Who pays the transfer fee on a resale?

Who sets the transfer fee, and who decides who pays it?

The fee itself is the developer's: it is the charge for approving and recording the change of buyer, and the developer's terms of sale set it and the basis it is calculated on. Who bears it is a different question, and it is answered in the assignment clause of the contract: the seller, the buyer, or each a share. The developer collects it from whichever party the terms place it on.

Does the fee come out of the balance I owe the developer?

No. It is a separate charge for the transfer, and it does not reduce the instalments still owed on the original contract, nor is it part of the unit's price. What you continue to pay the developer stays as the contract states, and the transfer fee is added on top of the deal's own costs.

When is it paid?

At the transfer, once the developer has approved the new buyer and is ready to record the change. It is not paid when the two of you agree a private price between you, and it is not paid at handover. The assignment clause and the developer's own terms set the exact trigger.

Can the buyer and the seller agree to split it?

Yes, where the developer's terms allow it. The two of you can agree that one side takes the whole fee or that you share it, and the assignment agreement records that. Confirm the split with the developer's sales office before the transfer is booked, so that the amount collected matches what you agreed.

How do I know the figure before agreeing a price?

The catalogue does not carry the transfer fee. Ask the developer's sales office for it in writing, with the basis it is worked out on, before you settle the price with the seller: the fee changes what the deal costs each side, and it is read from the contract and the compound's own terms of sale.

Is the transfer fee the same as the registration fee?

No. The registration fee is paid to the state, at the real-estate registry, when the sale is registered; the transfer fee is the developer's charge and is paid to the developer. They are separate payments to different parties at different stages, and the distinction matters when you add up the cost of buying a resale.

Does the fee change the price we agreed between us?

The fee is a cost of moving the contract, and it sits on top of what the two of you agreed for the unit. Who absorbs it is what the split decides, so put it into the arithmetic before you sign: the seller's net and the buyer's all-in cost both move with it.

Which clause answers this for my compound?

The assignment clause, together with the compound's own terms of sale. That is where the fee's amount, its basis and the party who bears it are written, and where any condition attached to the developer's consent is set out. Ask for it in writing, and keep the answer with the assignment agreement.