Deeds Registries Amendment Bill 2013

CLAUSE BY CLAUSE ANALYSIS

Section 4(1)(b) of the Act provides for the rectification of an error in the name of a person or the description of a property mentioned in deeds or documents. If such error is common to two or more deeds or other documents, all such deeds or documents must be lodged for amendment. The proposed amendment to section 4(1)(b)(iii), contained in clause 1 of the Bill, aims to afford the registrar of deeds discretion with regards to the lodgement, or not, of all the relevant deeds and documents.

Section 38 of the Act provides for the issuing of certificates of registered title to take the place of lost or destroyed title deeds. The proposed amendment to section 38, contained in clause 2 of the Bill, seeks to also provide for the issuing of certificates of registered title in instances where title deeds become incomplete or unserviceable.

Section 44(1) of the Act refers to the Land Survey Act, 1927 (Act No. 9 of 1927), which Act was repealed by the Land Survey Act, 1997 (Act No. 8 of 1997). The proposed amendment to section 44(1) of the Act, contained in clause 3 of the Bill, seeks to reflect a reference to the correct Land Survey Act.

The heading to section 48 of the Act still refers to ‘‘a Rand township’’ and is outdated. The substitution of the heading is necessary to provide legal certainty with regard to which deeds registry has jurisdiction for the purposes of section 48. This is especially necessary since there are two deeds registries located within the Gauteng province. The proposed amendment contained in clause 4 of the Bill seeks to provide clarity in this regard.

Section 56(1)(b) of the Act makes reference to liquidators or trustees appointed under the Agricultural Credit Act, 1966 (Act No. 28 of 1966), which Act was repealed by the Agricultural Debt Management Act, 2001 (Act No. 45 of 2001). The proposed amendment of section 56 (1)(b), in clause 5 of the Bill, aims to rectify the situation.

1 Section 93 of the Act provides for the registration of a change of name, in a deed or document, of a person or partnership. Section 93(1)(a) provides for the lodgement of consents from other persons that may be affected by a change of name, and section 93(1)(b) provides for the lodgement of all operative deeds in which the old name appears, for purposes of endorsement regarding the change of name. However, problems are experienced with the lodgements of consents and operative deeds in instances of the change of names of big companies or close corporations. The proposed amendment of section 93(1)(a) and (b), contained in clause 6 of the Bill, aims to address the issue.

2 Section 93(1)(c) deals with the upgrading of title deeds in respect of the change of surnames of women. The proposed amendment of section 93(1)(c), to provide for ‘double-barrel surnames’, is necessary in order to bring it in line with section 26 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992). Clause 6 provides for the amendment in this regard.

The amendment of the definition of ‘deeds registry’, proposed in clause 7 of the Bill, is consequential to the promulgation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002), which Act provides for the discontinuation of the registration of mineral rights in a deeds registry.