SELLERS - DID YOU KNOW...

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When selling property, the seller is not always aware that he/she has certain obligations to attend to in order for the registration process to take place.

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The Offer to Purchase which seller and the purchaser has signed will stipulate each party's obligations and it is therefore necessary to make sure that the contents of the contract is understood. 

 

Some agreements are subject to suspensive conditions on the part of the seller in respect of certain repairs to the property. These conditions will be agreed upon between the parties and have to be fulfilled by the seller prior to registration 

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Further to the suspensive conditions, the seller is required to obtain certain certificates of compliance for the property, which could include the following:

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- Electrical Certificate of Compliance (ECC)

- Electric Fence System Certificate of Compliance (if applicable)

- Certificate of Compliance of Water Installation (applicable to properties in Cape Town)

- Gas Certificate of Conformity (if applicable)

- Beetle Clearance Certificate (coastal areas)

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These compliance certificates are required before registration can take place. 

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RATES CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE FROM COUNCIL (RCC)

 

When ownership of a property is changing, the transferring attorneys will need to apply to council (local authority) for a rates clearance certificate.

 

Council will usually require not only all rates and taxes to be paid up to date, but also the rates and taxes for the next 3 (three) months be paid in advance. Once the amount is paid in full, only then will council issue the certificate.  A certain period of time is provided within which to make this payment to council (+/- 7 weeks).

 

The rates clearance certificate is one of the supporting documents required to be lodged at the Deeds Registry together with the new Deed of Transfer (amongst other documents).

 

Without the clearance certificate the transfer will be rejected by the Registrar of Deeds and this will prolong the amount of time necessary to change the ownership of the property.

 

After registration, council will refund the seller/s the amount paid in advance. The transferring attorneys will notify the council of the registration, however, it is not the attorneys' responsibility to get the refund back - it is ultimately the responsibility of the seller/s.

 

Due to workloads and frequent backlogs at council it normally takes several months to obtain the refund. Refunds are only paid out to the transferring attorney’s firm whereafter payment is made to the seller/s.

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LEVY CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE (Only applicable to Sectional Titles)

 

When selling a sectional title property the transferring attorneys will need to obtain a clearance certificate from the Body Corporate or the Managing Agents.

 

As with the rates clearance figures, levy clearance figures is requested for 3 (three) months in advance.

 

Once the levy clearance figures have been paid, the Body Corporate or Managing Agents will issue a Levy Clearance Certificate. This certificate is not required for lodgement but is required before registration.

 

The Conveyancer will sign a Conveyancer’s Certificate in terms of Section 15B(3) of the Sectional Titles Act (as amended) informing that the Body Corporate of the scheme has certified that as at date of registration all moneys due to the said Body Corporate in respect of the property have been paid (or that provision has been made to the satisfaction of the Body Corporate for the payment thereof).

 

There are various refund processes in that some Body Corporates’ / Managing Agents attend to the refund to the seller after registration and some instruct the transferring attorneys to do the reconciliation between the seller and purchaser on transfer.

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