How long does a property transfer take?

Expect about 6 to 12 weeks from a signed offer to purchase to registration at the Deeds Office. Some transfers register in six weeks. Plenty take three months or more. The Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937 governs the registration itself, and that final step is rarely the slow part. What takes the time is everything that has to be assembled before the deed can even be lodged.

The stages, in order

Offer accepted and conveyancer instructed. The seller nominates the transferring attorney, and the estate agent sends the signed agreement through. This takes a few days.

Suspensive conditions. Most offers depend on the buyer getting a bond within a set number of days, and sometimes on the buyer selling their own property first. Nothing much happens until these are met. Bond approval typically takes one to three weeks depending on the bank and how complete your application is.

Documents and FICA. The conveyancer sends both parties documents to sign and asks for FICA verification: identity documents, proof of address, marriage certificate or antenuptial contract, and tax numbers. Signing appointments are usually within a week or two of the request.

Costs paid. The buyer pays transfer costs and, where applicable, bond costs. Transfer duty is paid over to SARS and the receipt is obtained. See What are transfer costs when buying a house? and the transfer costs calculator.

Clearance certificates. The conveyancer applies to the municipality for a rates clearance figure and, if the property is in a scheme or estate, to the body corporate or homeowners association for a levy clearance certificate. The seller pays those figures, which include several months of charges in advance, and the certificates are issued. This is where transfers most often stall.

Bond cancellation. If the seller has a bond, the bank issues cancellation figures and appoints an attorney to cancel it. Banks generally want 90 days notice of cancellation, and a shorter notice can attract a penalty. This runs in parallel with the rest.

Compliance certificates. The seller arranges the electrical compliance certificate and, depending on the property and the area, plumbing, gas, electric fence and beetle certificates.

Lodgement. The transfer, the new bond and the bond cancellation are lodged at the Deeds Office together as a linked batch. Nothing registers unless all of them are in order.

Examination and registration. Deeds Office examiners check the documents. Turnaround after lodgement is commonly around a week to two weeks, though it differs between offices and gets slower at busy times of year. If a document is rejected, it is corrected and relodged, which usually costs another cycle.

Registration and payout. On the day of registration the property is legally yours, the keys are handed over, and the conveyancer pays the seller, the bank, the agent and the municipality from the proceeds. Payout to the seller normally follows within a few working days.

A worked example, week by week

Names and dates are illustrative, and this is a transfer that goes reasonably well.

Kabelo signs an offer on a Centurion townhouse on Monday of week 1, subject to bond approval within 21 days. The seller, Mrs Botha, has an existing bond and the unit is in a sectional title scheme.

• Week 1. The agent sends the signed offer to the conveyancer. Mrs Botha gives her bank written notice that she intends to cancel her bond.
• Week 2. Kabelo's bank asks for two more payslips. He sends them the same day. The conveyancer requests the rates clearance figures from the municipality and the levy clearance figures from the managing agent.
• Week 3. Bond approved. The bank instructs its attorney. The conveyancer books signing appointments and sends FICA requests to both sides.
• Week 4. Both parties sign. Kabelo receives the transfer costs statement and the bond costs statement and pays both. The electrician issues the compliance certificate after one minor repair.
• Week 5. Transfer duty is paid to SARS and the receipt comes back. The levy clearance certificate is issued. The municipality has not yet responded on rates.
• Week 6. The conveyancer chases the municipality twice in writing. Rates figures arrive at the end of the week and Mrs Botha pays them.
• Week 7. Rates clearance certificate issued. Mrs Botha's bank confirms cancellation figures. The transfer, new bond and cancellation are lodged together.
• Week 8. The Deeds Office examines the batch. One document needs a small correction and is fixed the same day.
• Week 9. Registration. Kabelo collects the keys. Mrs Botha is paid out three working days later.

Nine weeks, with one municipal delay. Had the municipality taken a month, or had Kabelo paid his costs two weeks late, this would have been a twelve-week transfer.

Why transfers get delayed

In rough order of how often they cause trouble:

• rates clearance figures from the municipality, especially where the account is in dispute or has old arrears attached to it
• outstanding FICA documents from either party
• the buyer paying transfer costs late
• bond approval taking longer than the offer allowed, or the buyer changing banks
• levy clearance held up by arrear levies in a scheme
• a deceased estate, a divorce order or a trust in the chain of ownership, which adds Master of the High Court or court requirements
• an unregistered subdivision, a boundary problem or building plans that were never approved
• documents rejected at the Deeds Office and relodged

Documents to gather

Buyer: identity document; marriage certificate and antenuptial contract if married, or divorce order; proof of address; income tax number; the bank's grant letter; proof of the source of your deposit if the bank asks for it.

Seller: identity document and marital documents as above; the existing title deed, or the bank's details if the bank holds it; your bond account number; the latest municipal account and levy statement; approved building plans if you have them; any existing compliance certificates; if the property is in a trust, company or deceased estate, the trust deed, company resolution or letters of executorship.

What to do this week

As a buyer: get your bond pre-approval in place before you make an offer, return signed documents and FICA the day you receive them, pay the transfer and bond costs as soon as the statement arrives, and ask the conveyancer for a written progress update every two weeks.

As a seller: give your bank the required notice of cancellation early, settle municipal and levy arrears before clearance figures are requested, book the electrical and other compliance inspections immediately rather than waiting, and if the property is in a deceased estate or a trust, tell the conveyancer at the start so the extra authorities can be obtained in parallel.

Both: deal directly with the transferring attorney rather than only through the agent, and put every request in writing so there is a record of who was waiting on whom.

Common mistakes and what they cost

Making an offer without pre-approval. If the bond is declined or delayed past the date in the offer, the sale can lapse and weeks are lost.

Treating the costs statement as a bill for later. Nothing lodges until costs are paid. Every week late is a week without the keys, or a week of occupational rent.

Sellers giving late bond cancellation notice. Short notice can attract a penalty from the bank, and cancellation figures that arrive late hold up the whole linked batch.

Ignoring a disputed municipal account. A dispute over old charges can block the rates clearance certificate for months. Resolve it before you list the property.

Moving in early without a written occupation clause. Occupational rent, utilities and responsibility for the property between occupation and registration all need to be agreed in writing.

Buyer's and seller's responsibilities side by side

The buyer is responsible for: obtaining the bond within the offer period; FICA and signing promptly; paying transfer and bond costs; paying occupational rent if occupying early; rates and levies from the registration date.

The seller is responsible for: giving bond cancellation notice; paying rates and levy clearance figures in advance; the compliance certificates; delivering the property in the agreed condition; settling arrears and any special levies already raised; vacating by the agreed date.

Occupation before registration

If you want to move in before registration, the agreement must say so, and you will pay occupational rent to the seller for the period between occupation and registration. Be careful here. Occupational rent is not a deposit and does not reduce the purchase price, and moving in early weakens your position if defects are found. Agree the amount, the start date and who pays utilities in writing.

If the property is in a sectional title scheme, also read How to dispute body corporate levies, because a levy dispute can block the clearance certificate you need to register.

If the transfer has stalled

Write to the conveyancer and ask three questions: what is outstanding, who is responsible for it, and when it was last chased. A good firm answers within a day or two. If the delay is on the other party's side, your attorney can send a formal demand under the breach clause of the offer, which usually gives the other party a set number of days to comply before the innocent party may cancel or enforce the sale. If the delay is at the municipality or in a scheme, a written complaint to the municipal manager or an application to the Community Schemes Ombud Service can help. Legal Aid South Africa does not generally handle conveyancing, so this is one area where you will rely on the conveyancer or a private attorney.

LawMatch is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice about your transaction.