumulative. From KSh 1 to KSh 5,000,000 the fee is 2% of the consideration or value, or KSh 35,000, whichever is higher. From KSh 5,000,001 to KSh 100,000,000 you add 1.5% of the balance. From KSh 100,000,001 to KSh 250,000,000 you add 1.25% of the balance. From KSh 250,000,001 to KSh 1,000,000,000 you add 1% of the balance. Above KSh 1,000,000,000 you add 0.1% of the balance.

Worked example on a purchase of KSh 1,000,000: 2% would be KSh 20,000, so the scale fee is the minimum of KSh 35,000. On KSh 3,000,000, 2% is KSh 60,000, which is already above the minimum. On KSh 10,000,000 the first band is KSh 100,000 (2% of KSh 5,000,000) and the next band is 1.5% of the remaining KSh 5,000,000, which is KSh 75,000, so the scale fee is KSh 175,000.

Paragraph 18 of the Order says that where the advocate acting for a vendor does not prepare a letter of agreement, heads of agreement or agreement for sale, the scale fee is reduced by one-third. Tick that box to apply the reduction. On the KSh 10,000,000 example, the reduced vendor’s fee is KSh 116,666.67. The “both advocates” option adds the purchaser’s scale fee to the vendor’s fee (reduced if you ticked the box). That is only the sum of the two official scale fees, not a third official tariff.

Mortgages, charges and discharges

The Second Scale covers the creation and discharge of a mortgage, charge or debenture that creates a security over land. The grantee’s advocate (typically the lender’s advocate) is paid a cumulative creation scale: 2% of the first KSh 2,500,000 or KSh 28,000, whichever is higher; plus 1.75% of the next band up to KSh 5,000,000; plus 1% up to KSh 100,000,000; plus 0.75% up to KSh 250,000,000; plus 0.15% up to KSh 1,000,000,000; plus 0.1% of any remainder. The grantor’s advocate (typically the borrower’s advocate) is paid 50% of that creation scale.

Worked example on a KSh 3,000,000 charge: 2% of KSh 2,500,000 is KSh 50,000, and 1.75% of the remaining KSh 500,000 is KSh 8,750, so the grantee’s creation fee is KSh 58,750. The grantor’s creation fee is KSh 29,375. On a KSh 10,000,000 charge the grantee’s creation fee is KSh 143,750 and the grantor’s is KSh 71,875.

Discharge fees are a percentage of that same grantee creation scale. If the grantee’s advocate is discharging a security and an undertaking is required for the redemption, the fee is 25% of the creation scale, subject to a minimum of KSh 15,000. If no undertaking is required, it is 15%, subject to a minimum of KSh 10,000. The grantor’s advocate discharge fee is 25% of the creation scale, subject to a minimum of KSh 15,000. On the KSh 3,000,000 example those percentages fall below the minima, so the tool shows KSh 15,000 or KSh 10,000 as the Order requires. On the KSh 10,000,000 example, the grantee’s discharge fee with an undertaking is KSh 35,937.50.

A note to Schedule 1 says that, when you calculate fees under Scales 1, 2 or 3, a fraction of KSh 2,000 up to and including KSh 1,000 is counted as one half unit, and a fraction over KSh 1,000 is counted as a whole unit. The tool applies that rounding and shows the adjusted amount when it is different from the figure you typed.

What this calculator does not include

The result is the scale fee only. It does not add VAT, stamp duty, land search fees, registration fees or other disbursements, and it does not invent a rate for those items. For the government’s stamp duty on a transfer, use the land transfer cost calculator, which applies the official 2% and 4% rates, and the stamp duty rates guide. If you are the seller, the capital gains tax calculator estimates the 15% tax from KRA’s published formula.

Schedule 1 also has notes on an equitable mortgage by deposit of documents, one advocate acting for both the grantee and the grantor, more than one security in favour of the same grantee, a security over more than one immovable property, and more than one grantor. Those adjustments are not applied automatically here, because each note has its own conditions. Read the Order if your transaction fits one of them. Schedule 2 (leases at a rack rent) and the Third Scale (negotiating a sale or a loan) are separate tariffs and are not calculated on this page.

An advocate must not agree or accept remuneration at less than the Order provides. Parties can still have other commercial arrangements around disbursements, and a later legal notice could replace the scale. Legal Notice 45 of 16 May 2014 amends Schedule 7 (subordinate court costs) only, not Schedule 1. Legal Notice 268 of 17 November 2017 is listed as a later amendment to the Order as a whole; Kenya Law’s 2022 revised Schedule 1 still cites Legal Notice 35 of 2014 as the last change to that scale and still prints these figures. The official text of Legal Notice 268 itself could not be opened from Kenya Law on 12 November 2026 (the site returned a challenge or a 403), so this page relies on the 2014 instrument and the 2022 official consolidation.

This page is a computation aid, not legal advice and not a bill. Confirm the fee with the advocate who will act, and with the current Order if it has been amended after the dates cited here. Related tax tools sit on the tax calculators hub. All free tools are listed at Business Radar tools.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum advocate fee on a land purchase in Kenya?

Under the First Scale, the fee on consideration or value of up to KSh 5,000,000 is 2% or KSh 35,000, whichever is higher. The KSh 35,000 minimum is the one that applies on amounts up to KSh 1,750,000, because 2% of KSh 1,750,000 is exactly KSh 35,000.

Do both the buyer and the seller pay this scale?

Each side’s advocate is entitled to the First Scale fee, unless the vendor’s advocate did not prepare the agreement for sale, in which case that vendor’s fee is reduced by one-third. The two fees are separate bills, not a single official combined tariff.

Does the fee include stamp duty or VAT?

No. The Order sets the advocate’s scale fee. Stamp duty is a government charge calculated separately. VAT and disbursements are not added by this tool, and no VAT rate is invented here.

How is a mortgage discharge priced?

As a percentage of the Second Scale creation fee for the grantee’s advocate, with the minimums stated in the Order: 25% (minimum KSh 15,000) where an undertaking is required, 15% (minimum KSh 10,000) where it is not, and 25% (minimum KSh 15,000) for the grantor’s advocate.

Sources

• Advocates (Remuneration) (Amendment) Order, 2014, Legal Notice No. 35, Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 42 of 11 April 2014, Schedule 1 First Scale and Second Scale, and paragraph 18 of the Order (the one-third reduction where a vendor’s advocate does not prepare the agreement for sale). Official copies published by the State Department for Investment Promotion (eprocedures.investkenya.go.ke) and the Advocates Complaints Commission (acc.go.ke).
• Kenya Law, Advocates (Remuneration) Order, Legal Notice 64 of 1962, consolidation revised on 31 December 2022 by Legal Notice 221 of 2023, still showing the 2014 Schedule 1 figures, and listing Legal Notice 35 of 2014 as the last cited amendment to that scale: new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/ln/1962/64/eng@2022-12-31
• Advocates (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order, 2014, Legal Notice 45 of 16 May 2014, which substitutes a table in Schedule 7 only: kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/LegalNotices/2014/LN45_2014.pdf

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