Conveyancing Meaning: Understanding Property Transfers in SA

Conveyancing in South Africa is the legal process by which ownership of immovable property is transferred from a seller (the transferor) to a buyer (the transferee) and registered at a Deeds Registry — and by law, only a conveyancing attorney (an admitted attorney who also holds a Notary Public qualification under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014) may perform the conveyancing work on a property transaction. The process is governed by the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, supervised by one of seven Deeds Registries assigned by where the property is situated, and typically takes around two to three months from acceptance of the offer to registration of transfer. Transfer duty, where applicable, is calculated on a SARS sliding scale and must be paid before transfer can be registered.

What “Conveyancing” Means in South African Law

In its plainest legal sense, conveyancing is the process of transferring ownership of immovable (fixed) property from a seller to a buyer, culminating in the registration of the new owner at a Deeds Registry. The South African framework rests on two statutes:

• Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937 — governs the state registration system that records who owns immovable property. Without registration in a Deeds Registry, ownership of immovable property does not pass in law, even if a valid sale agreement exists and the purchase price has been paid in full.
• Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 — governs who may practise as a conveyancer and establishes the Legal Practice Council (LPC) as the national statutory regulator of all legal practitioners.

Conveyancing is often confused with related work. It is not the same as drafting the sale agreement — the sale agreement is a private contract between buyer and seller, while conveyancing is the legal execution and state registration of that contract’s transfer. It is also distinct from the registration of a mortgage bond, which is a separate but parallel process usually handled by a different conveyancing firm acting on the bank’s behalf. For non-lawyers, a useful framing is this: conveyancing is the legal and administrative bridge between “we’ve agreed on a price” and “the property now stands in your name at the Deeds Registry.”

Who Can Perform Conveyancing in South Africa

Only an admitted attorney who also holds the qualification of Notary Public may perform conveyancing work in South Africa. This dual qualification is required because the transfer deed contains notarial attestations that only a Notary Public may execute. A general attorney without the Notary Public qualification cannot validly prepare or lodge the transfer documents for registration.

All practising conveyancers fall under the regulatory oversight of the Legal Practice Council (LPC), the national statutory body established under section 4 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014. The LPC sets the norms and standards for legal practice and exercises jurisdiction over all admitted attorneys, including those performing conveyancing work.

Two conveyancing roles typically run alongside each other in a single transaction:

Role	Appointed by	Function
Transfer conveyancer	The seller (a standard clause in most SA sale agreements)	Prepares and lodges the deed of transfer, attends to FICA compliance, SARS transfer-duty lodgement, rates and levy clearances, and final registration.
Bond registration attorney	The buyer’s bank (the bondholder)	Prepares and registers the mortgage bond against the new title simultaneously with the transfer. A separate firm from the transfer attorney in the typical transaction.

Burger Huyser Attorneys maintains qualified Notary/Conveyancer capacity across its Gauteng branches — including Amanda le Roux (Notary and Conveyancer, Bedfordview) and Chanté Marais (Notary, Pretoria) — meaning the firm’s conveyancing work is performed end-to-end by practitioners who hold the dual qualification this section requires.

The Conveyancing Process, Step by Step

1. Offer to purchase accepted. The sale agreement is signed by both parties, typically conditional on bond approval and the buyer securing finance within an agreed suspensive-condition period.
2. Bond application by the buyer. If financed, the buyer applies for a mortgage bond. On approval, the bank appoints a separate bond registration attorney.
3. Transfer attorney appointed. The seller appoints the transfer conveyancer (standard in SA sale agreements). The buyer is introduced to the firm and must instruct them to act on the buyer’s behalf as well.
4. FICA compliance. Both buyer and seller must provide full FICA documentation under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 — typically ID, proof of residence, tax reference number, and source-of-funds declarations where required.
5. Draft transfer documents prepared. The conveyancer drafts the deed of transfer, obtains the existing title deed, prepares the SARS transfer-duty declaration, requests bond cancellation figures if the seller has an existing bond, and prepares the matrimonial-property documentation if either party is married.
6. Existing bond cancellation figures obtained. The seller’s existing bondholder issues cancellation figures — the amount required to settle the seller’s outstanding bond at the expected registration date.
7. Transfer duty paid to SARS. Transfer duty is calculated on SARS’s current sliding scale and paid via SARS eFiling. Transfer cannot be lodged before this step is complete.
8. Rates and levy clearances obtained. The conveyancer obtains a rates clearance certificate from the municipality, and for sectional-title properties, a levy clearance certificate from the body corporate or homeowners’ association.
9. Documents lodged at the Deeds Registry. The conveyancer lodges the deed of transfer, bond documentation, FICA pack, transfer-duty receipt, clearance certificates and supporting documents at the Deeds Registry for the area where the property is situated.
10. Deeds Registry examination. A deeds examiner scrutinises the lodgement for compliance with the Deeds Registries Act. Queries may be raised (a “query sheet”) and resolved by the conveyancer before registration can proceed.
11. Registration of transfer. Once the deeds registrar is satisfied, transfer is registered in the buyer’s name, the new title deed is issued, and any simultaneous bond is registered against the new title.
12. Proceeds paid and occupation handed over. The seller’s existing bond is cancelled from the proceeds, the seller’s net proceeds are paid into the seller’s nominated account, and occupation passes to the buyer on the occupation date agreed in the sale agreement (usually, but not always, the registration date).

Documents Each Party Provides

Party	Typical documents
Buyer	ID or passport, proof of residence, tax reference number, bond approval letter (if financed), source-of-funds declaration for cash purchases above the FICA threshold, marital status documentation if applicable.
Seller	ID or passport, proof of residence, tax reference number, existing title deed, municipal account details, body corporate / HOA account details (for sectional title), existing bond account number, marital status documentation if applicable.
Both	Marriage certificate and antenuptial contract (if married out of community of property), spousal consent if required by the matrimonial property regime.

Costs a Buyer and Seller Can Expect

• Transfer duty — payable by the buyer to SARS on a sliding scale based on purchase price. The current schedule is published on the SARS Transfer Duty rates page.
• Transfer (conveyancing) fees — charged by the transfer attorney (typically to the seller where the seller appoints the transfer attorney as a standard term of the sale agreement); usually regulated by published tariff.
• Bond registration fees — charged by the bond registration attorney (typically to the buyer); usually regulated by published tariff.
• Rates and levy clearance figures — paid by the seller to obtain clearance certificates from the municipality and, for sectional title, from the body corporate or HOA.
• Deeds office fees, postage and petties — disbursements charged at cost on lodgement and registration.
• FICA compliance costs — minimal but part of the overall fee schedule.

The conveyancing attorney quotes a specific fee schedule once instructed; costs vary by property price, transaction complexity, and whether bond registration runs alongside the transfer.

Why the Deeds Registry Matters

The Deeds Registry is the official state register of who owns immovable property in South Africa — a “deed” is the legal document that vests ownership. Without registration, a sale of immovable property does not pass ownership in law. Registration is what crystallises the buyer’s ownership against third parties, including the buyer’s creditors, the seller’s creditors, and any competing claimants.

South Africa has seven Deeds Registries (Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, and King William’s Town); each property is registered in the deeds office for the region where it is physically situated. Gauteng properties therefore register at either the Pretoria Deeds Registry (Tshwane / Centurion) or the Johannesburg Deeds Registry (Johannesburg, Sandton, Randburg, Roodepoort, Midrand and Bedfordview). Lodgement turnaround and query patterns can differ between the two registries.

How Long Conveyancing Typically Takes

From acceptance of offer to registration, a typical transfer registers in around two to three months. A clean file with prompt FICA documentation, a smooth bond approval, and no Deeds Registry queries can register in six to eight weeks. Files with complications — existing bond cancellation delays, body corporate levy disputes, missing documents, Deeds Registry queries, or suspensive-condition disputes between the parties — can stretch to four months or longer. Common causes of delay include late FICA documentation, bond-approval turnaround, missing bond cancellation figures, rates and levy clearance delays, Deeds Registry queries, and disputes between the parties.

Transfer Duty: The Current SARS Sliding Scale

Transfer duty is the SARS-imposed tax paid by the buyer on acquisition of immovable property. The current rate schedule (effective from 1 April 2025, with no changes scheduled for the 2026/27 tax year) is published on the SARS website:

Property value (R)	Rate
1 – 1,210,000	0%
1,210,001 – 1,663,800	3% of the value above R1,210,000
1,663,801 – 2,329,300	R13,614 + 6% of the value above R1,663,800
2,329,301 – 2,994,800	R53,544 + 8% of the value above R2,329,300
2,994,801 – 13,310,000	R106,784 + 11% of the value above R2,994,800
13,310,001 and above	R1,241,456 + 13% of the value exceeding R13,310,000

Transfer duty must be paid within six months of the date of acquisition (interest accrues at 10% per annum for each completed month thereafter), and from 1 April 2011 must be paid electronically via SARS eFiling — typically by the conveyancer on the purchaser’s behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Not exactly. A conveyancer must be both an admitted attorney and a qualified Notary Public. By law, only a conveyancer (an attorney with the notary qualification) may prepare and lodge the transfer documents for registration at a Deeds Registry. A general attorney without the Notary Public qualification cannot perform conveyancing work.

How much does conveyancing cost in South Africa?

Conveyancing costs include the transfer attorney’s fees, bond registration fees (if financed), transfer duty to SARS (on a sliding scale with a 0% bracket up to R1,210,000), deeds office fees, and municipal rates and body corporate levy clearance costs. Transfer and bond registration fees are often regulated by tariff or guideline, and a conveyancing attorney will quote a specific fee schedule on instruction.

How long does the conveyancing process take?

A typical property transfer registers around two to three months from acceptance of offer to registration. Clean files with prompt FICA documentation, smooth bond approval, and no Deeds Registry queries can register in six to eight weeks. Files with complications can stretch to four months or longer.

Do I need a conveyancer if I am buying property in South Africa?

Yes. A property transfer must be performed by a qualified conveyancing attorney. You will be introduced to the transfer attorney (usually appointed by the seller under the standard sale agreement) and must instruct them to act on your behalf. The transfer attorney will manage FICA compliance, SARS transfer-duty lodgement, deeds lodgement and final registration.

What is the difference between transfer duty and VAT on a property purchase?

Transfer duty is a SARS-imposed tax on the buyer, calculated on a sliding scale based on purchase price. VAT (at 15%) is charged by the seller on the purchase price where the seller is a VAT vendor — typically only relevant for new properties sold by developers, where the buyer pays VAT instead of transfer duty. The two taxes are mutually exclusive.

Can conveyancing be done without a bond?

Yes. If the buyer is paying cash, the conveyancing process still runs through the same steps except that no bond registration attorney is appointed and no bond is registered at the Deeds Registry. FICA compliance for source of funds becomes more involved for cash buyers, and the buyer pays the full purchase price to the seller on registration.

If you are buying, selling or registering a bond on a property in Gauteng, Burger Huyser Attorneys’ conveyancing team handles the full transfer and bond-registration process end-to-end. The firm has qualified Notaries/Conveyancers across its branches — Amanda le Roux in Bedfordview and Chanté Marais in Pretoria — with the firm’s conveyancing work coordinated across Bedfordview, Pretoria, Centurion, Sandton and Roodepoort. To get a fee quote or start the conversation, contact the Bedfordview office on 011 201 7190, the Pretoria office on 012 471 5700, or the head office on 011 888 0246.