SDLTM03740 - Auction House Fees

Example 4

I was interested in attending an auction to buy some land. I had to pay £100 to the auction house to receive a detailed catalogue and to be able to bid at the auction. I bought some land at the auction with a successful bid of £248,000. I also had to agree to pay the auction house’s fees (buyer’s premium) of £5,000 incurred by the vendor.

The chargeable consideration given for the property is £253,000 (purchase price plus vendor’s auction house fee). The initial £100 was not chargeable consideration because it was not paid for the property but rather for the right to participate in the auction - it was not in any way conditional on the purchase of the land.