CONVEYANCING LAW

Are you looking for a conveyancing law firm? Well, you have come to the right place! Buying or selling a house is a big deal, and when it comes to property, you need a property lawyer who knows about property. In this article, we will talk all about conveyancing law and why you need a conveyancer for your real estate journey. Most residential transfers take several weeks from the deed of sale being signed to registration taking effect, with the Deeds Office examination period and clearance certificate turnaround usually the rate-limiting steps.

What is Conveyancing Law? (A Quick Overview)

So, what actually is conveyancing law? Basically, conveyancing law is the law that has to do with conveyancing. When you buy a land or a building (which lawyers call “immovable property” because you cannot pick it up and move it to a different province), it needs to go from the seller to the buyer.

The whole process happens through a magical place called the Deeds Office. Without conveyancing law, nobody would know who owns what, and your neighbor could just steal your garage!

Law says that if you sell land, you must write it down on paper. You can’t just shake hands over a braai and call it a deal. Because a conveyancing attorney must also be admitted as a notary public, you will often see the role referred to as “Notary and Conveyancer” on a firm’s website — the two qualifications are administered separately but, in practice, exercised by the same person.

Why Do You Need a Conveyancing Attorney?

You might be asking: “Can I just do this transfer myself to save money?” The short answer is: please do not try that. Here are some reasons why hiring a professional is a good idea:

• Expertise: Lawyers went to university, so they are smart about legal things.
• Paperwork: There is a lot of paper involved. Like, a whole forest of paper. Your conveyancer will push all the papers around for you so you don’t have to get paper cuts.
• Peace of Mind: Buying a house is stressful. Having a lawyer means you can sleep at night while they stress out instead.

The Two Main Conveyancing Transactions

Transaction	When it applies	Typical timeline
Transfer of ownership (with or without a new bond)	Buying or selling a property — the most common conveyancing matter.	A few weeks from signed deed of sale to registration.
Bond cancellation only	A property is paid up but the bond is still registered; the bondholder’s attorney cancels the bond at the Deeds Office.	A few weeks (no transfer deed required).

Transfer duty is lodged with SARS via eFiling before registration can take place — the transfer duty receipt is filed with the deed at the Deeds Office. Conveyancing fees are regulated (not freely negotiable) under the Legal Practice Council tariff, so quotes between attorneys for the same transaction should not vary materially except for complexity-based adjustments. For higher-value properties, transfer duty is typically the largest single cost on the buyer side, not the conveyancing fee.

Common Conveyancing Risks and How They’re Handled

• Bond not approved in time. The deed of sale typically makes the transaction subject to bond approval within a stated period; if approval is not obtained, the buyer can usually withdraw without penalty.
• Municipal rates arrears. A seller who has not paid rates can leave the buyer liable for the seller’s pre-existing arrears; the municipal clearance certificate protects the buyer going forward, but the seller remains personally liable for arrears.
• Body-corporate levy arrears (sectional title). Same risk as municipal rates; the clearance certificate protects the buyer going forward, while the seller’s levy arrears are deducted from the proceeds.
• Occupation before registration. The buyer typically takes occupation before registration, often paying occupational rental interest to the seller; this is contractual, not a transfer of ownership.
• Simultaneous-registration failure. If the transfer deed is registered but the bond cancellation fails (or vice versa), the seller can be left without a cancelled bond or the buyer without a clean title. Experienced conveyancers coordinate both attorneys so registration is simultaneous on the same day.
• Fraud and phishing. Buyers are sometimes tricked into paying deposits into fraudulent “conveyancing” accounts before transfer. The buyer should confirm the conveyancer’s banking details by phone using the attorney’s verified contact details, not details received by email alone.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ conveyancing practice — through Amanda le Roux at Bedfordview — is set up to manage all six of these risks in routine transfers, with simultaneous-registration coordination built into the file.

Why You Need a Conveyancing Attorney (Not a DIY or Online Substitute)

• A conveyancing attorney must be a notary public admitted by the Legal Practice Council; no online service or non-attorney can sign and lodge a deed of transfer.
• Conveyancing fees are regulated, so a non-attorney doing it “cheap” is almost certainly not legal practice at all — at best an administrative typist, at worst a fraud risk.
• The Deeds Office will not accept a deed that is not signed by an admitted conveyancer; the transfer simply does not register.
• The attorney is also the buyer’s protection against the risks above — title defects, levy arrears, simultaneous-registration failures — which DIY transfers cannot guard against.

For Johannesburg, Bedfordview, and East-Rand clients, having an in-house Notary and Conveyancer at the Bedfordview branch means the drafting, signing, and Deeds Office lodgement all run through one admitted attorney — Amanda le Roux — rather than being split across separate firms.

Conveyancing in Gauteng: Where the File Actually Lodges

Conveyancing is a national process, and the same transfer-duty regime applies countrywide — but the registration step runs through one of the regional Deeds Offices. Gauteng properties are lodged at either the Pretoria Deeds Office or the Johannesburg Deeds Office, depending on where the property sits.

The lpc.org.za remains the authoritative reference for any change to the regulated conveyancing fee tariff. Transfer-duty rates are administered by sars.gov.za. The Johannesburg and Pretoria Deeds Offices are the two registration venues for Gauteng transactions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a property transfer take in South Africa?

Most residential transfers take a few weeks from the signed deed of sale to registration at the Deeds Office. Bond-cancellation only (without a transfer) is usually quicker. Delays are most often caused by clearance certificates, SARS transfer-duty queries, or Deeds Office examination queries on the lodged deed.

How much does a conveyancing attorney cost?

Conveyancing fees are regulated under the Legal Practice Council’s tariff and scale with the purchase price, so quotes between attorneys for the same transaction are broadly comparable. The buyer typically pays the transfer conveyancer and the bond-registration attorney; the seller pays the bond-cancellation attorney. Transfer duty (paid to SARS) is a separate tax charged on a sliding scale and is the largest cost on the buyer side for higher-value properties.

Can I do the conveyancing myself without an attorney?

No. Only an admitted conveyancing attorney (who must also be a notary public) may sign and lodge a deed of transfer at the Deeds Office — the Deeds Office will not accept a deed signed by anyone else. Online services that claim to handle conveyancing without an attorney are either administrative only (and still require an admitted attorney to sign the deed) or are not legitimate conveyancing services.

What is the difference between transfer duty and VAT?

Transfer duty is a tax on the acquisition of property itself, levied under the Transfer Duty Act on a sliding scale and paid by the buyer via SARS eFiling. VAT on a property transaction is separate and arises only when the seller is a VAT vendor and the property is sold as a going concern (or the sale is zero-rated under specific conditions). Most residential sales by private individuals are not subject to VAT.

Do I have to pay transfer duty in cash before transfer?

Transfer duty must be lodged with SARS and the receipt filed with the deed at the Deeds Office before registration can take place. In practice the buyer does not always pay it in cash upfront — many buyers arrange for it to be paid from the bond proceeds or from the funds held in the conveyancer’s trust account — but the obligation remains the buyer’s and it must be lodged before the deed can be registered.

Does Burger Huyser handle conveyancing in the Bedfordview area?

Yes — Burger Huyser Attorneys handles conveyancing through Amanda le Roux (Notary & Conveyancer) at the firm’s Bedfordview branch (45A Florence Avenue, Bedfordview, Johannesburg, 2008, tel 011 201 7190). The firm fields transfers and bond cancellations across Gauteng, drawing on the Pretoria and Johannesburg Deeds Offices for the registration step.

Need a conveyancing attorney in Gauteng? Burger Huyser Attorneys handles residential and commercial transfers, bond cancellations, and the deeds-registration step through Amanda le Roux (Notary & Conveyancer) at the Bedfordview branch — 45A Florence Avenue, Bedfordview, Johannesburg, 2008, tel 011 201 7190. Initial consultations can be booked through the Bedfordview branch directly; bring a copy of the deed of sale, ID, and any bond approval letter so the firm can confirm scope and quote a regulated fee. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and has nine branches across Gauteng to make face-to-face signings straightforward.