How Conveyancing Works in South Africa

Conveyancing is the specialised legal work of transferring registered property from one owner to another. It's a regulated profession — only attorneys who have qualified as conveyancers and been admitted by the High Court can do it — and it's a mandatory part of every property transfer in South Africa. You can't legally transfer a property without a conveyancer.

This article covers what conveyancers do, who pays for what, how to choose one, and what costs to expect. For the chronological steps of a transfer (offer, registration, the deeds office processing), see our companion article on the property transfer process.

Who can be a conveyancer

A conveyancer is an attorney with additional qualifications:

• Holds an LLB or equivalent legal qualification
• Has been admitted as an attorney by the High Court
• Has passed the Conveyancing Examination administered by the Legal Practice Council
• Is registered as a conveyancer with the Legal Practice Council

Only conveyancers can sign the documents that the deeds office accepts for registration of transfers, bonds, sectional title schemes, and other registry-changing transactions. Ordinary attorneys can advise on property matters but can't sign the deeds-office documents.

What conveyancers do in a typical sale

When a property is sold, three conveyancers are usually involved:

• The transferring conveyancer — typically chosen by the seller. Handles the transfer of the property from seller to buyer. Drafts the deed of transfer, lodges it at the deeds office, attends to all the necessary clearances and certificates.
• The bond cancellation conveyancer — instructed by the seller's bank (if there's a bond on the property being sold). Cancels the existing bond at the deeds office, releasing the bank's claim.
• The bond registration conveyancer — instructed by the buyer's bank (if the buyer is using bond finance). Registers the new bond at the deeds office in favour of the buyer's bank.

All three must coordinate so that everything registers simultaneously — the transfer, the old bond cancellation, and the new bond registration all happen on the same day at the deeds office.

The transferring conveyancer's checklist

What the transferring conveyancer actually does between offer-and-signed and registration-complete:

• Receives and reviews the signed deed of sale
• Confirms the seller is the registered owner via a deeds-registry search
• Checks for any restrictive title conditions, servitudes, or endorsements affecting the property
• Obtains compliance certificates (electrical, gas, beetle, plumbing — required by the deed of sale)
• Obtains the municipal rates clearance certificate
• Calculates and collects transfer duty from the buyer
• Pays the transfer duty to SARS and obtains the Transfer Duty Receipt (TDR)
• If applicable, obtains the body corporate's levy clearance certificate (for sectional title) or homeowners' association clearance
• Drafts the transfer documents and arranges for both parties to sign
• Coordinates with the bond cancellation and bond registration conveyancers
• Lodges the transfer at the deeds office
• Attends to any deeds-office queries during examination
• Once registered, distributes the purchase price to the seller and any other claimants

Most of this happens behind the scenes; you'll deal with the conveyancer mainly for document signing and questions.

Who chooses the conveyancer and who pays

By convention in South Africa:

• The seller chooses the transferring conveyancer. They typically use a conveyancer they know or one suggested by their estate agent.
• The buyer pays the transferring conveyancer's fees. Yes — the buyer pays the conveyancer chosen by the seller. This convention is so well-established it's rarely negotiated, though it can be in unusual cases.
• The seller's bank chooses the bond cancellation conveyancer. The seller pays the cancellation fees.
• The buyer's bank chooses the bond registration conveyancer. The buyer pays the registration fees.

The buyer effectively pays two conveyancers (the transferring conveyancer and the bond registration conveyancer); the seller pays only one (the bond cancellation conveyancer). For most transfers this works out to roughly comparable per-side costs.

What conveyancing costs

Conveyancing fees are largely tariff-based — there's a recommended fee scale published by the Legal Practice Council, and most conveyancers charge close to the scale though some discount.

Rough indicative costs for a typical R2M residential transfer:

• Transferring conveyancer's fee: R20,000–R30,000 (paid by buyer)
• Bond cancellation conveyancer's fee: R3,000–R5,000 (paid by seller)
• Bond registration conveyancer's fee: R20,000–R30,000 (paid by buyer)
• Deeds office registration fees: R1,500–R3,000 per registration (transfer, bond cancellation, bond registration)
• Sundry disbursements: Pretoria search fees, Lightstone valuation, document collection, postage and couriers — typically R500–R2,000

These are in addition to transfer duty and other transfer costs. Your conveyancer will give you a detailed quote upfront — ask for it.

How to choose a conveyancer

If you have any choice (typically the seller chooses, but buyers sometimes have input):

• Specialist conveyancing firm vs general attorney. Both can do the work. Specialist firms tend to be faster and have higher-volume processes; general attorneys may give more personal attention.
• Local to the property. Conveyancers near the property are typically familiar with the local deeds office and local quirks.
• Track record with the bank. If the bond is with a specific bank, conveyancers experienced with that bank's processes are usually smoother.
• Communication style. You'll be dealing with them for 2-3 months. Pick someone responsive to your questions.
• Fee transparency. Ask for a detailed quote upfront covering fees and likely disbursements.

What goes wrong (and when conveyancers earn their fees)

Most transfers proceed smoothly. When they don't, common issues include:

• Hidden restrictive conditions that affect what the buyer plans to do
• Sectional title schemes with arrears or special-levy issues
• Municipal rates disputes affecting the clearance certificate
• Deeds office queries during examination requiring rework
• Seller failing to deliver compliance certificates on time
• Buyer's bond approval delays or last-minute changes
• Sectional title body corporate disputes over the levy clearance

A good conveyancer anticipates these and works around them; a bad one lets them stretch the transfer timeline.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do my own conveyancing?

No. South African law requires a registered conveyancer to lodge transfer documents at the deeds office. You can't self-represent for the registration step, though you can do your own pre-purchase due diligence.

Why does the buyer pay the seller's conveyancer?

Long-standing market convention. It's been the practice for decades and is built into the standard deed of sale wording. It's negotiable in principle but rarely changed in practice.

How long does conveyancing take?

End-to-end from offer-to-purchase to registered transfer averages 8-12 weeks. Most of that is non-conveyancer waiting (bond approval, body corporate clearances, deeds office examination). The conveyancer's own work is usually 4-6 weeks of active engagement spread across that period.

What's the difference between a conveyancing attorney and a property attorney?

A conveyancing attorney is specifically qualified to lodge property registrations at the deeds office. A property attorney may advise on property law generally (leases, disputes, development) but can't do conveyancing without the additional qualification. Many conveyancers do both.