Selling your home: what’s involved?
Selling a South African property is an administrative exercise as much as a legal one. The transaction begins when the seller accepts the buyer’s Offer to Purchase (OTP) — in writing, per section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981. By long-standing convention, the seller nominates the transferring attorney (the conveyancer), although the buyer pays that firm’s fees. The seller’s subsequent responsibilities run in parallel: clear any outstanding rates, give 90 days’ notice to the bondholder, arrange the compliance certificates, hand over FICA documents, and sign the transfer documents at the conveyancer’s office when called.
Sellers sometimes treat the transfer as a passive process, expecting the attorney to drive everything. In practice, the seller controls three crucial bottlenecks: bond cancellation timing, compliance certificate availability, and rates clearance. A seller who gets all three moving on day one can shave two to four weeks off the total timeline. A seller who waits until the attorney asks can stretch a nine-week transfer to sixteen.
What a seller pays
Unlike the buyer, the seller does not pay transfer duty, Deeds Office fees, conveyancing attorney fees or bond registration attorney fees — those fall on the buyer. The seller’s costs concentrate around ending their ownership: clearing the title of the bond, paying the agent, and obtaining clearance certificates. All of these are typically deducted from the sale proceeds at registration, so they do not require fresh cash from the seller.
| Cost | Indicative amount |
|---|---|
| Estate agent commission | 4–8% + VAT of the purchase price |
| Bond cancellation attorney fees | R3,000–R6,000 + VAT |
| Short-notice penalty interest (if < 90 days) | Pro-rata interest on outstanding bond balance |
| Rates arrears & 2-year clearance figures | Any outstanding + 2 months advance |
| Levy clearance (sectional title) | Body-corporate clearance figures |
| Electrical compliance certificate (COC) | R1,500–R4,000 + remedial work |
| Gas, beetle, electric fence certificates | R500–R2,000 each, where applicable |
| Capital gains tax (if any) | Only on gain > R3,000,000 exclusion |
Each of these is covered in more detail below. Use our transfer costs guide and transfer cost calculator for a line-by-line estimate on your own price.
Capital gains tax on selling your home
Capital gains tax on the sale of a South African residential property is generally a low-impact issue for most homeowners, because of the primary residence exclusion. From 1 March 2026 the exclusion has risen from R2,000,000 to R3,000,000 (per National Treasury’s 2026 Budget). Only the capital gain above R3,000,000 is subject to tax, and even then only partly — because the CGT inclusion rate for natural persons is 40%, meaning 40% of the gain is added to taxable income and taxed at the seller’s marginal rate. The effective CGT rate therefore caps at around 18% for a natural person in the top bracket, and much less for lower-income earners.
The annual R50,000 general CGT exclusion stacks on top. And the timing of disposal is determined by the date the sale agreement becomes unconditional — not the date of registration — which matters for year-end planning.
Where the property has been used partly for rental or home-office purposes, the exclusion applies only to the primary residence portion, pro-rated by floor area and period. Keep records of the purchase, every improvement, and all transfer/sale costs for at least five years after sale — SARS can audit back. Full detail at SARS — Capital Gains Tax.
Bond cancellation: the 90-day NCA notice
Section 125 of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 requires a seller to give the bondholder bank 90 days’ written notice of an intention to cancel the bond. Give less notice and the bank charges penalty interest on the outstanding bond balance for the shortfall period. On a R1,500,000 bond at 12%, zero-day notice costs roughly R45,000 in penalty interest. 60 days of notice reduces the shortfall to 30 days and the penalty to R15,000.
Send the notice the moment you list the property, even before you have a buyer — the cost is zero and the clock starts running. Full detail in our bond cancellation guide.
Rates and levy clearance
Under section 118 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, the municipality will only issue a rates clearance certificate once the seller has paid all rates and service charges for the current financial year and the next two months in advance. For a sectional-title property, the body corporate issues a separate levy clearance certificate confirming all levies, special levies and utility charges are up to date.
Both certificates are lodged with the Deeds Office — the transfer cannot register without them. See our rates and levy clearance guide for the step-by-step.
Compliance certificates
The seller is responsible for obtaining a set of compliance certificates confirming the property’s installations are safe and lawful. Which certificates are required depends on what the property has:
| Certificate | When required | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical (COC) | All sales (Electrical Installation Regulations 2009) | 2 years |
| Gas compliance | Where a fixed gas installation exists | Issued per sale |
| Electric fence | Where an electric fence exists | Issued per sale / until alteration |
| Beetle (wood-borer) | Coastal areas (KZN, W Cape); rarely Gauteng | Per local custom / OTP |
| Plumbing (CoCT) | City of Cape Town only | Per sale |
A compliance inspection occasionally reveals remedial work — unsafe distribution boards, missing earth leakages, illegal geyser wiring. The cost of remedying such defects is on the seller’s account unless the OTP shifts it to the buyer (uncommon, and usually only for large renovations). Book the electrical inspection early — 4 to 6 weeks before the target registration date — so there is time to fix anything the inspector picks up.
Occupational rent
Occupational rent is the rent payable by the party in physical occupation of the property to the party in legal ownership when those two differ. The usual scenarios:
- The buyer moves in before registration — buyer pays occupational rent to the seller from occupation date until registration.
- The seller remains after registration — seller pays occupational rent to the buyer from registration until the seller vacates.
The amount should be recorded in the OTP. Common bases are a fixed monthly amount, 1% of the purchase price per month, or the prevailing market rental. On a R2,000,000 home that is R20,000 per month — a meaningful number, and one worth getting right in the OTP rather than negotiating after the fact. Occupational rent is not a deposit; it is consideration for the use of the property.
Frequently asked questions
The Offer to Purchase should specify the occupation date and the date of possession. If you vacate on or before registration, the buyer takes both possession and occupation simultaneously and no occupational rent is payable in either direction. If you vacate after registration, you will pay occupational rent to the new owner from the date of registration until you move out. A common first-time dispute is over unclear dates — make sure the OTP distinguishes between occupation (physical use), possession (risk and benefit of ownership), and registration (legal transfer). Negotiate the occupation date generously enough to allow the transfer to register without pressure, because the bank will not advance funds a day early.
Arrears on your bond at the time of sale are deducted from the sale proceeds at registration — the cancellation attorney will obtain a settlement figure from the bank that includes the outstanding capital, accrued interest, arrears, penalty interest for short notice (if applicable), and the bank’s own cancellation charge. If the sale price exceeds the settlement figure plus commission and other costs, you walk away with the surplus. If the settlement figure exceeds the net sale proceeds — known as a short sale — you will need to cover the shortfall from your own funds or negotiate a write-down with the bank before the transfer can register. Most banks will engage on a short sale but want to see a realistic market offer and a demonstrated inability to continue servicing the bond.
Usually no — the primary residence exclusion shelters the first R3,000,000 of capital gain (effective 1 March 2026, up from R2,000,000) on the sale of a residence that the seller ordinarily lived in. Only the gain above R3,000,000 is subject to CGT. Add the annual R50,000 general CGT exclusion on top. For a natural-person seller, only 40% of any remaining gain is included in taxable income (the CGT inclusion rate), and that is taxed at the seller’s marginal rate — producing a maximum effective CGT rate of about 18%. So a home sold at a R3.5-million gain triggers tax only on the R500,000 slice above the exclusion: 40% of R450,000 (after the R50,000 annual exclusion), assessed at marginal rates. If the home is held through a trust or company the exclusion does not apply — another reason to keep the home in personal name.
Yes. A private sale — often called a “for sale by owner” sale — is legal in South Africa. You save the estate agent’s commission (typically 4–8% + VAT), which on a R2,000,000 sale is R80,000–R160,000 + VAT. The trade-offs: you handle the marketing, vetting, viewings, price negotiation, and the drafting of the Offer to Purchase. Under the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, only a registered property practitioner can market property in the course of business, but the Act does not prevent the owner from selling privately. You will still need a conveyancer, and your conveyancer (or a real-estate lawyer) should draft or review the OTP — never sign a buyer-drafted template unreviewed.