South African immovable property law is based on Roman-Dutch principles. All land and ownership of land in South Africa is recorded and registered in Deeds Registries situated at various large centres within the Republic of South Africa.
Immovable Property Ownership
In South Africa, immovable property can be owned individually, jointly in undivided shares, or by an entity such as a company, close corporation or trust, or a similar entity registered outside of South Africa.
Most land in South Africa is freehold land, although land may also be held by leasehold.
In addition to conventional land ownership, the South African immovable property laws also permits ownership of parts of buildings, or restricted rights of ownership, in the form of Sectional Title Schemes (separate registered ownership in a building or part of a building), Share Block Schemes (the exclusive right to occupy a part of a building through share ownership in a company) and Time Share (the right to occupy a property or building or a portion thereof periodically for a specific time)
The transfer of ownership in all land and sectional title units is effected by means of a deed of transfer registered in one of the Deeds Registries. The deed is held by the owner of the property as definite proof of ownership.
There are certain restrictions on property ownership by non-residents, and it is prohibited for illegal aliens to own immovable property within South Africa. There are also certain procedures and requirements which must be complied with in certain circumstances, such as, the local registration of entities registered outside of South Africa where it purchases a property in South Africa and the appointment of a South African resident public officer for a local company whose shares are owned by a non-resident.
Other Real Rights
Certain other rights are also registered in the Deeds Registries. These real rights include mortgage bonds, notarial bonds, personal and praedial servitudes registered against immovable property, certain leases (usually long-term leases) of immovable property, rights to minerals, as well as initial rights of ownership speed up large scale housing development.
Deeds Registration
Deeds Registration is charged with the administration of the South African land registration system, including the registration of rights to land and other matters prescribed by the Deeds Registries Act (Act 47 of 1937), the Sectional Titles Act, (Act 95 of 1986), and other laws relating to land or rights to land.
Land Registration
South Africa follows a system of land registration where every piece of land, or other immovable property, is reflected on a diagram and ownership of the immovable property is recorded in one of the regionally located Deeds Registries. All ownership of immovable property is recorded in one of the Deeds Registries and is open to inspection as a public document.
The core business of a Deeds Registry is to maintain a public register of land as well as an efficient system of registration that affords security of title to land and rights in land.
The South African Deeds Registry system is truly excellent. South Africa is reputed to have one of the best deeds registration systems in the world, with an exceptional degree of accuracy. But contrary to the practice prevailing in many countries throughout the world, South African property law does not explicitly guarantee title to land and other real rights.
The legal certainty of a title deed issued under the registration system is of great significance to financial institutions and township developers. Security of title is the basis for investment in South African real estate and the development of housing in South Africa.
The South African system of registration of real rights has almost the same effect as guaranteeing title to immovable property, because it is based on a juristic foundation and long-standing practices and procedures. The Deeds Registry processes of examination, registration, control, monitoring of standards, public register, preservation of records, and information systems provide the holder of a title deed registered in a South African Deeds Registry with an indisputable right which is recognised and respected by the Courts, financial institutions and the public at large.
There is a fixed daily quota for the examination of deeds. The quality of the examination process can be measured by the fact that an average of 26% of lodged deeds are rejected, as they are found to be unregistrable due to conveyancing errors, attachments, interdicts or legal constraints.
In fact, South Africa's immovable property law is so outstanding that the Botswana Government adopted the South African Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 and the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, with adaptations to suit the local circumstances in Botswana.
Professional Requirements
Although South African attorneys are qualified to attend to commercial property matters, only those formally admitted to the Supreme Court of South Africa as Conveyancers, or Notaries Public, are entitled to prepare documents for registration in a Deeds Registry.
Deeds Registries History
In South Africa, registration information for immovable property has been meticulously recorded in the old land registers from as early as 1666. Registration information for South African immovable property has also been recorded on computer since the 1970s.
There are nine Deeds Offices in South Africa, situated in Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, King William's Town, Vryburg and Umtata.
Archives
Preservation of immovable property registration information in paper, electronic and microfilm archives, further ensures security of title. Processing functions and quality assurance checks are also performed on the archives.
Microfilm is the preferred archiving medium in the majority of South African Deeds Registries. Three copies, two silver master copies and one diazo working copy are produced of each film. One silver master copy is stored on-site in the Deeds Registry and the other off-site for disaster recovery purposes.
The specifications of the strong rooms where these master copies are stored comply with SABS requirements and are subject to annual inspections by the SABS. Deeds Registries submit samples of their developed films to the SABS on a weekly basis for testing and quality control purposes, to ensure that it conforms to the standards prescribed in SABS0141.
Public Registration Information
The information contained in the South African Deeds Registries is in the public record. Anyone can access the registration information, upon payment of the prescribed fees, for any immovable property.
The information available from the Deeds Registries includes details of past and present owners, extent of the property and any limitations and rights in and to the property.
Electronic access to the Deeds Registries immovable property registration information has been available to external users since 1992, in the form of the Aktex Information System. Many conveyancers, financial institutions, estate agents, and other property professionals have used this to obtain registration information from the Deeds Registration System.
An alternative method to accessing the Deeds Registries immovable property registration information is by means of "DeedsWeb". This facility provides registered Aktex users with alternative access, and allows casual browsers to access deeds registration information on the Internet.
Deeds Registration System Enhancements
A Document Tracking System is being developed for the South African Deeds Registry. This Document Tracking System allows the tracking of deeds and documents progressing through a Deeds Office from lodgement to delivery. The system's ability to track deeds and documents through the various processes within a Deeds Registry has already proved its worth in the Pretoria Deeds Registry.
The Document Tracking System was born out of a need to eliminate the loss of deeds and documents once they have been lodged in the Deeds Registry. The new Document Tracking System is seen as an efficient managerial tool to control internal office procedures, which will ensure a speedy service, a source for obtaining accurate workflow statistics and a new income generating sub-system for the Deeds Registration Trading Account.
Apart from addressing the problem of mislaid deeds, the Document Tracking System also provides a deeds office with valuable information on the movement of transactions, and this information is used for managerial purposes.
Deeds Registry
The South African Deeds Registry is a very complicated, but smoothly running title registration system, which ensures secure title and ownership for owners of South African immovable property owners, and holders of other real rights.
