Conveyancing Fees Table | Know What You’ll Pay

Conveyancing fees in South Africa are not a single number — they combine four distinct cost categories: (1) attorney fees on the LSSA tariff guideline (the conveyancer’s fee for doing the transfer, calculated on a sliding scale from the property’s value), (2) deeds office fees charged by the deeds registry for examining and registering the deed, (3) transfer duty paid to SARS based on statutory value brackets (this is a tax, not a conveyancer’s fee), and (4) bond registration costs if a bond is being registered, which include the bond attorney’s separate tariff fees plus the bank’s own initiation and valuation fees. The LSSA tariff guideline is updated periodically — most recently with a 2026 increase that has now taken effect — so any table quoting pre-2026 figures should be treated as historical, and the Deeds Office fees schedule and current SARS transfer duty brackets should be confirmed at the time of any actual transaction.

The Four Cost Categories, at a Glance

Before going line-by-line, it helps to see the full picture in one view. The table below separates the four cost streams by who controls each fee, who receives the money, and whether the amount is negotiable. Most confusion around “conveyancing fees” comes from lumping these categories together; in practice they are charged by different bodies, on different bases, and at very different stages of the transaction.

Cost category	Who controls it	Who receives it	Is it negotiable?
Attorney (conveyancer) fees	LSSA tariff guideline (sets the maximum)	The transfer attorney	Limited — tariff fees are regulated, but parties may negotiate fees below the tariff
Deeds office fees	Deeds Office (national deeds registry)	The Deeds Office	No — fixed by the deeds-registrar fee schedule
Transfer duty	SARS (statutory brackets per property value)	SARS	No — fixed by statute
Bond registration costs	LSSA tariff (attorney fees) + bank (initiation, valuation)	Bond attorney + bank	Initiation and valuation fees are set by the bank; bond attorney fees follow the LSSA tariff

Attorney (Conveyancer) Fees on the LSSA Tariff

Conveyancing attorney fees are regulated by the LSSA Tariff Guideline. The maximum an attorney may charge for transferring a property is set on a sliding scale calculated from the property’s purchase price or consideration — the higher the value, the higher the maximum fee. The tariff is a guideline maximum, not a fixed fee: parties to a transaction may agree to a fee below the tariff scale, but the attorney may not charge above it.

The 2026 LSSA tariff guideline is the current controlling instrument. Any fee tables quoting older figures should be cross-checked, because the conveyancing-fee increase has now taken effect. The fee covers the transfer attorney’s end-to-end professional work — drafting the deed of transfer, performing FICA compliance on the parties, attending to lodgement at the deeds office, and finalising registration. It is the one line item a conveyancer has direct discretion over (subject to the tariff ceiling), and it is therefore where most of the “shopping around” happens in practice.

Deeds Office Fees

Deeds office fees are charged by the Deeds Office for the examination, registration, and recording of the deed. They are set by the deeds-registrar fee schedule — not negotiable, and not part of the conveyancer’s fee. The Deeds Office publishes its current fees at deeds.gov.za/fees.php, and that schedule is the authoritative source for any figure quoted in a fee breakdown. The current schedule (effective from 1 April 2026) covers property transfer fees, bond registration fees, lodgement fees, notarial lease fees, cancellation of mortgage or notarial bond fees, consent fees, and certificate, copy, and search fees.

Separate deeds office fees apply for the transfer deed and for any bond registration, so on a bonded purchase the conveyancer’s invoice will typically show at least two deeds-office line items. These are passed through to the purchaser at cost — the conveyancer does not mark them up, and there is nothing to negotiate.

Transfer Duty (the SARS Tax)

Transfer duty is a tax paid to SARS on the acquisition of property. It is not a conveyancer’s fee, even though the conveyancer typically handles the calculation and SARS submission on the purchaser’s behalf. The duty is calculated on the property’s value (purchase price or market value, whichever is higher) using SARS’s published brackets — the rate steps up at higher value bands and is adjusted in the national budget each year. SARS publishes the current and historical transfer duty rates on its tax-rates page, so any quoted bracket should be confirmed against that schedule before relying on it.

Transfer duty is normally payable within a set period after the transaction is concluded; the conveyancer attends to the calculation, submission, and payment. SARS penalties apply for late payment. A first-time buyer exemption mechanism exists — the conveyancer confirms eligibility during the transaction, including by checking whether the buyer has previously owned property and whether the transaction value falls within the exempt threshold.

Bond Registration Costs (If You Are Taking a Bond)

Where a bond is being registered, a second attorney is involved. The bond attorney is appointed by the bank (not by the purchaser), and the transfer attorney is appointed by the purchaser — using the same firm for both is possible, but not automatic and not the default. The bond attorney’s fees are also on the LSSA tariff, calculated on the bond amount rather than on the purchase price.

The bank charges its own costs separately. These include the bond initiation fee (usually a percentage of the bond amount), the bond cancellation fee (where an existing bond is being cancelled over the same transaction), and the valuation fee (for the bank’s independent valuation of the property). These bank-side fees are quoted in the bond offer letter and are not negotiable through the conveyancer — they are bank policy, set at the bank’s discretion.

Post, Petties, and Disbursements

“Post and petties” is conveyancing shorthand for out-of-pocket disbursements: postage, telecoms, copies, electronic deeds-office lodgement fees, and minor administrative costs incurred in moving the file through to registration. They are quoted separately from the attorney’s tariff fee but form part of the total conveyancing cost.

A well-drawn conveyancer’s invoice should itemise disbursements clearly so that the purchaser can see, at a glance, what is a regulated fee (attorney’s tariff), what is a deeds-office pass-through, what is a SARS collection, and what is administrative. If a quotation bundles everything into one lump sum, ask for the breakdown — it is a fair request and it makes comparison-shopping between conveyancers far more meaningful.

The 2026 LSSA Tariff Update — Why It Matters

The LSSA tariff guideline has been updated in 2026, and conveyancing fees are now charged on the revised scale. The increase has taken effect, so anyone using a pre-2026 conveyancing fee table — including tables copied into older guides, blog posts, or forum answers — should treat those figures as historical and request a current quotation from the conveyancer handling the transaction.

The Deeds Office fees schedule (at deeds.gov.za/fees.php) is published and is the authoritative source for deeds office charges. SARS publishes current transfer duty rates at sars.gov.za/tax-rates/transfer-duty/. Both are primary sources — figures taken from secondary write-ups should be cross-checked against them before any transaction is concluded. The Legal Practice Council (lpc.org.za) regulates the legal-practice framework within which conveyancing fees are set, and any fee dispute can ultimately be raised with that body.

Conveyancing fees depend on the property value, whether a bond is being registered, and which tariff schedule applies at the time of transfer — the figures in any general table should be confirmed against a current quotation. Burger Huyser Attorneys handles conveyancing through its Notarial and Conveyancing services practice, with Amanda le Roux (Notary and Conveyancer) running transfers from the Bedfordview branch. If you are buying or transferring property and need a conveyancer to quote on the specific transaction, contact the Bedfordview office on 011 201 7190, or reach the firm through its other Gauteng branches — Randburg head office (011 888 0246), Sandton (011 253 3080), Centurion (012 644 4990), or Roodepoort (011 668 0030). The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and handles conveyancing alongside its family law, litigation, and commercial practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between conveyancing fees and transfer duty?

Conveyancing fees are the attorney’s fee for handling the transfer, regulated by the LSSA tariff guideline. Transfer duty is a separate tax paid to SARS on the acquisition of property, calculated on the property value using SARS’s published brackets. The conveyancer calculates and submits transfer duty on the purchaser’s behalf, but the duty itself is not the conveyancer’s fee — it goes to SARS.

Are conveyancing fees regulated in South Africa?

Yes — conveyancing attorney fees are governed by the LSSA Tariff Guideline, which sets the maximum fee an attorney may charge on a sliding scale from the property value. Parties may agree to charge less than the tariff maximum, but not more. The current controlling tariff is the 2026 LSSA guideline, which has superseded the previous scale.

Can I negotiate conveyancing fees?

Partially. The LSSA tariff is the maximum — an attorney may not charge above it. Below the tariff, the fee is negotiable. Deeds office fees and transfer duty are fixed (by the deeds registrar and by SARS respectively) and cannot be negotiated.

Who pays the conveyancing fees — the buyer or the seller?

Convention in South Africa is that the buyer pays the transfer attorney’s fees (and the bond attorney’s fees if a bond is registered). The seller typically pays the cost of cancelling any existing bond and rates clearance figures. These are customary positions and can be varied by agreement between the parties, but the statutory charges themselves (deeds office fees, transfer duty) follow whoever is liable for them under the relevant statute.

What is included in the conveyancing fee — and what is not?

The conveyancer’s tariff fee covers the professional work of drafting, lodging, and registering the transfer. It does not include deeds office fees (charged separately by the Deeds Office), transfer duty (paid to SARS), bond registration costs (if applicable), or post and petties/disbursements (which are itemised separately on the invoice).

How long does the transfer process take once I’ve appointed a conveyancer?

From instruction to registration, transfers typically take between six and ten weeks, depending on bond approval timelines, rates clearance, and whether any complications arise (such as a prior bond cancellation). The conveyancer will give a current estimated timeline at the instruction stage.

Why do I need a Notary/Conveyancer specifically — can any attorney do this?

Property transfers require a Notary/Conveyancer — an attorney who has the additional qualification and is admitted by the Law Society to attend to deeds registration and notarial work. Burger Huyser Attorneys has a qualified Notary and Conveyancer on staff (Amanda le Roux, Bedfordview branch), so the firm’s conveyancing work is handled by an admitted conveyancer rather than being referred out.