Can you take out equity release without advice?

No. You cannot take out equity release without advice. You are required to take financial advice before using equity release, and the adviser should discuss its impact on your benefits and on what you leave behind¹.

There is a second requirement that catches people out. All customers must be given independent legal advice before entering the contract, and Equity Release Council members must make sure you have received it before you enter into a scheme². That legal advice must be face to face⁴.

So the short answer is that two separate professionals stand between you and a plan: a financial adviser who recommends a product, and a solicitor who represents your interests. Neither can be skipped, and neither does the other's job.

Advice is required before you take out equity release

The requirement is not a convention or a strong recommendation. It is a condition of the product. You are required to take financial advice before using equity release, and the adviser's job includes discussing the impact on your benefits¹. Before purchasing an equity release product, you are required to get professional financial advice⁹.

The same applies on the legal side. All customers must be given independent legal advice before entering the contract². Equity Release Council members must make sure you have received independent legal advice before you enter into an equity release scheme³. The Council requires your provider to make sure you receive independent legal advice on the implications and potential consequences of taking out a plan⁵.

The advice is not a formality to be got through quickly. A fully qualified financial adviser should help you understand the steps involved and talk you through your options¹⁰. Independent Age's guidance is to get advice from an independent financial adviser who specialises in equity release¹¹.

There is a practical reason for the rule. Equity release is a decision that is hard to reverse, it affects the value of your estate, and it can change what you are entitled to in later life. The adviser is the person whose job is to test whether it is right for you at all, and to put the alternatives in front of you.

Can I go straight to an equity release provider without an adviser?

You can deal directly with a provider, and some providers have their own adviser teams. The catch is what those teams can do for you: they will generally only be able to offer advice on their own products⁴. That is a narrower service than an adviser who can look across the market.

Whoever gives the advice must be authorised. Advice must be taken from a financial adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to advise on equity release products⁵. That is the check that matters, and it is the one to make before any conversation goes further.

After completion, customers receive an annual statement and may contact the provider direct⁴. So the relationship with the provider does not end at the point the money is released.

What an equity release adviser does for you

The adviser's role is to assess whether equity release suits your circumstances and to explore the alternatives. Under the Equity Release Council's standards, advice will consider your personal circumstances, including an assessment of your income and expenses, and will explore alternatives to equity release¹². That last part matters: the advice is meant to test whether you need to release equity at all.

The adviser also produces the document that lets you see the detail. To understand the features and risks of a plan, ask for a personalised illustration from your adviser¹⁰.

Then the solicitor takes over. You need to appoint your own solicitor to represent your interests, once a financial adviser has recommended a suitable equity release plan to you⁶. A solicitor is required to ensure you receive completely independent legal advice about the risks, rewards and obligations attaching to an equity release plan⁶.

The two roles do not overlap. Your solicitor will not be able to tell you whether or not a particular product is suitable for you, as this is the role of your financial adviser⁶. If you are choosing a solicitor, the guidance is to choose one who specialises in equity release and who is a member of the Equity Release Council¹³.

What advice costs: typical fees

Advice is not always charged as a fee. Your financial adviser may charge you a fee for the advice they give, or some advisers may not charge you and instead get commission from the lender³. Where a fee is charged, most equity release companies charge between £500 and £2,000 for advice⁷. One source puts the cost at between £700 and £1,900, noting that some advisers receive commission from lenders instead of charging customers⁸.

Some advisers advertise no fee at all. One provider states no-obligation advice and no fees unless a mortgage is taken out¹⁴. Another intermediary states it will not charge any fees for its advice¹⁵. These are the firms' own descriptions of their own arrangements, and the terms can change, so the figure to rely on is what you are told in writing.

The advice fee is only one of the costs. Equity release fees include a fee to have your property surveyed, an application fee, a legal fee and an advice fee¹⁶. The survey fee is usually payable when you apply¹⁶.

Is the adviser's fee a percentage of the amount I release?

Not necessarily. The published ranges are given as cash amounts rather than percentages: £500 to £2,000⁷, and £700 to £1,900⁸. Nothing in the guidance ties the fee to the size of the release, so the amount you take out does not automatically set what you pay for advice.

What does vary is the method of payment. Some advisers charge a fee, and some take commission from the lender instead³. That difference changes when and how the cost reaches you, but not whether it exists.

Where to get help if you are unsure about equity release

Free help exists, and it is worth using before you commit to anything. There are free advice services that can help with debt and money problems¹⁷. Free legal help is available at the court for people facing possession proceedings¹⁸. In Scotland, free debt advice is available through Shelter Scotland¹⁷.

For equity release specifically, the Equity Release Council provides help and information on equity release¹⁹. You can also get information from individual Equity Release Council members or from other qualified advisory firms²⁰.

If you are weighing up whether to release equity at all, it is worth knowing how the money is taxed. You do not usually have to pay income tax or capital gains tax on the money you receive from equity release on your main home²¹.

Who regulates equity release advice?

All firms advising on or selling equity release have to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority⁸. Equity release is regulated by the FCA²². The FCA regulates most mortgages taken out on or after 31 October 2004²³.

The Equity Release Council is not the regulator. It states plainly that it is not the regulator, which is the Financial Conduct Authority, and that it is not authorised to offer advice or to arrange equity release or other types of mortgages²⁴. Its role is to set standards for its members, which is why membership is a useful signal but not a substitute for checking the FCA Register.

You can read more about how the FCA supervises firms and what its remit covers in our guide to what the FCA does and does not cover, and about the wider framework in who regulates what.

What protects you, and where that protection stops

The main protections are the two advice requirements themselves, plus the product standards that Council members sign up to. When your property is sold, neither you nor your estate will have to pay anything else if the money raised is not enough to clear the loan to your equity release provider³. That is the no negative equity guarantee, and it is a meaningful backstop.

The legal advice requirement has a practical limit worth knowing. The Council's requirement is that the advice must be face to face, though the solicitor may appoint an agent or notary to see you on his behalf, confirmed by a signed certificate⁴. So a home visit is possible, but it must be properly documented.

Protection stops at the point where the product simply does not perform as you hoped. Equity release reduces what you can leave to your family, and the Council addresses this directly in its guidance on the impact on your family²⁰. The adviser is required to discuss that with you beforehand.

What can I do if I think I was given unsuitable advice?

Start with the firm. If you are not happy with their response, bring the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service²⁵. The Ombudsman service is free to consumers.

If the complaint is about a different professional, it goes elsewhere. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, contact the appropriate ombudsman service: advisers and providers go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, surveyors to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and solicitors to the Legal Ombudsman²⁶.

Our comparison of the Financial Ombudsman and the courts sets out how the two routes differ, and FSCS or Financial Ombudsman explains which body handles what.