When Do You Need a Property Lawyer or Conveyancer?

In South Africa, a property lawyer and a conveyancer are not the same role: a conveyancer is a specifically qualified attorney admitted by the Legal Practice Council as a Notary and Conveyancer, and only such a person may attend to the registration of immovable property in a Deeds Registry under the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937. A property lawyer — an admitted attorney without that conveyancer admission — handles the broader legal work around property transactions: drafting and reviewing sale agreements, advising on defects, resolving disputes, attending to eviction proceedings, and litigating bond or title issues. The shorthand rule: any transfer of ownership must be attended to by a conveyancer; everything else around the transaction — contract, dispute, defect, eviction — can require a property lawyer.

The Two Roles, In Plain Language

The two titles are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, but the legal entitlement to do the work is different under South African law.

• Conveyancer: an admitted attorney who has completed the additional examination and registration required by the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 to be admitted as a Notary and Conveyancer; only a person so admitted may attend to deeds registration at a Deeds Registry.
• Property lawyer: an admitted attorney without the conveyancer admission — they handle the legal work that surrounds a property transaction, from contract to dispute.
• The two roles frequently overlap in the same firm because the conveyancing work and the legal work sit on the same file, but they are not interchangeable.
• Foreign-trained attorneys and unregistered “consultants” cannot act as conveyancers in South Africa, regardless of experience.

If your file involves a transfer, a bond, or a notarial deed, you must have a registered Notary/Conveyancer on the team. If your file involves only a contract, a dispute, or advice, an admitted attorney without the conveyancer admission is the right fit.

The South African Legal Framework That Decides This

Three statutes and one tax obligation set the boundaries between the two roles.

Statute / Obligation	What it does	Why it matters
Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981	Requires that any agreement for the sale of immovable property be in writing and signed by the parties (or their agents) to be enforceable.	Without a written, signed agreement, there is no enforceable sale — and no transfer to register.
Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937	Provides that only a conveyancer may prepare and lodge documents for registration in a Deeds Registry; the Registrar of Deeds will reject unregistered lodgements.	Sets the rule that a transfer is a conveyancer-only task.
Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014	Establishes the Legal Practice Council (LPC), sets the admission pathway for both attorneys and conveyancers, and recognises conveyancing as a separate post-admission specialisation.	Defines who may call themselves a conveyancer and how they get there.
Transfer duty (SARS)	Obligation arises on acquisition of property above the statutory threshold and is paid by the purchaser as part of the registration process.	Without a transfer duty receipt, the Deeds Registry will not register the transfer.

When You Need a Conveyancer

A conveyancer is required where the Deeds Registry needs to register or endorse something against the title of an immovable property.

• Buying or selling a residential home, commercial building, vacant land, or sectional-title unit — the transfer of ownership must be lodged at the Deeds Registry by a conveyancer.
• Registering a mortgage bond with a bank — the bond is prepared and lodged by the bond registration attorney, who is typically a conveyancer.
• Cancelling or partially cancelling an existing bond after the property is sold.
• Notarial deeds: notarial ties, servitudes, ante-nuptial agreements, and long-term leases that must be registered against the title.
• Subdividing or consolidating erf portions that require an endorsement at the Deeds Registry.
• Drafting and registering a usufruct, habitatio, or personal servitude over immovable property.

When You Need a Property Lawyer (But Not Necessarily a Conveyancer)

Property-law work that does not involve lodgement at the Deeds Registry is the daily work of an admitted attorney.

• Drafting or reviewing a sale agreement before signature — particularly where the standard offer-to-purchase has been amended, or where suspensive conditions are unusual.
• Disputes about defects in the property (latent defects, undisclosed building issues, encroachments) that may give rise to a claim against the seller.
• Eviction proceedings against an unlawful occupier under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (PIE Act).
• Disputes with the body corporate in a sectional-title scheme.
• Bond cancellation disputes after sale — where the bank refuses to cancel, or there is a shortfall.
• Interdict applications to prevent transfer of property pending litigation.
• Tax-related advice on transfer duty, capital gains tax on sale, or the structuring of property ownership.

Look for a firm that has both roles on staff — Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Notarial & Conveyancing services practice is supported by a qualified Notary/Conveyancer on staff, which means the contract work and the registration work can be run on the same file without a handoff between two separate firms.

Transactions That Often Need Both

Most South African property files involve both roles, even when the buyer or seller does not realise it.

• A standard sale of a residential property normally engages both: the property lawyer reviews and amends the sale agreement and the conveyancer attends to transfer and bond registration.
• A sale of a property held in a trust or company typically requires both the lawyer (advising on the trust/company resolution, tax clearance, and removal of land-use conditions) and the conveyancer (registration).
• Litigation arising from a transfer dispute — for example, a competing claim over ownership — can engage a property lawyer, a conveyancer working to register the transaction, and counsel briefed in the High Court.

What the Conveyancing Process Actually Looks Like

1. The sale agreement is signed by both parties and the deposit is paid into the conveyancer’s trust account.
2. The conveyancer obtains a rates clearance certificate from the municipality and a transfer duty receipt from SARS.
3. The conveyancer prepares the transfer documents, including the deed of transfer and any new bond documentation.
4. The conveyancer lodges the file at the Deeds Registry, where the Registrar examines it for compliance.
5. Once endorsed, the new deed of transfer is registered in the buyer’s name and the bond (if any) is registered simultaneously.
6. The conveyancer attends to finalisation: cancelling the seller’s bond, releasing the proceeds to the seller, and handing over the keys.

How to Choose Between a Property Lawyer and a Conveyancer

The decision usually turns on the type of work, not the size of the transaction.

• Start with the question: is this a registration task (then a conveyancer) or a legal-advice or dispute task (then a property lawyer)?
• Most firms that handle property transfers run both roles under one roof — expect to be charged separately for the legal work and the conveyancing work, and ask for that split up front.
• For a routine transfer, a single conveyancer running the file is sufficient; for a transaction with a dispute, a defective title, or non-standard terms, the attorney-on-record genuinely needs separate conveyancing and legal-advice skills.
• Confirm the person acting is a registered Notary/Conveyancer (the Legal Practice Council’s online register confirms admission status) — this is non-negotiable for a transfer.

Property Transfers in Gauteng: Filing With the Right Deeds Registry

Three Deeds Registries serve Gauteng property transactions, and the wrong registry is a common reason first-time sellers see transfers delayed.

Deeds Registry	Area covered
Pretoria Deeds Registry	Properties falling within the Tshwane region, including Centurion and northern Gauteng.
Johannesburg Deeds Registry	Properties in the City of Johannesburg metropolitan area, including Sandton, Roodepoort, Randburg, and Midrand.
Krugersdorp Deeds Registry	Properties in the Mogale City / West Rand area.

A property’s magisterial district decides which registry the conveyancer files the transfer at. The Registrar at each Deeds Registry examines lodgements for compliance with the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, and lodged files can be returned for correction rather than refused outright, which adds weeks to the timeline. The Legal Practice Council (lpc.org.za) maintains the public register of admitted Notaries/Conveyancers and is the appropriate reference point for confirming a practitioner’s current admission status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a regular attorney act as a conveyancer?

No. In South Africa, only an attorney who has completed the additional examinations and registration required by the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, and who has been admitted by the Legal Practice Council as a Notary and Conveyancer, may attend to the registration of immovable property in a Deeds Registry. A regular attorney without that admission may advise on property law but cannot lodge documents at the Deeds Registry.

Do I need a property lawyer for a straightforward sale?

For a straight sale of a residential property with a standard offer-to-purchase, the conveyancer running the transfer is usually sufficient. A property lawyer becomes necessary when the contract is amended, there is a dispute, the title is defective, eviction is in play, or tax structuring (transfer duty, capital gains tax) needs advice.

How long does a property transfer take in South Africa?

Typical transfer timelines depend on bond approval, municipal rates clearance, transfer duty processing time, and the Deeds Registry’s current workload. A clean transfer typically takes between six and ten weeks; delays arise from bond delays, outstanding rates, queries from the Deeds Registry, or complications in the title.

Who pays the conveyancing fees?

Conventionally, the buyer pays the conveyancer’s transfer fees and the seller pays the bond cancellation attorney costs. The fee scales are prescribed in the Legal Practice Act guidelines and vary with the property value. The agreement of sale should record who pays what — that allocation is negotiable and commonly a point of contention during the offer-to-purchase stage.

Can I use the same firm for both the legal work and the conveyancing?

Yes — most property law firms run both roles under one roof and split the cost on the file. The benefit is single-point-of-contact; the downside is that the two cost streams need to be quoted separately so the client can see what each role costs.

Do I need a property lawyer for an eviction?

Yes. Eviction proceedings are conducted in the Magistrate’s Court (or the Land Claims Court, in some cases) under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (the PIE Act). The procedure is heavily procedural and the courts will not grant an eviction order without strict compliance with the Act’s notice and engagement requirements.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Notarial & Conveyancing services practice handles property transfers, bond registrations, and notarial deeds across Gauteng, with a qualified Notary/Conveyancer on staff and property lawyers handling the surrounding contract, dispute, and tax work. The firm practises from the head office in Linden, Randburg (49 1st Avenue, 011 888 0246) and across branches in Sandton, Roodepoort, Bedfordview, Centurion, Pretoria (Menlyn), Alberton, and Midrand — give the head office a call to be directed to the team closest to the property. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and is accredited by the Johannesburg Attorneys Association and the Pretoria Attorneys Association.