South Africa

Registering Property in

South Africa

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: ZAR 2,611,806.28
  • City: Johannesburg

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 A conveyancer prepares the transfer deed

A conveyancer prepares the deed of sale and drafts the transfer deed. He obtains the power of attorney, appointing him to appear before the Registrar. The service of an attorney / conveyancer is mandatory for the registration of the land. A conveyancer is an attorney who is permitted in terms of the Attorneys Act to perform specialized duties with regard to the conveyance of immovable property. The Deeds Registries Act empowers only conveyancers to prepare deeds of transfer and in doing so, assumes responsibility for certain facts set out in the deed and documents.
Conveyancing fees are set by the Law Society for different property values, and are available at the Transfer Costs table in http://www.ghostdigest.co.za/code/C_20.html (Transfer fees)


 1 day Transfer fee: ZAR 19,000 for a property of this value
* 2 Obtain a rates clearance certificate from the local authority

The transferring conveyancer obtains a rates (taxes) clearance certificate from the local authority, on behalf of the seller only if in Johannesburg. Section 118 of the Local Municipality Act states that any act of transferring property must be accompanied by a rates clearance from the local authority. However, the local authority will only check the last 24 months--this is sufficient for the transfer to legally take place. If any taxes are owed from previous years, the seller is not exonerated--the taxes will still have to be paid by either the seller or the new owner as per agreement.

Agency: Municipality 		7-30 days (simultaneous with procedures 3 and 4) Included in Procedure 1
* 3 The conveyancer prepares and collects all the required documentation

The conveyancer, before lodging the documentation with the deeds registry to transfer the property to the new company, must also conduct a company search at the Registrar of Companies to ascertain the directors of both companies. All conveyancers are linked by internet to this authority and can perform the check online. Usually conveyancers will also ask clients to present them with such documents anyway. In so doing, the conveyancer will:
Peruse the memorandum and articles of association of the companies to confirm the powers to acquire and alienate immovable property
Obtain the necessary resolutions.
Ensure compliance with the Financial Intelligence Center Act by obtaining proof from the companies of the physical/business address and Tax/VAT registration number with the South African Revenue Services. The conveyancer will also request this information from the clients before proceeding, and the check is done automatically at the time of paying transfer duty (procedure 3)--if a company does not have or quotes an incorrect Tax/VAT number, it will not be possible to pay transfer duty and the process will halt.

Section 228 of the Companies Act 61 of 1973, as amended by The Corporate Laws Amendment Act 24 of 2006 states that the Directors of a company shall not have the power, save by a special resolution of its members, to dispose of the whole or greater part of the assets of the company. Should the property in question therefore constitute the whole or greater part of the assets of the company, a special resolution will have to be passed by the members of the company in accordance with the requirements for such a special resolution in terms of the Companies Act and such resolution will also have to be registered with the Registrar of Companies before the transfer can be registered in the Deeds Office. This could substantially delay the transfer process.


Agency: Registrar of Companies 		10 days (simultaneous with procedures 2 and 3) Included in Procedure 1
* 4 Obtain a transfer duty receipt from the South African Revenue Services

The transferring conveyancer obtains a transfer duty receipt/exemption certificate from the South African Revenue Services.
As of 23 February 2011, the distinction drawn in calculating transfer duties in respect of legal entities and natural persons has been abolished. Both legal entities and natural persons now pay transfer duty based on the sliding scale. The scale has also been amended as follows

R0 to ZAR600 000,00 - exempt
ZAR 600 001,00 - ZAR1 000 000,00 - 3%
ZAR 1 000 001,00 - ZAR 1 500 000,00 -- 5%
ZAR 1 500 001,00 and above -- 8%


Agency: South African Revenue Services 		1 day (simultaneous with procedures 2 and 4) Value of property (Rand) Rate 0 – 600 000 0% 600 001 – 1 000 000 3% of the value above R600 000, but less than R1 000 000 1 000 001 – 1 500 000 R12 000 + 5
5 Parties sign all the documentation at the conveyancer’s office

The conveyancer will have all documentation signed by seller and purchaser and obtain guarantees for purchase price. The documents to be signed by the parties are as follows:
1. Seller
1.1 Power of attorney to pass
1.2 Transfer duty declarations
1.3 Affidavits (Solvency; FICA)
2. Purchaser
2.1 Transfer duty declarations
2.2 Affidavits (Solvency; FICA)

 1 day Included in Procedure 1
6 The conveyancer lodges the deed at the Deeds Registry

The conveyancer lodges the deed at the Deeds Registry. The Registrar compares the draft deed with data in the register. There are two examinations at different levels.
The standards are monitored and the deed is prepared for registration and execution. The Registrar executes the deed, updates the register and archives a copy.
The registration fee depends on the value of the property and is obtained from the Transfer Cost table in http://www.ghostdigest.co.za/code/C_20.html (D/O Levy column)

The following schedule for deeds office fees applies (Deeds office fees payable with effect from September 2, 2010):
up to ZAR 150 000,00 -- ZAR 70
ZAR 150 000 to ZAR 300 000 -- ZAR 350
ZAR 300 000 to ZAR 500 000 -- ZAR 450
ZAR 500 000 to ZAR 1 000 000 -- ZAR 550
ZAR 1 000 000 to ZAR 2 000 000 -- ZAR650
ZAR 2 000 000 to ZAR 3 000 000 -- ZAR 850
ZAR 3 000 000 to ZAR 5 000 000 -- ZAR 1050
ZAR 5 000 000 and above -- ZAR 1250



Agency: Deeds Registry 		6-14 days Deeds office fees payable with effect from 2 September 2010 ZAR 300 000 to ZAR 500 000 ZAR 450 ZAR 500 000 to ZAR 1 000 000 ZAR 550 ZAR 1 000 000 to ZAR 2 000 000 ZAR 650 ZAR 2 000 000 to ZAR 3 000 000 ZAR 850 ZAR 3 000 000 to ZAR
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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