What Are the Duties of a Conveyancer in South Africa?

A conveyancer in South Africa is the only professional authorised to prepare and lodge deeds for registration at a Deeds Office. They must be admitted as an attorney and hold a notarial practice certificate under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 (read with the Notaries Act 56 of 1975), and the work itself is anchored in the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937. The duties of a conveyancer run the full arc of a property transfer — from instruction to registration — and include title investigation, drafting and lodging of deeds, transfer duty and FICA compliance, securing rates and levy clearances, attending to bond cancellation and registration, and acting as the impartial representative of the transaction itself.

What “Conveyancer” Actually Means in South African Law

Conveyancing is not a stand-alone profession in South Africa. The role is performed by an attorney who also holds a notarial practice certificate issued under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014. A conveyancer must therefore meet two qualifications: (1) admission as an attorney of the High Court, and (2) a separate notarial practice certificate. Not every attorney is a conveyancer, and holding the notarial certificate is what unlocks the additional statutory powers needed to prepare and lodge deeds for registration at a Deeds Office.

Without that certificate, an attorney cannot attend to a transfer. The notarial practice certificate is the gateway that converts an admitted attorney into a conveyancer, and it is the Legal Practice Council (LPC) that administers both the conveyancing and notary examinations required to obtain it.

The work performed under that authority is anchored in the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, which makes the deeds registration system the regulatory backbone for the role. Layered on top of it are several other statutes that the conveyancer must apply in the course of a transfer:

• Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (FICA) — client verification and record-keeping duties.
• Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981 — the formalities required for the underlying sale agreement.
• Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949 — the transfer duty levied on the buyer and collected via SARS eFiling.

Core Statutory Duties

Four statutes set the working frame for every conveyancer in South Africa. Understanding them is what separates the duties of a conveyancer from the duties of an attorney who is not qualified to act in deeds matters.

Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937

The Deeds Registries Act establishes the registry framework and the office of the Registrar of Deeds. The Registrar may only register a deed that has been prepared, signed, and lodged by a registered conveyancer — the registry system does not accept self-prepared or third-party deeds. This is the structural reason a conveyancer is mandatory.

Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014

The Legal Practice Act sets the qualification and supervision regime for conveyancers, replacing the older Attorneys Act dispensation and giving the Legal Practice Council oversight of conveyancing conduct. The Act commenced in stages (Chapter 6 on 31 October 2018, with further sections in 2022 and 2023) and is the primary regulatory statute for the legal profession, including the conveyancing and notarial disciplines.

Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (FICA)

FICA imposes client-verification and reporting duties on conveyancers. Before a transfer can lodge, the conveyancer must verify the identity and source of funds of every party to the transaction and keep records for the statutory retention period. A slow or incomplete FICA process is one of the most common causes of registration delay.

Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949

The Transfer Duty Act imposes transfer duty on the buyer. The conveyancer calculates it, lodges the transfer duty declaration with SARS via eFiling on the buyer’s behalf, and pays the duty to SARS from the funds held in the conveyancing trust account. The SARS rules require electronic payment via eFiling and set a six-month deadline from the date of acquisition, after which interest accrues.

The Conveyancing Process, Step by Step

A clean transfer in South Africa typically follows a predictable sequence. The conveyancer’s job is to drive each step and to clear the inevitable queries between them:

1. Receive instructions — usually from the seller once an offer to purchase has been accepted and suspensive conditions resolved (and, in practice, often in parallel with the buyer’s bond originator).
2. Open the file and start FICA — allocate the transaction to a specific Deeds Office and issue FICA request letters to both buyer and seller to begin verification.
3. Obtain clearance certificates — request and obtain a rates-clearance certificate from the municipality and a levy-clearance certificate from the body corporate or homeowners’ association. These confirm what the seller must settle before transfer.
4. Investigate title — examine the title deed, any prior conditions of title, and the property’s history at the relevant Deeds Office. Raise any title queries with the seller.
5. Prepare the draft deed of transfer — and, where the buyer is bonding, instruct the bond attorney on the concurrent bond registration.
6. Lodge transfer duty with SARS — prepare the transfer duty declaration and lodge via SARS eFiling; receive the transfer duty receipt.
7. Lodge at the Deeds Office — lodge the transfer, with simultaneous lodgement of the bond cancellation (if any) and the new bond (if any).
8. Monitor examination — track the file through examination by the Registrar; respond to any examiner’s queries; finalise lodgement.
9. Attend to registration — receive the registered deed of transfer; effect final settlement between the parties.
10. Deliver and close out — deliver the registered deed to the buyer and close the file.

The Conveyancer’s Three Independence Rules

A South African conveyancer sits in a position that is sometimes misunderstood by the public. Three independence rules govern the role and have statutory force, not just professional courtesy:

• Impartial representative of the transaction. The conveyancer acts for the deed, not for the buyer or seller — even though instructions usually come from the seller because the seller must deliver clear title.
• Equal information rights. All parties to the transaction are entitled to information about its progress. The conveyancer cannot withhold material from one party for the benefit of another.
• Statutory fee regime. Conveyancing fees must be charged in accordance with the Legal Practice Council’s fee guidelines and on the basis of professional responsibility, not conflict-of-interest. A conveyancer cannot take instructions that compromise their independence.

Burger Huyser Attorneys runs its notarial and conveyancing practice from the Bedfordview branch under Amanda le Roux, an admitted Notary and Conveyancer — the independence rules above are the standard she works to.

What’s Outside the Conveyancer’s Mandate

Because conveyancers are often confused with adjacent role-players, it helps to mark carefully what they do not do:

• Property valuation is not the conveyancer’s role. That duty falls to the sworn appraiser or valuer, and (where applicable) the mortgage bond originator.
• Marketing, finding buyers, and negotiating the sale are not the conveyancer’s role. That is the estate agent’s, governed by the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019.
• Drafting the offer-to-purchase contract is usually not the conveyancer’s role. The offer is typically drafted by the estate agent or by an attorney acting for a party in the transaction. The deed of transfer is the conveyancer’s document; the sale agreement is not.
• Acting without a competent party is not permitted. A conveyancer cannot register a deed without a competent party who has legal capacity, FICA-cleared identity, and proper authority. Where a party’s standing is unclear, the conveyancer will decline instructions and refer the matter back to instructing attorneys.

Conveyancer vs. Estate Agent vs. Transferring Attorney

These three roles are commonly conflated, but each is governed by a different statute and carries a different function. The table below sets out the distinctions:

Role	Function	Governing Framework
Conveyancer	Investigate title, draft the deed of transfer, attend to registration at a Deeds Office	Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014; Notaries Act 56 of 1975; Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937
Estate agent / property practitioner	Market the property, find buyers, negotiate the sale	Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019 (read with FICA where applicable)
Transferring attorney	Draft the offer, advise on suspensive conditions, attend to bond cancellation/registration on the lender’s side	Attorneys Act / Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014

These roles are often performed by different professionals. In some transactions the same firm handles both, but the conveyancing role specifically is the notarial-and-deeds step — and only a qualified conveyancer can perform it.

Choosing a Conveyancer: Practical Selection Criteria

Property transfers are high-value, single-event transactions. The choice of conveyancer matters, and the criteria below are worth working through before instruction:

• Confirm the notarial practice certificate is current. Only an attorney with a current notarial practice certificate can work as a conveyancer. Ask to see proof or check via the Legal Practice Council’s register.
• Confirm the firm files at the relevant Deeds Office. There are nine Deeds Offices across South Africa. Using a conveyancer unfamiliar with the local office slows registration because the registrar’s expectations and examiners differ.
• Ask for an itemised fee quote before instruction. Conveyancing fees typically include the conveyancing fee, a Deeds Office fee, transfer duty (paid on the buyer’s behalf to SARS), and disbursements — these are separate line items, and an all-in figure should be broken down.
• Confirm the firm’s FICA process. Both buyer and seller must be FICA-cleared for the transaction to lodge; a slow FICA process is one of the most common reasons a clean file misses its lodgement date.
• Look for an established track record on timelines. Registration takes roughly 6 to 10 weeks from first instruction in a clean file, longer where bond cancellations, sectional-title levy clearances, or title queries slow the file down.
• Check the progress-update cadence. Choose a conveyancer who commits to a clear update cadence and is reachable throughout — property transfers are not the place for a silent file.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Bedfordview branch — where Notary and Conveyancer Amanda le Roux is based — meets this profile: a current notarial practice certificate, established practice at both the Johannesburg and Pretoria Deeds Offices, a defined FICA workflow, and the larger firm’s 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) standing behind the service.

Conveyancing in Gauteng: Procedural and Practical Considerations

South African conveyancing operates through nine Deeds Offices, each serving an allocated geographic area. Gauteng is split between the Johannesburg Deeds Office and the Pretoria Deeds Office, and which one a transaction lodges at depends on the magisterial district in which the property is registered. A property in Centurion generally files at the Pretoria office; a property in Randburg, Sandton, or Roodepoort typically files at the Johannesburg office; Bedfordview and Alberton properties generally file at Johannesburg as well. Mis-routing is rare because the deeds registry is digitised, but inexperienced buyers do occasionally see delays when a file is referred between offices.

For specific transactional advice on a transfer, bond registration, or any matter handled by a South African conveyancer, contact Burger Huyser Attorneys’ notary and conveyancing practice at the Bedfordview branch — 45A Florence Avenue, Bedfordview, Johannesburg, 2008, telephone 011 201 7190 — or at the Linden head office on 011 888 0246. The firm handles property transfers, bond registrations, and notarial work for clients across Gauteng and can refer transactions at other Deeds Offices through its network. Burger Huyser Attorneys carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and has been recognised by Acquisition International and MEA Business Awards across its practice areas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a conveyancer the same as an attorney in South Africa?

No. In South Africa, a conveyancer is an attorney who additionally holds a notarial practice certificate under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014. A practising attorney without the notarial certificate cannot attend to deeds registrations. Not every attorney is a conveyancer, and not every conveyancer is a litigator — the two roles are different qualifications even where one practitioner holds both.

Whose side does the conveyancer represent — the buyer or the seller?

The conveyancer acts for the transaction, not for a particular party. Although instructions usually come from the seller (because the seller must deliver clear title), the conveyancer’s duties run equally to all parties — buyer, seller, and bondholder — and they cannot withhold material from one party for the benefit of another. This impartial position is a statutory requirement, not a courtesy.

How long does a property transfer typically take in South Africa?

A clean transfer typically takes 6 to 10 weeks from first instruction to registration, though figures vary across firms and across Deeds Offices. Files with bond cancellations, sectional-title levy clearances, inter-governmental delays, or examiner queries often take longer. The conveyancer should set expectations during the first briefing rather than quoting a flat two-month figure.

Can I save money by not using a conveyancer?

No. Only an admitted attorney with a notarial practice certificate can prepare and lodge a deed for registration at the Deeds Office. There is no equivalent self-service pathway. Trying to bypass the requirement is not a savings option; it simply does not result in registration.

Does the conveyancer also handle transfer duty?

The buyer remains liable for transfer duty, but the conveyancer calculates it, lodges the transfer duty declaration with SARS via eFiling on the buyer’s behalf, and pays the duty to SARS from the funds held in the conveyancing trust account. Transfer duty is a percentage of the purchase price and is set annually; the rate bands are published by SARS. Conveyancing fees proper are a separate line item from transfer duty.

What documents does the conveyancer need from me?

The conveyancer will issue a FICA pack at instruction — typically certified copies of identity documents, proof of residence, tax numbers, marital status documentation (including any antenuptial contract and details of a marriage regime), and source-of-funds declarations. The seller will additionally provide the existing title deed, rates-clearance and levy-clearance figures, the signed sale agreement, and any bond statements.

What if there is a problem with the title during the transfer?

The conveyancer will investigate title at the start of the file, and any conditions of title or servitudes affecting the property are usually noted before the buyer is committed. If something material is discovered later, the conveyancer must disclose it to both parties and either resolve it (with the seller’s cooperation), suspend registration until it is resolved, or advise the parties on their contractual remedies. A consent agreement between buyer and seller is the typical resolution pathway.

Can a conveyancer refuse to act?

Yes. A conveyancer can decline instructions where there is a conflict of interest, where FICA cannot be cleared, where a party’s legal capacity is in doubt, or where the matter otherwise calls for a different kind of practitioner. The firm will usually communicate the reason and, where appropriate, refer the matter onward.