Who Pays Conveyancing Fees? Understanding Property Transfer Costs

Conveyancing fees in South Africa are not paid by a single party. By long-standing convention, the seller pays the transfer attorney’s fees (the attorney who registers transfer of the property into the buyer’s name) and the buyer pays the bond registration attorney’s fees (the attorney who registers the buyer’s bond with the bank). The buyer also pays transfer duty to SARS as a separate tax. Both sets of attorney fees are calculated by reference to the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) Guideline Tariff — a sliding scale based on the property’s purchase price (for transfer fees) or the bond amount (for bond registration fees). The actual fee is negotiated within that guideline. The remaining items in a conveyancing transaction — transfer duty, rates clearance, deeds office fees, and various compliance certificates — are charged separately and follow their own cost rules.

The Two-Attorney Split: Why Two Attorneys Are Involved

A property transfer and a bond registration are two separate registrations at the deeds office, each requiring its own attorney. The two roles cannot be performed by the same attorney because they represent different parties in the same transaction; on rare occasions one firm may fill both roles, but the cost split is preserved.

Role	Acts for	Registers	Paid by (default)
Transfer attorney	The seller	Transfer of property from seller to buyer	Seller
Bond registration attorney	The bank (and the buyer)	The buyer’s mortgage bond	Buyer

The buyer is not legally required to use the seller’s preferred transfer attorney, but doing so almost always reduces delay and administrative friction. Mortgage bond finance is conditional on the buyer being represented by an attorney acceptable to the bank — the seller has no say in who the bond attorney is.

The Default “Who Pays” Convention

Two defaults apply, and both can be overridden by the Offer to Purchase (OTP):

• Seller pays (by convention): the transfer attorney’s fees, the cost of obtaining a rates clearance certificate from the municipality, electrical, plumbing, and beetle certificates where the agreement specifies, and the cost of cancelling any existing bond over the property (bond cancellation attorney fees).
• Buyer pays (by convention): the bond registration attorney’s fees, transfer duty to SARS (a tax, not an attorney fee), deeds office registration fees for the bond, and the cost of any FICA compliance work.

The OTP sets out the actual split — the defaults above can be and frequently are flipped in negotiation, particularly in buyer’s markets. A buyer should obtain a full quote before signing the OTP, not a per-line estimate but a single total that covers every line item.

The LSSA Guideline Tariff: How Conveyancing Fees Are Calculated

The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) publishes a Guideline Tariff that sets the recommended fee range for conveyancing work, calculated on a sliding scale based on the property’s purchase price (for transfer fees) or the bond amount (for bond registration fees). The Guideline Tariff is not a fixed fee — attorneys may charge above or below the guideline depending on the complexity of the transaction, but the tariff is the standard reference point in any fee disclosure.

The fee includes the attorney’s professional work across the transaction: drafting, deeds office lodgement, clearance applications, and registration. For transfers the fee is calculated on the purchase price; for bond registrations, on the bond amount — they are separate fees on the same transaction. The current LSSA Guideline Tariff should be confirmed via the LSSA directly before any quotation is given, as the tariff is updated periodically.

What Falls Outside the Attorney’s Fee

The attorney’s professional fee is only one line in the total cost stack. The other items are charged separately and follow their own cost rules — most are set by statute, not by the conveyancer.

Cost item	Who pays (default)	What it is
Transfer duty	Buyer	A tax payable to SARS, calculated on a sliding scale based on the purchase price (above the current SARS exemption threshold)
Bond registration fee at the deeds office	Buyer	A deeds office fee for registering the bond, set by the Deeds Registries Act schedule
Transfer registration fee at the deeds office	Seller	A deeds office fee for registering the transfer, set by the Deeds Registries Act schedule
Rates clearance certificate	Seller	A certificate from the municipality confirming all municipal rates and charges are paid up to the date of transfer
Electrical, plumbing, and beetle certificates	Seller (typically)	Compliance certificates required by the OTP or by the buyer’s bank before granting the bond
FICA compliance	Buyer	The cost of the attorney’s anti-money-laundering compliance work on the buyer’s identity and source of funds
Post and petties	Either	A small deeds office fee for the endorsement of records, often negligible

The Transfer Duty Framework (SARS)

Transfer duty is calculated on the purchase price using SARS’s sliding scale; the brackets are updated periodically and the current schedule must be confirmed on the SARS website before quoting. The first portion of the purchase price is exempt from transfer duty (the threshold is updated annually by the Minister of Finance).

Transfer duty is paid by the buyer to SARS via the transfer attorney as part of the conveyancing process; the attorney cannot lodge the transfer without proof of payment. Transfer duty is a tax, not an attorney fee — it does not appear in the LSSA Guideline Tariff and is collected by the attorney on SARS’s behalf.

How the Costs Sit in the Offer to Purchase

The OTP sets out the “who pays” split explicitly; if silent, the default convention applies. A voetstoots clause, a “sold as-is” clause, or any occupational rent clause affects total cost without changing the fee split. Bond cancellation figures are quoted separately by the cancellation attorney and netted off the seller’s net proceeds at settlement.

A buyer should obtain a full quote before signing the OTP — not a per-line estimate but a single total that includes transfer duty, attorney fees, deeds office fees, and certificate costs.

When Costs Change: Complications That Increase Fees

• Bond cancellation — adding the cost of cancelling an existing bond over the property onto the seller’s side.
• Multiple bonds — each bond requires separate registration work.
• Sectional title and body corporate schemes — additional compliance work for clearance certificates and body corporate resolutions.
• Trust or deceased estate transfers — additional deeds office work and, for deceased estates, Master of the High Court clearance.
• Disputes or queries raised by the deeds office — additional drafting and (rarely) court work.
• Distance from the registered deeds office — some attorneys charge a surcharge for properties registered outside their home deeds office.

What to Ask Before Instructing a Conveyancer

1. Whether the fee quoted is on the LSSA Guideline Tariff, above it, or below it.
2. Whether the quote includes deeds office fees, certificate costs, and FICA work.
3. What the disbursement estimate is (the third-party costs the attorney pays on the client’s behalf).
4. Whether the attorney’s fees are fixed (a quoted rand amount) or capped.
5. What the cancellation fee is if the deal falls through before registration.
6. Whether the firm carries a Fidelity Fund certificate (required for any attorney handling trust monies).

The same questions apply whether the transaction is a straight transfer, a bond registration, or a sectional title purchase — and the answer should be in writing, not verbal. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Bedfordview branch, where Amanda le Roux practises as a qualified Notary and Conveyancer, structures its conveyancing quotes on exactly this footing: the LSSA Guideline Tariff is the reference, the deeds office and SARS disbursements are itemised separately, and the client signs the Offer to Purchase with the full number in front of them.

Bridging the Gap Between “Fees” and “Service”: When the Cost Conversation Shouldn’t Be the Only One

A competitive quote is not the same as a competent quote — the cheapest fee can become the most expensive transaction if the file is mismanaged. Conveyancing is a notarial work area that requires a separate qualification, so look for a qualified Notary and Conveyancer rather than a general-practice attorney. Confirm the firm carries Fidelity Fund cover and that the trust account is properly audited. Ask how the firm handles FICA compliance and the deeds office lodgement timeline — these are the points where delays typically arise.

For Gauteng readers, this mix of qualifications and processes is exactly what the firm’s Bedfordview branch is set up to deliver: a qualified Notary and Conveyancer on staff, Fidelity Fund cover as a matter of course, and a quote that breaks out the LSSA Guideline Tariff-based attorney fees from the deeds office registration fees, the SARS transfer duty calculation, and the disbursement estimate before the Offer to Purchase is signed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who pays the conveyancing fees when buying a house in South Africa?

By long-standing convention, the seller pays the transfer attorney’s fees (the attorney who registers transfer of the property into the buyer’s name) and the buyer pays the bond registration attorney’s fees. The buyer also pays transfer duty to SARS. The actual split can be and often is altered in the Offer to Purchase agreement, so the OTP always controls the final answer — nothing is fixed until the contract is signed.

How are conveyancing fees calculated?

Conveyancing fees are calculated by reference to the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) Guideline Tariff, a sliding scale based on the property’s purchase price (for transfer fees) or the bond amount (for bond registration fees). The fee is a guideline, not a fixed amount — attorneys may negotiate above or below it depending on the transaction’s complexity, and clients should ask for a written quote and a clear breakdown of disbursements before signing the OTP.

Does the buyer or seller pay transfer duty?

The buyer pays transfer duty. It is a tax calculated on a sliding scale based on the purchase price and is collected by SARS via the transfer attorney. The first portion of the purchase price is exempt, and the threshold is updated annually by the Minister of Finance, so the current SARS schedule must be confirmed before a transaction is finalised.

Why do two attorneys handle a property transfer?

The transfer attorney and the bond registration attorney represent different parties in the same transaction — the transfer attorney acts for the seller to register transfer, and the bond attorney acts for the bank to register the buyer’s mortgage bond. The two roles cannot legally be performed by the same attorney because their duties to different parties can conflict, and the buyer and seller are paying for two separate registrations at the deeds office.

Can the buyer and seller agree to split costs differently?

Yes — the Offer to Purchase can change any of the defaults. The seller may offer to cover transfer duty as an incentive, the buyer may agree to take the cost of the certificates, and so on. Anything not addressed in the OTP follows the default convention, and the default convention favours the buyer on the bond side and the seller on the transfer side.

Are conveyancing fees negotiable?

The LSSA Guideline Tariff is a guideline, not a fixed fee. Attorneys may charge above or below the guideline, and competitive quotes are common. The fee is, however, the smallest controllable cost in most transactions — transfer duty, deeds office fees, and certificate costs are not negotiable.

What is the difference between transfer duty and transfer fees?

Transfer duty is a tax paid by the buyer to SARS, calculated on the purchase price. Transfer fees are the attorney’s professional fees for handling the transfer, paid by the seller by convention and calculated on the LSSA Guideline Tariff. They are two completely different line items, even though the word “transfer” appears in both.

For Gauteng readers ready to instruct a conveyancer, Burger Huyser Attorneys handles property transfers and bond registrations from its Bedfordview branch (45A Florence Avenue, Bedfordview, 011 201 7190), where Amanda le Roux practises as a qualified Notary and Conveyancer. The firm provides a written quote that breaks out the LSSA Guideline Tariff-based attorney fees, the deeds office registration fees, the SARS transfer duty calculation, and the disbursement estimate before the Offer to Purchase is signed. Contact the Bedfordview branch on 011 201 7190 (Mon–Fri, 7:30am–4:30pm) or visit during office hours to start a quote.