Property registration is not simple

Brian Kew, a conveyancer at Werksmans in Johannesburg, feels that the public, if not the market, is turning against them. He says that the public thinks the registration of a property is a simple procedure and the fees earned by him and other conveyancers are unjustified.

Yet it is a process which has prompted Fanie du Preez, property lawyer at Knowles Husain Linsdsay, to say, "If the Appeal Court finds conveyancing puzzling, what chance does the man in the street have of understanding its demands?"

This article highlights the reasons for unpopularity. These include the misapprehension by many people that the pro forma account setting out conveyancing fees and other disbursements are fees due to the conveyancer. They are in fact duties and taxes such as transfer duty and VAT which the conveyancer is legally obliged to collect on behalf of the state.

Article on BusinessDay