Buying or selling in New Zealand
What do conveyancing fees cost in New Zealand?
Your bill has two halves. The professional fee is set by the firm and is not fixed by anyone: lawyers must charge fees that are fair and reasonable and must give you an estimate on request. The disbursements are published and exact: $122 to register each instrument with LINZ, $8 a title search, and a council LIM. Tell us about your transaction and property lawyers will quote you a fee.
Official charges on a New Zealand conveyance, 2026
Last updated
The government and council charges that appear on a New Zealand settlement statement, read from the agencies that set them. These are exact. The professional fee sitting alongside them is not published by anyone, because New Zealand has no fee scale for conveyancing.
Fees read from Toitu Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand's survey and title fee schedule and from Wellington City Council's LIM page on 15 August 2026. All amounts are in New Zealand dollars and GST inclusive. LINZ figures are the Landonline electronic rates, which is how a law firm lodges; the manual rates are higher. LIM fees are set by each territorial authority and differ, so the Wellington figure is an example, not a national price. No professional fee is published here because there is no scale rate: the fee is set by each firm and must be fair and reasonable.
| Charge | Amount (GST incl) | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Record of title search through Landonline | $8 each | LINZ |
| Registration of the transfer to you | $122 | LINZ |
| Registration of your new mortgage | $122 | LINZ |
| Discharge of the seller's mortgage | $122 | LINZ |
| Issue of a new record of title (subdivisions, unit titles) | $165 | LINZ |
| LIM report, residential, Wellington City Council | $575.50 (fast track adds $288) | Your council |
| Stamp duty or transfer tax | None payable | Abolished for residential property |
| The lawyer's professional fee | Not fixed or published: quoted by the firm | Your lawyer |
- LINZ charges $122 to lodge and register each land title instrument through Landonline in 2026, so a purchase with a mortgage carries $244 of registration fees before anything else.
- A record of title search through Landonline costs $8, and Wellington City Council charges $575.50 for a residential LIM report, with fast tracking adding $288.
- New Zealand charges no stamp duty on a residential property purchase: conveyance duty on residential property was removed in 1988 and stamp duty abolished outright by the Stamp Duty Abolition Act 1999.
Cite this page
“Official charges on a New Zealand conveyance, 2026”, Conveyancing Fees NZ, https://conveyancingfees.co.nz/ (updated 2026-08-15). Fees read from Toitu Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand's survey and title fee schedule and from Wellington City Council's LIM page on 15 August 2026. All amounts are in New Zealand dollars and GST inclusive. LINZ figures are the Landonline electronic rates, which is how a law firm lodges; the manual rates are higher. LIM fees are set by each territorial authority and differ, so the Wellington figure is an example, not a national price. No professional fee is published here because there is no scale rate: the fee is set by each firm and must be fair and reasonable.
The process
- Tell us what you are buying or selling, the type of title and whether a mortgage is involved. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to relevant property lawyers and conveyancing practitioners who act in your area, and to no one else.
- They quote you their professional fee and their disbursement estimate directly. Compare, choose, or walk away.
Conveyancing Fees NZ is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd; we pass your details to relevant New Zealand property lawyers and conveyancing practitioners who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from those firms; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are not a law firm, nothing here is legal or tax advice, and official fees are quoted from LINZ, Inland Revenue and council sources as read on the updated date shown.
Straight answers
How much does a conveyancing lawyer cost in New Zealand?
There is no scale fee and no published rate. Firms set their own professional fee, hourly or fixed, and it must be fair and reasonable. What is fixed is the disbursements: $122 per LINZ registration, $8 a title search, and the council's LIM fee. Get quotes so you are comparing real numbers.
What are the disbursements on a New Zealand property purchase?
LINZ charges $8 for each record of title search and $122 to lodge and register each instrument, so a purchase with a mortgage carries $244 in registration fees. Then the council LIM, which varies by council, plus bank, search and courier charges the firm passes through.
Do I pay stamp duty when buying a house in New Zealand?
No. Residential property was exempted from conveyance duty for instruments executed on or after 17 March 1988, and stamp duty was abolished outright by the Stamp Duty Abolition Act 1999. The government charges on a purchase are LINZ registration fees and the council LIM.
Do I need a lawyer to buy a house in New Zealand?
The Real Estate Authority strongly encourages everyone to engage a property lawyer or conveyancing practitioner when buying or selling, and licensed real estate agents must recommend you get legal advice before signing contractual documents under rule 9.7 of their Code of Conduct.
Is a fixed fee or an hourly rate better for conveyancing?
A fixed fee caps your exposure if the deal drags, which is the main risk on unit titles, cross leases and delayed settlements. The Law Society describes both as normal, and a firm offering a fixed fee should tell you what falls outside it.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you, with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to relevant property lawyers and conveyancing practitioners, who quote you directly; we may receive a fee from those firms, which is how the service is funded.
Sources
- New Zealand Law Society. Buying and selling a property
- New Zealand Law Society, fees and payment
- Toitu Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand, survey and title fees
- Inland Revenue, the bright-line test
- Inland Revenue, getting my KiwiSaver savings for my first home
- Kainga Ora, KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal
- settled.govt.nz (Real Estate Authority), what is a LIM report
- Wellington City Council, Land Information Memorandum fees