How much do mortgage brokers and advisers charge in 2026?

UK mortgage broker client fees typically range from nothing at all up to around 500 pounds for a straightforward residential case, with higher charges for complex or specialist work. Some firms charge a percentage of the loan instead, often somewhere around 0.3 to 1 percent. On top of any client fee, the broker is usually paid a procuration fee by the lender, commonly around 0.35 percent of the loan. Fees vary by firm, region and complexity, and must be disclosed to you before you commit.

There are two separate payments in a typical broker transaction, and confusing them is the source of most misunderstanding.

The procuration fee is paid by the lender to the broker when the mortgage completes. A commonly cited figure is around 0.35 percent of the loan, but the rate differs by lender, by product type and by whether the broker deals with the lender directly or through a network or mortgage club. Buy to let procuration fees are often a little higher than residential.

The client fee is paid by you to the broker. This is optional in the sense that plenty of firms do not charge one. Where it exists, it is set by the firm, not by the regulator or the lender.

You always pay the procuration fee indirectly, in the sense that it is a cost the lender builds into its pricing. But it does not appear on your bill and you cannot avoid it by going direct, because lenders do not usually offer a discount for cutting the broker out.

• No client fee. The firm relies on procuration fees alone. Common for mainstream residential and remortgage work.
• Flat fee. A fixed amount regardless of loan size. For a straightforward residential case this commonly sits somewhere between a couple of hundred pounds and around 500 pounds.
• Percentage of loan. More common in specialist, adverse credit, buy to let portfolio and larger-loan work. Often expressed as a percentage with a minimum amount.
• Split fee. A smaller commitment or research fee up front, with the balance due on offer or completion.
• Tiered by complexity. A published rate card where a clean employed case sits at one price and a self-employed or adverse case at another.

Percentage fees deserve a moment of attention. On a 600,000 pound loan, a 1 percent fee is 6,000 pounds. That is a very different proposition to 495 pounds flat, and it is not necessarily justified by the work involved, since a large clean loan is not intrinsically harder than a small one. If you are quoted a percentage, ask what the equivalent cash amount is and ask whether the firm has a cap.

This matters more than the headline number, because it decides who carries the risk if the case dies.

• On completion. The safest for you. If the purchase collapses, you pay nothing.
• On offer. You pay when the lender issues the mortgage offer. If your chain then falls apart, the fee is usually still due, because the broker did the work.
• On application. Less common and higher risk for you, since a decline after submission still leaves the fee payable in many firms' terms.
• Up front, before advice. Treat with caution and read the terms closely.

Ask the specific question: if my offer is issued and then my seller pulls out, what do I owe? Then ask: if the lender declines me at underwriting, what do I owe? A clear firm will answer both without hesitating.

Complexity is the biggest driver. A two year self-employed case with a limited company and dividend income can take three or four times the adviser hours of an employed application with two payslips. Adverse credit adds lender research time and often a specialist lender with slower processing. Non-standard construction, short leases, cladding and flats above commercial premises all narrow the lender list and increase the work.

Region plays a part too, though less than people assume. Fees in London and the South East tend to sit at the higher end of any range, partly because loan sizes and case complexity are higher, and partly because operating costs are.

Case type matters. Buy to let, limited company buy to let, bridging, second charge and later life lending are usually priced above standard residential. Product transfers, where you stay with your existing lender on a new rate, are often free or heavily discounted because the work is much lighter.

You are remortgaging a 240,000 pound balance on a house worth 400,000 pounds. Employed, clean credit.

Broker A: no client fee. They receive roughly 840 pounds in procuration fee at 0.35 percent.

Broker B: 295 pounds payable on offer, plus the same procuration fee.

Broker C: 0.4 percent of the loan, which is 960 pounds, payable on completion.

On a case this straightforward, the outcomes from all three are likely to be similar, because the case fits mainstream criteria comfortably. Here you are paying for service level rather than access. If Broker C's justification is a named adviser who handles everything and a same-week turnaround, that may be worth 960 pounds to you. If it is not clearly explained, it probably is not.

Now change one detail. Make it a flat above a takeaway with a 78 year lease. Suddenly the lender list drops to a handful, some of which need an intermediary, and the case needs someone who has done it before. The picture changes completely, and a fee starts looking like a sensible purchase.

Whatever you pay, there is a baseline you are entitled to expect.

• A proper fact find covering income, outgoings, credit commitments, deposit source and your plans for the property.
• Clear disclosure of the firm's fees and how it is paid, before you commit.
• A recommendation with a reason you can understand, and an ESIS illustration showing the payments, the fees and the total amount payable.
• The application submitted correctly with supporting documents packaged, not a form emailed to you to complete alone.
• Someone chasing the lender, the valuer and the solicitor, and telling you when things move.
• A protection conversation, or at least a clear statement that you should consider life cover and income protection.

If your fee buys you a phone call, a link and a form, you have not received value.

Refund policy is the most commonly disputed part of any broker fee. Ask directly:

• Is any part of the fee refundable if the lender declines me?
• Is it refundable if I decide not to proceed after offer?
• If the offer expires and we have to reapply, do you charge again?
• If I change my mind about the property and we start again on a new purchase, is the fee reusable?

Many firms will carry a fee across to a second attempt on the same client. Many will not refund once an offer has been issued. Neither is unreasonable, but you should know which applies before you pay.

Mortgage advice fees are generally not subject to VAT when the adviser is arranging the mortgage, though some standalone advice or admin services can be treated differently. If a quote is unclear, ask whether the figure includes any VAT.

Keep the broker fee in proportion. On a typical purchase you will also meet a lender arrangement fee, a valuation fee, conveyancing costs, searches and stamp duty where it applies. The broker fee is usually one of the smaller line items, and the product they secure moves a far larger number.

You can browse FCA-authorised firms and compare how they charge in the MortgageMatch directory before you approach anyone.