What Does the Seller Pay When Selling a House in South Africa?

The seller in a South African property transaction pays the agent’s commission (typically 5–7.5% + VAT, set by the mandate), the bond cancellation attorney fees (a notarial fee that scales with the outstanding bond amount), the rates clearance certificate, and the required compliance certificates (electrical, plumbing, beetle/wood-borer, and gas where installed). The buyer pays transfer duty and the transfer attorney fees. Sellers also need to budget for capital gains tax exposure on the profit, any body corporate or homeowner’s association (HOA) clearance fees, and the pro-ration of rates and levies up to the date of registration. A well-prepared seller asks their conveyancer for a written cost schedule before signing the sale mandate.

The Cost Basket at a Glance: What the Seller Pays vs What the Buyer Pays

The most common surprise sellers face is assuming transfer duty is theirs — it is not. Transfer duty is a SARS tax charged under the Transfer Duty Act, sliding on the same brackets whether the property is in Johannesburg, Cape Town, or Durban, and the buyer pays it. The seller’s basket of costs is separate and is settled out of the gross proceeds before the balance is paid to the seller.

Cost Item	Paid By	Trigger
Estate agent commission	Seller	On registration of transfer
Bond cancellation attorney fees	Seller	On cancellation of seller’s bond
Rates clearance certificate	Seller	Before registration
Electrical, plumbing, beetle, gas compliance certificates	Seller	Before registration
Body corporate / HOA clearance certificate	Seller	Before registration (sectional title / HOA)
Early-bond-cancellation penalty	Seller	If bond settled before end of term
Capital gains tax (CGT) on the profit	Seller	Self-assessed in the next tax return
Pro-ration of rates and levies to date of transfer	Seller	Adjusted at statement of adjustment
Transfer duty (SARS tax)	Buyer	On registration of transfer
Transfer attorney fees	Buyer	On registration of transfer
Bond registration attorney fees (if buyer registers a new bond)	Buyer	On registration of new bond

A conveyancer’s cost schedule should be in writing before the mandate is signed, so the seller can see the items that will be paid out of the gross proceeds in one place rather than accumulating as the transfer progresses.

The Estate Agent’s Commission

The agent’s commission is paid by the seller from the gross proceeds and is set out in the sole-mandate or open-mandate agreement. The typical range is 5–7.5% + VAT, depending on the region, the property value, and whether the mandate is sole or open. The commission is paid on the gross sale price and is usually due on registration of transfer, not on signing of the offer to purchase.

The commission is not a statutory fee — it is negotiable. Sellers should compare quotes from at least two agents, confirm in writing that the commission is payable on registration (not on signing), and check whether the mandate is sole or open before committing. The effective rate can vary materially between neighbouring estates, and a slightly higher commission sometimes reflects stronger onward buyer work rather than a higher headline price.

Bond Cancellation Attorney Fees

If the seller has an existing bond over the property, a bond cancellation attorney must be instructed to cancel that bond at the Deeds Office on registration. The fee is a notarial fee that scales with the outstanding bond amount and is set by the rules of the Legal Practice Council for the province where the property is registered. Gauteng sellers fall under the Legal Practice Council’s uniform schedule rather than the older provincial Law Society schedules.

The seller instructs the bond cancellation attorney separately from the transfer attorney — sometimes the same firm handles both, sometimes not. If the bond is cancelled before its scheduled term, an early-settlement penalty may also apply, typically one to three months’ interest depending on the bank. The cancellation attorney settles the outstanding bond with the bank on registration, and the net proceeds are then released to the seller.

Compliance Certificates

The seller must obtain and furnish the following certificates to the transfer attorney before registration, failing which the transfer cannot proceed:

Certificate	Issued By	Notes
Electrical compliance certificate	Registered electrician	Installation must conform to SANS 10142-1
Plumbing compliance certificate	Licensed plumber	Required where plumbing is more than a basic installation
Beetle / wood-borer certificate	Qualified inspector	Required in designated areas (much of the coastal belt and Gauteng)
Gas certificate	Registered gas installer	Required where the property has a gas installation (geyser, stove, fireplace)

The cost of obtaining these certificates is the seller’s, and the seller typically also pays for any remedial work flagged during the inspection. Compliance certificates are the most common cause of registration delays — inspectors in busy areas book out two to four weeks ahead, and the seller should start the process as soon as the decision to sell is firm rather than waiting for an offer.

Rates Clearance and Other Clearances

The rates clearance certificate is issued by the municipality confirming that all rates, taxes, and municipal charges have been paid up to a clearance date set shortly before registration. The seller pays for the certificate and settles any amount due. The certificate confirms the municipality’s consent to the transfer; without it, the Deeds Office will not register the transfer.

For properties in a sectional-title scheme or a homeowners’ association, the seller must obtain clearance from the body corporate or HOA confirming that levies are paid up and that there are no breaches of the rules. For sectional-title properties, the body corporate’s certificate includes the seller’s pro-rata contribution to the scheme’s reserve fund and any special levies. The levy clearance certificate is part of the same body-corporate clearance process and is issued at the same time.

Capital Gains Tax: The Cost Sellers Often Forget

Capital gains tax (CGT) is not deducted from the sale proceeds by the conveyancer — it is a self-assessment tax that the seller must declare to SARS in the tax return for the year of sale. The taxable gain is the sale price less the base cost (purchase price plus transfer and bond costs at acquisition, plus documented improvements).

For most ordinary homeowners, the taxable portion is significantly reduced by two exclusions. The annual CGT exclusion (currently R40,000) and the primary residence exclusion (currently R2 million of gain for a primary residence, under section 9C of the Income Tax Act) together mean many sellers owe no CGT on the sale of their home. A seller expecting a meaningful profit — particularly someone selling an investment property or a home they have not used as a primary residence — should consult a tax practitioner or attorney before signing, not after, so the estimate is realistic. The Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act governs how the gain is calculated and what can be deducted from the base cost.

What the Seller Pro-Rates to the Date of Transfer

Some items are not paid in full by the seller on registration but are pro-rated to the day of transfer. The transfer attorney prepares a statement of adjustment that sets these adjustments off against the purchase price.

• Municipal rates — the seller pays rates up to the date of registration; the municipality calculates the proration and the rates clearance certificate reflects the adjustment.
• Body corporate or HOA levies — the seller pays levies up to registration; the buyer takes over from the day after registration.
• Utility accounts — electricity, water, and rates account balances are settled at clearance; the seller remains responsible for any consumption up to the date of read.

These adjustments are mechanical and routine, but they can catch a seller off guard if they assumed rates and levies simply transferred to the buyer. The statement of adjustment is the document that makes the proration visible.

Smaller and Easily-Overlooked Seller Costs

A few items fall outside the conveyancer’s disbursements but still come out of the seller’s pocket before the move:

• Marketing and photography — optional but standard in most mandates; the cost is the seller’s.
• Staging and pre-sale repairs — recommended for higher-value sales; the seller’s.
• Pest control and garden cleanup — sold-as-is buyers will discount; sellers who present better usually net more.
• Moving costs — the seller’s once the transfer is registered.
• Early bond cancellation penalty — interest equal to one to three months if the bond is settled before the term ends.

The most under-estimated of these is usually the early bond cancellation penalty. A seller who plans to use the bond proceeds from the next property before the current bond’s term ends should ask the bank in advance for the settlement figure, including the penalty, rather than discovering it at clearance.

How the Costs Are Paid and in What Order

The order in which seller costs are paid matters because the seller’s net proceeds depend on the order being honoured.

1. At offer-to-purchase signing: no costs are due; the seller signs the OTP and waits for bond approval and suspensive conditions to be fulfilled.
2. During the bond cancellation and transfer process: compliance certificates and rates clearance are paid for; the bond cancellation attorney prepares the cancellation figures; the body corporate or HOA clearance is obtained.
3. On registration of transfer: the transfer attorney collects the net proceeds and pays the bond cancellation attorney, the bond, the agent, and the rates body — the seller receives the balance.
4. After registration: the seller declares the capital gain to SARS in the next tax return; CGT is not deducted from the proceeds.

The seller’s net position is therefore the sale price minus the commission, minus the bond cancellation attorney fee, minus the compliance and clearance costs, minus the proration adjustments, plus or minus any capital gains tax refund or liability assessed by SARS in the following tax cycle.

How to Get a Cost Estimate Before You Sign the Mandate

A seller should ask the appointed conveyancer (or the seller-chosen attorney) for a written cost schedule covering: the bond cancellation attorney fee, transfer-related disbursements (rates clearance, compliance certificate disbursements, deeds office fees), and a note on the agent’s commission. The schedule should separate costs that scale with bond size (cancellation attorney) from costs that scale with sale price (commission) and fixed costs (compliance certificates, certificates of clearance). Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Notarial and Conveyancing services, run through the Bedfordview branch, prepare a written cost schedule covering the bond cancellation attorney fee, the compliance certificate budget, and the rates clearance before the mandate is signed, so the seller has a single line of sight on the items that get paid out of the gross proceeds.

Concurrent-cost items the seller controls directly include the agent commission (negotiable), the choice of compliance inspector, and the staging and marketing spend. Decisions on these are made independently of the conveyancer, but they should still be reflected in the overall budget so the seller does not sign a mandate expecting 7% commission only to discover the agent’s standard is 7.5% + VAT.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the seller pay transfer duty in South Africa?

No — transfer duty is the buyer’s responsibility. It is a SARS tax charged under the Transfer Duty Act on a sliding scale based on the purchase price. The seller pays the agent’s commission, the bond cancellation attorney fee, the rates clearance, and the compliance certificates.

What is the typical estate agent commission when selling a house in South Africa?

Most estate agents charge between 5% and 7.5% of the sale price, plus VAT, with the rate set by the mandate. The commission is paid by the seller from the gross proceeds on registration of transfer, and the rate is negotiable.

How much does a bond cancellation attorney cost for the seller?

The bond cancellation attorney fee is a notarial fee that scales with the outstanding bond amount, set by the rules of the provincial law society. The seller instructs the cancellation attorney separately from the transfer attorney — sometimes the same firm handles both, sometimes not.

Who pays for the compliance certificates when selling a house?

The seller pays for the electrical, plumbing, beetle/wood-borer, and (where applicable) gas compliance certificates, and for any remedial work flagged during the inspection. The certificates must be furnished to the transfer attorney before registration can proceed.

Does the seller pay capital gains tax on the sale of a primary residence?

Capital gains tax is a self-assessment tax that the seller declares to SARS after the sale. The primary residence exclusion (currently R2 million of gain, under section 9C of the Income Tax Act) plus the annual exclusion (currently R40,000) typically means most ordinary homeowners owe no CGT, but the seller must still declare the transaction. A seller expecting a meaningful profit should consult a tax practitioner before signing.

Can a seller negotiate the agent’s commission?

Yes — the commission is not a statutory fee and is set by the mandate. Sellers should compare quotes from at least two agents, confirm the commission is payable on registration (not on signing), and check whether the mandate is sole or open.

How long before the sale does the seller need to start preparing?

Compliance certificates typically take two to four weeks to organise, depending on inspector availability in the area. The seller should start the process as soon as the decision to sell is firm, rather than waiting for an offer — delays in compliance certificates are the most common cause of registration delays.

Does the seller pay for the deeds office fees?

Deeds office registration fees for the transfer itself are paid by the buyer (in the transfer attorney fee). The deeds office fees for cancelling the seller’s bond are paid by the seller (in the bond cancellation attorney fee). These are separate disbursements.

Seller-side conveyancing — bond cancellation, transfer coordination, and compliance certificate review — is run through Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Notarial and Conveyancing services, with the firm’s Notary and Conveyancer based at the Bedfordview branch (45A Florence Avenue, Bedfordview, 011 201 7190). The firm prepares a written cost schedule covering the bond cancellation attorney fee, the compliance certificate budget, and the rates clearance before the mandate is signed, so the seller has a single line of sight on the items that get paid out of the gross proceeds. Sellers can also be served from the Randburg head office (49 First Avenue, Linden, 011 888 0246) or the Sandton, Pretoria, Centurion, Roodepoort, Alberton, or Midrand branches depending on where the property is registered. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”).