Who is Responsible for the COC When Selling a House?

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The electrical Certificate of Compliance (COC) when selling a house is the seller’s responsibility. It must be obtained and paid for by the seller and issued by a registered electrician who has inspected the property’s electrical installation under the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009, published under section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993. A valid COC is a condition precedent to registration of transfer, which means the conveyancing attorney cannot pass transfer at the deeds office without it, and the certificate must reflect the condition of the installation on the date of transfer, not on the date the property was first listed.

The Short Answer: The Seller

The seller is responsible for procuring and paying for the electrical COC before transfer. The obligation is rooted in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which casts the duty on the “user or lessor” of an electrical installation, and in standard conveyancing practice, where the seller’s conveyancing attorney will not lodge the transfer without the certificate in hand.

The COC is a condition precedent to registration of transfer, so without a valid COC lodged with the conveyancing attorney, the Registrar of Deeds will not pass transfer. A buyer’s offer is usually made subject to the seller producing a valid COC along with the other regulatory certificates, but “usually subject to” is only the customary starting point. The underlying obligation sits with the seller regardless of how the offer is drafted.

The Legal Authority: Electrical Installation Regulations Under the OHS Act

The COC is mandated under the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 (Government Notice R. 242, Government Gazette 31975, 6 March 2009), published under section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, with installation standards set out in SANS 10142-1 (the code of practice for the wiring of premises).

A “Certificate of Compliance” in this context refers specifically to the electrical installation certificate issued after inspection. It is not the same as:

• An electric fence certificate, which is issued under the Electric Fence Installations Regulations by a registered electric fence installer;
• A gas compliance certificate, which is issued under the Pressure Equipment Regulations by a registered gas practitioner; or
• A water or plumbing compliance certificate, which is required in some municipalities and is issued by a registered plumber.

For electric fences, the Electric Fence Installations Regulations impose a separate compliance requirement on the seller, again typically issued by a registered electric fence installer.

Who Issues the Electrical COC

Only a registered electrician, specifically a person registered in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009 as an electrical contractor or Master Installation Electrician, may issue the COC after inspecting the installation. The electrician must issue the certificate on the form prescribed by the regulation, the standard SABS or Department of Employment and Labour-approved form that sets out the unique certificate number, the registered person’s details, and the findings of the inspection.

Copies go to both the seller and the purchaser. The original forms part of the transfer documentation lodged with the conveyancing attorney, who in turn lodges it at the deeds office. Certificates issued by unregistered persons will not be accepted by the deeds office or the bond originator.

What the Inspection Covers

Area of inspection	What the electrician checks
Wiring	Condition, age, suitability and compliance with current SANS 10142-1 standards
Distribution board	Rating, labelling, breaker sizing, and that no illegal bridging has occurred
Earthing and bonding	Presence of a functioning earth and correct equipotential bonding on metal services
Protective devices	Earth leakage and circuit breakers operate within trip parameters
Additions or alterations	Supplemental COCs on file for any post-original installation work

The COC confirms that the installation complies with SANS 10142-1 at the time of inspection, and identifies any defects that need to be repaired before a certificate can be issued. As a working rule, a COC issued within two years of transfer is generally accepted; the regulation itself does not impose a fixed expiry, but the electrician may re-inspect if the installation has been disturbed in the meantime.

Timing: When in the Transfer Process the COC Is Procured

The standard practice in Gauteng is for the seller to obtain the COC after the offer to purchase has been accepted, and before the transfer is lodged with the deeds office. Where the offer is drafted subject to the seller providing a COC within a stated period (commonly 14 to 30 days of acceptance), missing that window can be a breach, although attorneys routinely allow short extensions in practice.

1. Offer to purchase accepted; suspensive conditions (including the COC) kick in.
2. Seller instructs a registered electrician and books an inspection.
3. Electrician issues either the COC or a defect report with quotation for repairs.
4. Seller remedies any defects identified and re-books the inspection for a clean COC.
5. Original COC is handed to the seller’s conveyancing attorney for lodgement at the deeds office along with the rest of the transfer documents.

The COC is lodged together with the transfer documents at the deeds office, so it must be in the hands of the conveyancing attorney, not the seller directly, by the date of lodgement.

What Happens If the Installation Fails the Inspection

The electrician will issue a report detailing the defects (commonly called an “Electrocution Risk Report” or a repair quotation). Repairs are at the seller’s cost, not the buyer’s. The obligation is to deliver a compliant installation, not merely a certificate.

Where the seller is unable or unwilling to do the repairs, the parties may renegotiate. The typical options are:

• Seller does the repair work within an extended deadline and obtains the COC, on which basis the sale proceeds;
• A price reduction or a credit to the buyer at transfer is agreed in lieu of the seller doing the work;
• Either party elects cancellation of the sale in terms of the offer to purchase, where the failure of the suspensive condition has not been remedied within the agreed period.

In some cases the parties simply agree to a reduced price or a credit to the buyer at transfer; the appropriate route is matter-specific and usually addressed in the offer to purchase itself.

The Broader Picture: Other Compliance Certificates at Transfer

Certificate	Issued by	Authority
Electrical COC	Registered electrician	Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009
Electric fence certificate	Registered electric fence installer	Electric Fence Installations Regulations
Gas compliance certificate	Registered gas practitioner	Pressure Equipment Regulations (where the property has a gas installation)
Water / plumbing compliance certificate	Registered plumber	Some municipal by-laws (not uniformly required as a transfer condition)
Beetle / woodborer clearance	Pest control contractor	Typically required in coastal areas by the buyer’s bond originator rather than by law

Conveyancing attorneys routinely request a full set of certificates before lodgement; the seller is consistently named as the responsible party across them, and the typical pre-lodgement package requested is the electrical COC together with the electric fence certificate (where there is an electric fence) and, where applicable, the gas compliance certificate.

Practical Tips for Sellers

• Book the electrician early, since the inspection and any resulting repairs can take a week or two to clear in a typical Gauteng home, and peak-season queues (early summer) can stretch that further.
• Keep records of any recent electrical work. An electrician may need to re-inspect, or a separate light point certificate may be needed for older properties where the installation has been modified.
• Do not hand a buyer’s representative a certificate you have prepared yourself. Only the registered electrician’s COC will be accepted by the deeds office.
• If the property has solar PV, generators, or inverters, ask the electrician to confirm whether these need to be reflected on the COC, as modern standards increasingly require it.
• Confirm the certificate’s date of issue before lodgement. A COC older than two years is at risk of being re-inspected by the conveyancing attorney or bond originator.

Gauteng Context: Where the Transfer Is Lodged

In Gauteng, residential transfers are handled by the Registrar of Deeds at the Johannesburg Deeds Office (for properties in the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane including Centurion, Ekurhuleni including Alberton and Benoni, and the West Rand district including Roodepoort) or at the Pretoria Deeds Office (for properties in the older Pretoria registry area). The COC is one of several transfer-time documents the deeds office and the bond originator require before registration can take place; without it, lodgement is delayed regardless of how prepared the rest of the file is.

The seller’s responsibility for the COC does not vary by which deeds office will process the transfer. The seller procures the certificate, and the seller’s conveyancing attorney receives it for lodgement along with the other transfer documents.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ notarial and conveyancing practice handles property transfers across the Gauteng region and is a practical contact point for sellers or buyers wanting to confirm what documentation is needed and when; the relevant practice area is listed under Notarial and Conveyancing Services in the firm’s practice profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for paying for the COC when selling a house?

The seller. The seller’s obligation includes both the inspection fee and any repair cost to bring the electrical installation up to the standard required by the Electrical Installation Regulations (SANS 10142-1); the buyer typically does not contribute to either.

Is the buyer responsible for the COC?

No — but the buyer is the recipient of the COC at transfer and is entitled to rely on it having been issued by a registered electrician. The buyer may, with the seller’s consent, choose to arrange their own pre-occupancy re-inspection for peace of mind, but this is supplemental and does not replace the seller’s certificate.

How long is an electrical COC valid for?

The Electrical Installation Regulations do not prescribe a fixed validity period. As a working rule, a COC issued within two years of transfer is generally accepted; older certificates may be re-inspected at the electrician’s discretion if the installation has been disturbed in the meantime.

Can a COC be issued by anyone other than an electrician?

No — only a registered electrician (registered under the Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009) may issue an electrical COC. Certificates issued by unregistered persons will not be accepted by the deeds office or the bond originator.

Can the sale proceed if the electrical installation fails the COC inspection?

The sale can still proceed in principle; the seller will need to repair the defects identified by the electrician before the COC is issued. If seller and buyer cannot agree on how the repair costs are handled, the matter is generally resolved in the offer to purchase (a price adjustment, an extension of the deadline, or cancellation of the sale).

Are the other compliance certificates (gas, water, electric fence) also the seller’s responsibility?

Yes — across the usual set of transfer-time certificates (electrical, electric fence, gas, and where applicable water/plumbing), the seller’s responsibility is consistent. A buyer may make the offer subject to each one, and the seller’s conveyancing attorney will require all of them before lodgement.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ notarial and conveyancing practice handles property transfers across Gauteng, including the documentation and compliance-certificate coordination that goes with registration. If you are preparing to sell or buy and want to confirm what certificates you will need and when, the firm’s conveyancing team is available through the head office in Linden, Randburg (49 First Avenue, tel 011 888 0246) and across the firm’s branch network in Centurion, Pretoria, Sandton, Roodepoort, Bedfordview, Alberton and Midrand. A short initial conversation can clarify the timeline and the typical sequence of transfer-time documents for a Gauteng transaction.