Property Transfer Costs Explained

Who pays what: buyer vs seller

South African practice on transfer costs is long-settled: the buyer pays for taking ownership (transfer duty, conveyancing fees, Deeds Office registration) and for registering any bond that finances the purchase; the seller pays for leaving ownership cleanly (cancelling any existing bond, clearing rates and levies, paying any capital gains tax, and the estate-agent’s commission). The offer to purchase can move individual items between the parties, but in the absence of anything unusual the split below is what every conveyancing cost statement in Pretoria looks like.

The buyer’s costs (main bucket)

Of the buyer’s costs, two line items do most of the work: transfer duty (the tax to SARS on the acquisition of the property) and the conveyancing fee (the transferring attorney’s charge for preparing and lodging the transfer). On a bonded purchase, a third major item kicks in: the bond registration attorney’s fee, charged by the firm appointed by the buyer’s bank to register the new mortgage bond. The remainder — Deeds Office fees, FICA verification, postage, petties — is administrative and comparatively small.

Transfer duty

Transfer duty is the single biggest line on most buyer cost statements above R1.2 million. It is a tax imposed by the South African Revenue Service under the Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949 and is charged on a progressive sliding scale. Natural persons pay nothing on the first R1,210,000, then 3% on the slice from R1,210,001 to R1,663,800, stepping through brackets of 6%, 8%, 11% and eventually 13% above R13,310,000. Since 23 February 2011 the same unified table applies to natural persons, companies, close corporations and trusts — the old 8% flat-rate regime for juristic buyers fell away. The rates have been unchanged since 1 April 2025 and carry forward into the 2026/2027 year. See our full spoke on transfer duty for worked examples, exemptions and the interaction with VAT.

Conveyancing fees (transferring attorney)

The transferring attorney — the conveyancer nominated by the seller to hold the mandate — charges a fee that scales with the purchase price. Most practitioners quote against the LSSA Conveyancing Fee Guideline effective 1 August 2025, published by the Law Society of South Africa. The guideline is not legally binding — attorney fees in South Africa are negotiable under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 — but it is the practical benchmark. VAT at 15% is charged on the fee. Our separate spoke on conveyancing attorney fees unpacks what the fee covers and why negotiation matters.

Deeds Office registration fees

The Deeds Registry charges a gazetted fee for registering the transfer, on a sliding scale by purchase price. The current tariff was published in Government Gazette 54225, Government Notice 7180 of 27 February 2026 and takes effect on 1 April 2026. At a R2 million transfer, the Deeds Office transfer fee is R1,738. If a bond is registered on the same day, a separate bond registration fee applies on the bond amount — also R1,738 at a R2 million bond. These are small in absolute terms but must be paid before registration.

Bond registration (if applicable)

If the buyer is financing the purchase with a mortgage bond, the buyer’s bank appoints a bond registration attorney to draft and lodge the new bond. The bond attorney is not the same firm as the transferring attorney, although the two must coordinate to lodge on the same day. The bond attorney’s fee also scales with the bond amount on the same LSSA tariff basis, plus VAT. A bond on R2 million therefore adds roughly the same order of magnitude as the transfer fee itself — the single largest hidden cost in a bonded purchase is that the buyer effectively pays two conveyancing fees, not one.

FICA, postages & petties, sundries

Under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001, every conveyancer must verify the identity, address and source of funds of every client. The electronic verification costs a few hundred rand per party. Add deeds office search fees, courier charges, postage, printing and any bank electronic transfer fees, and “postages & petties” on a typical cost statement runs to a few thousand rand. None of it is large, but it is disbursed outside the professional fee and shown separately.

The seller’s costs

A seller’s costs look smaller on paper than the buyer’s, but they are deducted directly from the sale proceeds before the net is paid out on registration — so they are felt acutely. The five recurring line items:

Bond cancellation attorney

Where the seller has an existing bond, the seller’s bank appoints a bond cancellation attorney to prepare and lodge the cancellation in the Deeds Office simultaneously with the transfer. The attorney’s professional fee (plus VAT) is invoiced to the seller and typically runs to a few thousand rand. The bank also charges its own cancellation administration fee. If the seller gave the bank less than 90 days’ notice of intention to cancel the bond, early-termination interest on the outstanding balance is also payable — a cost that can run to tens of thousands of rand on a large bond. Sellers should give the bank 90 days’ written notice as soon as a sale becomes likely.

Rates clearance figures

The municipality will only issue a rates clearance certificate under section 118(1) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 when all rates, refuse, water and sewerage charges for the preceding 24 months have been paid. The municipality typically demands several months’ worth of rates and services in advance — often 4 to 6 months — as “clearance figures” to cover the period until registration and a buffer thereafter. In Pretoria, clearance figures on a mid-range freehold property commonly run to R10,000 to R25,000, depending on the property’s rates assessment. A sectional title unit will be lower because levies replace much of the municipal bill. Unspent clearance figures are refunded by the municipality to the seller after transfer, although the refund process can be slow.

Levy clearance (sectional title and HOAs)

For a unit in a sectional title scheme, the body corporate’s managing agent must issue a levy clearance certificate under section 15B(3)(a)(i)(aa) of the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 confirming that all levies, special levies and fines are paid up. Arrears are the single most common cause of a sectional-title sale collapsing. For a freehold unit in a homeowners’ association, an analogous clearance letter is required under the HOA’s rules. See our spoke on rates and levy clearance for the detail.

Capital Gains Tax

If the property is the seller’s primary residence, the first R3 million of the capital gain is excluded from CGT (under paragraph 45 of the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, primary residence exclusion increased from R2 million to R3 million effective 1 March 2026). Above R3 million, CGT applies on the excess — one-third of the gain is added to taxable income for an individual seller, taxed at the seller’s marginal rate (effective CGT rate of up to 18%). For an investment property, the full gain is subject to CGT with no primary-residence exclusion. Take tax advice for the specifics of your disposal.

Estate agent’s commission

The seller pays the estate agent. Commission is fully negotiable and typically runs between 5% and 7.5% of the purchase price plus VAT, depending on the property value, market conditions and whether the agency holds a sole mandate. On a R2 million sale, a 6% commission plus VAT is R138,000. The PPRA Code of Conduct requires the agent to disclose the commission in writing before mandating.

Worked example at R2 million

A natural-person buyer acquiring a freehold home at R2,000,000, financed by a R2,000,000 bond from the bank. VAT is included on the professional fees. Figures use the SARS transfer duty table effective 1 April 2025, the LSSA guideline effective 1 August 2025, and the Deeds Office tariff effective 1 April 2026.

That is roughly 6.1% of the purchase price in up-front cash on top of the bond. Add the deposit (if any) and the buyer’s bond origination or valuation fees (not shown — the bank sets those separately).

Worked example at R5 million

Same profile: a natural-person buyer acquiring at R5,000,000 with a R5,000,000 bond, VAT included, same source tables.

That is roughly 9.8% of the purchase price. The non-linear bite comes from transfer duty compounding across brackets — it alone is more than two-thirds of the bill at this price point.

What’s NOT in the calculator

Our transfer cost calculator covers the four big items — transfer duty, conveyancing fees, Deeds Office fees, and bond registration — with VAT included where it applies. It does not cover the following costs, which can still be material:

• Bond origination and valuation fees. Banks charge their own upfront fees for processing a bond application and valuing the property. Ooba, BetterBond and the other originators also charge nothing from the buyer (they are paid by the bank), but direct applications to a bank often incur an initiation fee of around R6,000 plus a valuation fee.
• FICA verification disbursements. Modest — a few hundred rand per party — but real. Included in most cost statements under “postages and petties”.
• Electrical, gas, plumbing, beetle and electric-fence compliance certificates. The seller must deliver a valid electrical Certificate of Compliance on every sale, a gas certificate if there is any gas installation, an electric-fence certificate if the property has an electrified fence, and in coastal provinces a beetle-infestation certificate. Plumbing is required in Cape Town. Each certificate runs from R500 to R2,500; remedial electrical work can push the electrical bill into five figures.
• Bond cancellation penalty interest. Payable by the seller if less than 90 days’ notice was given to the bank.
• Estate agent’s commission. Paid by the seller; negotiated, typically 5–7.5% plus VAT.
• Occupational rent. If the buyer takes occupation before registration (or the seller stays on after), the OTP usually provides for occupational rent between the parties.
• Home insurance and contents cover. Banks require building insurance in place before the first bond instalment is due.

Ways to reduce costs legitimately

Not all transfer costs are fixed. A careful buyer or seller can materially reduce the total bill without taking any commercial risk:

• Know whether VAT or transfer duty applies before signing. A VAT-registered developer selling new stock charges VAT at 15% instead of transfer duty; a VAT-registered buyer acquiring for taxable supplies may recover input VAT. The difference between a VAT-inclusive and VAT-exclusive price on a R5 million property runs into hundreds of thousands of rand.
• Use one conveyancer for both the transfer and the bond where the bank allows it. Some banks will permit the transferring attorney to also register the bond; this can save on duplicated fees and coordination friction. Not all banks agree, but it is always worth asking.
• Negotiate the estate agent’s commission. Commission is fully negotiable. A seller with a sole mandate and a motivated agent has leverage. A half-percent reduction on a R3 million sale is R15,000 plus VAT.
• Request a written conveyancing quote upfront. Under the Legal Practice Act, attorneys must explain the basis of fees before engagement. A fixed-fee quote or a written tariff calculation at the point of instruction is both professional and to your advantage.
• Give the bank 90 days’ notice of bond cancellation. Sellers who do this avoid early-termination interest entirely.
• Time the purchase around the R1.21m transfer-duty threshold. For entry-level buyers, a price that sits at or under R1,210,000 pays zero transfer duty.
• Register transfer and bond simultaneously. Simultaneous lodgement is standard practice; paying interest on bridging finance because of avoidable delay is not.

Frequently asked questions