Mortgage Broker Fees: What They Cost, Who Pays & Whether You Need One
Some brokers charge £0. Some charge £700. Almost all get paid by the lender too. Here’s exactly how the money works — including how we get paid — and an honest answer to whether you need a broker at all.
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Quick answer
Mortgage broker fees in the UK run from £0 to around £700 for standard cases — £500 is the most common charged figure, the 2026 average sits near £640 for a purchase, and a large share of brokers charge clients nothing at all. That’s possible because nearly every broker also receives a procuration fee from the lender — typically 0.35–0.5% of the loan, paid from the lender’s own margin when your mortgage completes. It doesn’t come out of your pocket or affect your rate. Under FCA rules, every fee and every commission must be disclosed to you before a recommendation is made, and the broker must recommend the most suitable deal regardless of what any lender pays them. Do you need a broker? Not legally — you can go direct — but a whole-of-market broker compares deals no single bank will show you, and for anything non-vanilla (self-employed, variable income, past credit issues), criteria-matching is most of the outcome. Figures as of July 2026.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
In this guide
The two ways brokers get paid — and why “free” is real
Every mortgage broker’s income comes from one or both of two streams, and understanding the split answers most questions on this page:
- The procuration fee (“proc fee”). When your mortgage completes, the lender pays the broker a commission — typically 0.35–0.5% of the loan. On a £200,000 mortgage at 0.4%, that’s £800 to the broker, paid from the lender’s own margin. It isn’t added to your loan, doesn’t change your rate, and the same product costs you the same whether you arrive via a broker or walk into the branch. This fee is why genuinely free-to-you brokers exist: the lender side of the transaction already pays them.
- The client fee. A direct charge from broker to you for advice and casework. Some charge one, many don’t, and among those that do, structure and timing vary — which is the next section.
One fair question people ask: if lenders pay different commissions, won’t a broker steer me to the highest payer? The FCA’s answer is the suitability rule — a regulated broker must recommend the most suitable product for you, regardless of commission — and the disclosure rule means you see exactly what they’re being paid before you proceed. It’s also worth knowing brokers can earn separately if you take protection products (life cover, income protection) — legitimate, but also disclosable, and never obligatory.
How much does a mortgage broker cost?
Where a client fee is charged, the 2026 market looks like this:
| Model | Typical cost (2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fee-free | £0 | Broker paid by lender commission only — common across the market, including many whole-of-market firms |
| Fixed fee | £300–£700 | £500 is the single most common figure; purchase average ~£640, remortgage ~£623 |
| Percentage fee | 0.3–1% of the loan | £750–£2,500 on a £250,000 mortgage — most common for large or complex loans |
| Hybrid | Small fixed fee + lender commission | Both streams — entirely legal, must be fully disclosed |
When you pay matters as much as what. Some brokers charge upfront, some on application, the fairer arrangements only once your mortgage offer is issued or the loan completes — meaning you pay nothing if it falls through. Get the fee, the trigger point, and the refund position in writing before any work starts; a regulated broker will volunteer this without being chased. And keep perspective on scale: the broker fee is one line in your total cost of borrowing — the product fees, valuation charges and rate matter far more, and those are mapped in our mortgage costs and rates guide.
Fee-free vs fee-charging: is free worse?
No — and anyone telling you otherwise categorically is selling something. Both models are FCA-regulated, both include whole-of-market firms, and for the straightforward majority of cases (standard purchase, standard remortgage, clean income) a good fee-free whole-of-market broker delivers the same outcome at £500 less. Where the honest nuance lives:
- Complex cases can justify a fee. Heavy adverse credit, unusual income structures, non-standard property — cases needing hours of criteria research and underwriter negotiation — are where fee-charging specialists earn their money, sometimes accessing outcomes a volume-focused free service wouldn’t chase.
- A few deals pay brokers nothing. Some smaller building societies and direct-only deals carry no proc fee — a fee-charging (or fee-flexible) broker can still recommend them; a purely commission-paid one has no income on that recommendation. FCA suitability rules still apply, but it’s a structural point worth knowing.
- The fee is not the outcome. What you pay across the whole mortgage depends overwhelmingly on the rate and product you end up in, not the broker’s £0 or £500. A fee that buys a materially better placement pays for itself many times over; a fee that buys the same deal you’d have got free is just a fee.
Do I need a mortgage broker at all? The honest version
You never have to use one — every high-street lender takes direct applications, and going direct is not discounted or penalised on rate. The genuine trade:
Going direct works fine when…
You’re a vanilla case — clean credit, straightforward PAYE income, sensible deposit — you’re happy with your own bank’s range, and you’re comfortable doing the comparison and paperwork yourself. Nothing wrong with this route; the deal you get is the deal on their shelf.
A broker earns their place when…
You want the whole market compared rather than one shelf; your case has any complexity — self-employed, variable pay, credit history, unusual property — where lender criteria (not rates) decide the outcome; you want access to intermediary-only deals that never appear on comparison sites; or you simply want someone chasing the application so you don’t have to.
The statistic that settles it for most people: the majority of UK mortgages are now arranged through intermediaries — not because borrowers can’t fill in forms, but because criteria-matching is invisible from outside. Two lenders advertising identical rates can read the same payslips £60,000 apart in borrowing terms, and an application aimed at the wrong one becomes a decline that costs time and a hard search (our declined mortgage guide covers that recovery — the better plan is not needing it). A broker’s real product isn’t the form-filling; it’s knowing where your specific case lands best, first time.
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Your FCA protections: what regulation actually guarantees
Mortgage advice in the UK is a regulated activity, and the rules are consumer-friendly on exactly the points that worry people:
- Full disclosure, in advance. Every fee you’ll pay and every commission the broker receives must be disclosed before a recommendation — you’ll see it in the ESIS/Key Facts illustration before the offer stage. If a broker can’t tell you plainly how they’re paid, walk.
- Suitability. Recommendations must be suitable for your circumstances — not the lender paying the most, not the easiest case to place.
- Accountability. Advised recommendations come with recourse: if the advice was unsuitable, you can complain to the firm and escalate to the Financial Ombudsman. (Going direct on an execution-only basis carries less of this protection — you chose the product, so the suitability duty is narrower.)
- Check the register. Any legitimate broker appears on the FCA register — thirty seconds to verify before sharing your documents.
Six questions to ask any broker before committing
- “Are you whole-of-market, or a panel?” — whole-of-market means the full lender universe; panels can still be good, but you should know what’s being compared.
- “What’s your fee, and what triggers it?” — the number, the timing (upfront / application / offer / completion), and the refund position if things fall through. In writing.
- “What commission will you receive from the lender?” — they must tell you; asking early signals you expect transparency.
- “Do you also earn on protection products?” — fine if yes, but you want advice on cover, not a bundle by default.
- “Will you handle the application and chase it through?” — the casework is half the value; confirm it’s included.
- “Have you placed cases like mine?” — self-employed, adverse credit, new-build, whatever your shape is: relevant experience beats general enthusiasm.
Where nextmove fits — and how we get paid
Our model, plainly
nextmove is an introducer, not a broker. We don’t give mortgage advice, and we never charge you anything. What we do: match you with an FCA-regulated, whole-of-market mortgage broker suited to your situation — first-time buyer, remortgager, self-employed, adverse credit, wherever you are. For that introduction, we may receive a fee or commission from the broker — which is how the matching stays free to you. The broker you’re matched with then discloses their own fees and commissions to you under FCA rules before you commit to anything, exactly as this guide describes. No pressure, no obligation, and you’re free to walk away at any point. That’s the whole model — and now you know how everyone in the chain gets paid, which is how it should be.
The bottom line
Broker fees run £0–£700 for standard cases, the lender-paid commission (0.35–0.5%) is what makes genuinely free advice possible, and FCA rules guarantee you see every fee and every commission before committing. Free isn’t worse; fees can be worth paying for complexity; and the fee itself matters far less than the placement — the rate, product and lender your case ends up with.
Do you need a broker? For a vanilla case and a patient temperament, going direct is legitimate. For everyone else — and for anyone who simply wants the whole market compared instead of one bank’s shelf — a whole-of-market broker is one of the few genuinely free upgrades in the process. Compare mortgage deals and we’ll match you with one — free, disclosed, no obligation.
Mortgage broker fees: FAQs
How much do mortgage brokers charge in the UK?
Anywhere from nothing to around £700 for standard cases. Many brokers are fee-free, paid only by lender commission; among those charging clients, £500 is the most common figure and the 2026 averages sit around £640 for a purchase and £623 for a remortgage. Percentage-fee brokers charge 0.3–1% of the loan, mainly on large or complex cases. Whatever the model, the fee and its trigger point must be disclosed before any recommendation, and you should have it in writing before work starts.
Do mortgage brokers charge a fee if the mortgage doesn’t go ahead?
It depends on their trigger point, which is why you ask before starting. Brokers charging on completion or at offer stage cost you nothing on a failed application; those charging upfront or on application may keep some or all of the fee even if the mortgage collapses. The fairer arrangements tie payment to results. Confirm the timing and the refund position in writing — a regulated broker will set this out without being pushed.
How do fee-free mortgage brokers make money?
Through the procuration fee — a commission of typically 0.35–0.5% of the loan that lenders pay brokers when a mortgage completes, out of the lender’s own margin. On a £200,000 mortgage that’s roughly £700–£1,000. It isn’t added to your loan and doesn’t affect your rate: the same product costs you the same whether you use a broker or apply direct. FCA rules require the commission to be disclosed to you, and the broker’s recommendation must be the most suitable deal regardless of what any lender pays.
Is it cheaper to go directly to the bank than use a broker?
Not usually. Lenders don’t discount rates for direct applicants — the product price is the product price — so going direct saves you a broker fee only if your broker charges one, and fee-free whole-of-market brokers exist widely. What direct genuinely costs you is comparison: your bank shows you its shelf, not the market, and can’t tell you that a competitor’s criteria would lend you more or price you better. For simple cases the gap may be small; for anything complex, the placement difference routinely outweighs any fee many times over.
Do I need a mortgage broker as a first-time buyer?
Need, no; benefit, usually — first purchases combine unfamiliarity (process, documents, timing) with the exact decisions where criteria knowledge pays: how much different lenders would actually lend you, which take your income shape or scheme, and where your deposit level prices best. A whole-of-market broker handles the comparison and the application-chasing for what is often no fee at all. Our first-time buyer guide covers the full journey — and the broker conversation costs nothing to have.
Are mortgage broker fees negotiable?
Sometimes — fixed fees have more give than percentage structures, and larger loans or repeat business strengthen your hand. It’s always acceptable to ask, and to compare two or three brokers’ fees and trigger points before choosing. Keep the comparison honest though: the cheapest fee attached to a mediocre placement costs more than a fair fee attached to the right one. Judge the total — fee, service, and the deal they can actually reach — not the headline number alone.
- Unbiased / industry fee studies — UK broker fee ranges and 2026 averages
- FCA — mortgage advice rules (MCOB): fee and commission disclosure, suitability requirements
- MoneyHelper — choosing and paying for mortgage advice
- Market guidance — procuration fee ranges and fee-free broker models, 2026
Important information
nextmove is an introducer, not a lender, mortgage adviser or mortgage broker. This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Broker fees, commission rates and fee structures vary between firms and cases and change over time — figures are indicative as of July 2026 and should be confirmed directly with any broker before engaging them. We introduce you to FCA-regulated mortgage brokers who can advise on your individual circumstances, and we may receive a fee or commission from the broker for doing so. Any fees charged by the broker will be disclosed to you by them before you commit.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
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