You have been quoted no win no fee, and you want the number. How much of my compensation does the solicitor take? The honest answer has a few layers, and the marketing usually shows you only the top one.
The figure most firms quote is 25%. That is the ceiling in personal injury claims, and it does not apply to every case. Here is what the percentage is charged on, when the real deduction can be higher, and a worked example you can rerun with your own numbers.
What percentage do no win no fee solicitors take in the UK?
There is no single legal percentage that applies to every no win no fee case. What a solicitor takes depends on the type of claim and the wording of your agreement.
For personal injury claims, the law sets a ceiling. The success fee, meaning the extra a firm charges for winning, cannot take more than 25% of certain parts of your compensation. That 25% is where the commonly quoted figure comes from.
For other claims, including housing disrepair against a landlord, there is no statutory cap on the share of your damages a firm can take. The success fee is still limited to 100% of the firm's own base costs, meaning its normal fees for the work, under article 3 of the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. But the slice of your compensation is whatever your contract sets, so the percentage you pay is the one written into your agreement, which is why reading it matters.
What is the 25% success fee calculated on?
When the 25% cap applies, in a personal injury claim, it covers only two specific parts of your award: your general damages for the injury itself, and your past financial losses such as earnings lost up to the settlement. It is not a share of everything you receive. That is set by articles 4 and 5 of the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, which name the claims the cap covers and the heads of damages it bites on.
Compensation for future losses, like future care or lost future earnings, is protected and sits outside that sum. The cap applies at first instance, meaning before any appeal, and the figure is worked out net of any benefits the state claws back. Two injury claims with the same headline value can leave different amounts in your pocket, depending on how much of the award is future loss.
When can a no win no fee deduction be more than 25%?
Three situations push the real deduction above the quoted 25%.
- Your claim is not a personal injury claim. In a housing disrepair claim, the 25% statutory cap does not apply, and nothing in law holds the deduction to 25%. Your contract sets it.
- You signed a damages-based agreement. Under the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013, a firm can take up to 50% of your compensation in most other civil claims, 35% in an employment claim, or up to 25% in an injury claim, in each case including VAT.
- Extra costs come out on top. Even inside the 25% injury cap, that cap covers the success fee only. An insurance premium or unpaid expenses can be deducted separately, so the total leaving your award can be more than 25%.
No statutory cap does not mean no recourse. You can ask the court to assess a solicitor's bill under section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974, and CPR 46.9 presumes costs of an unusual amount to be unreasonable where the firm never warned you about them. That is a right to have the bill checked rather than a likely win, and it applies whatever your claim is about.
What else comes out of your compensation besides the success fee?
Disbursements and insurance sit outside the success fee percentage, which is why they catch people out.
Disbursements. These are the out-of-pocket costs of running a claim, such as court fees, medical reports, and barristers' fees. When you win, the losing side usually pays some costs, but the recovered amount often does not cover the full bill. If your agreement lets the firm take the shortfall from your damages, it will.
After-the-event insurance. This is a policy that covers the other side's costs if you lose. The premium is often not recoverable from your opponent, so it is commonly taken from your compensation when you win. Check whether your agreement includes a policy and who pays for it.
How much of a £10,000 award do you keep after fees?
The wording of your agreement decides the answer. Here are two £10,000 awards side by side.
A housing disrepair claim under an uncapped clause. This is the renter's own case, and there is no 25% cap. If your agreement sets a 35% deduction, that is £3,500, and a £900 self-funded insurance premium brings the total to £4,400, leaving you £5,600. The contract set that result, with no statutory limit in play.
An injury claim under a compliant CFA. An injury claim is where the 25% cap does protect you. Say the whole £10,000 is general damages and past losses. The success fee is capped at 25% of that, so £2,500 at most, and you keep £7,500. If the claim also produced a future-loss award, that sits outside this sum and is protected. If you funded a £600 insurance premium, that comes out too, so 25% is the cap on the success fee, not a promise of what finally lands.
Run the same sum with your own likely award and your agreement's actual percentage to see what you would keep. If you want a sense of the award side first, our guide on how much disrepair compensation is worth covers that.
What to ask a solicitor about fees before you sign
Three questions line up the quoted percentage with the real deduction.
- What exactly is the percentage charged on, and is it capped? For anything other than an injury claim, ask what limits the deduction, since the law may not.
- What comes out of my compensation on top of the success fee? Get disbursements and any insurance premium named, and who pays them if you lose.
- Does the quoted percentage include VAT? In a capped injury claim, VAT sits inside the cap. Outside injury claims, check whether VAT is on top.
Paragraph 8.7 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors requires a firm to give you the best possible information about how your matter will be priced and what it is likely to cost overall. These are fair questions, and a good firm will answer them plainly.
The quoted percentage only tells you half the story. Remedy can take a firm's no win no fee offer and show you, in pounds, what you would keep on your own likely award, so you compare deals on the number that matters.
