Cape Town update

We are pleased to report that we received word from the Cape Town Deeds Registry this morning that they are going to extend the time which Conveyancers have to register transactions from 5 working days, as from when the Deeds are available for registration, to 10 working days. The Deeds Offices’ current protocol only allows 1 member of staff from each Law Firm to enter the building in order to take care of registrations, to remove notes that were raised by examiners and to attend to Deeds searches etc. Any firm that has high volume is finding it virtually impossible to attend to everything that needs to be attended to every morning as a result of the staff limitation and this of course has an impact on every firm being able to deal with any notes that may have been raised on Deeds that have come up for registration. This additional 5 working days will therefore provide much needed relief to any Conveyancer who has to attend at the Deeds Office.

We have also noticed an increase in enquiries from Sellers and Purchasers wanting to know why their City of Cape Town Rates Accounts have not been amended to reflect the change of ownership, despite several months having passed after transfer. It would appear that the Deeds Office has not been communicating with the City of Cape Town regarding registrations, since lockdown. Normally records are changed within 3 to 6 weeks by when Sellers start receiving final statements and refunds and Purchasers start receiving their new accounts. This can only be ascribed to the backlog of lodgements etc. at the Deeds Office and the shortage of staff. We wish to remind all parties that the City of Cape Town will only update their records once they receive confirmation of change of ownership from the Deeds Office and not a 3rd party.

Miltons Matsemela
18 August 2020